for those who let their littles watch tv

[jillian]

do you limit the cartoons with bad attitudes in them? like we really like magic school bus but there are a few episodes where some of the kiddos (particularly wanda) have an awful and rude attitude, we won't watch that episode anymore because i can't stand how she treats the other characters. am i weird? we also have a pup named scooby doo episodes and i have issues with how daphne is always so sarcastic....i am beginning to think dh is right i am a little nuts lol

[Dandelion]

I think you're right to limit those programs... Younger children don't yet have the ability to discriminate between good and bad behaviors/attitudes/etc. and may end up imitating both.

 

My DC don't watch that much TV and I'm very selective about what I do let them watch. However, I've observed several times that they've picked up on (and imitated) the one or two bad things they saw in a children's show instead of all the wonderful things they could be imitating...

 

So...do be selective. Better safe than sorry!

[Saille]

My 4 year old watches TV, but we watch very few "kid shows". He watches nature documentaries, BBC dinosaur stuff, Dirty Jobs, etc.. I would let him watch Between the Lions, but they've changed the schedule around. Zaboomafoo is on on weekends, he's allowed to watch that. We don't have cable, and even PBS is a no-no unsupervised, mostly because the Word World and Dinosaur Train type shows make me want to slap the stupid out of someone.

[Aubrey]

We do limit shows w/ bad attitudes. We were pretty disappointed to rewatch many of our own childhood favorites & realize they really weren't ok for our dc at the ages they were intended for.

 

We have a little more flexibility the older they get, but I *staunchly* believe that what you watch, you become. Whether that's on tv or w/ friendships or whatever, if you spend any time really looking at, absorbing, watching, you can't help but be influenced by the thing.

 

So, for ex, these boards have had a *huge* influence on me, &...not always for the good. LOL (If nothing else, y'all are an *expensive* habit, lol!) :001_smile:

[LibraryLover]

Look, I love my Netflix, and we love old movies. I am also a documentary hound and my 10 yr old lives for PBS evolution vids on Netflix.

But. Tots and TV are in the, Meh, Why Bother? category for me.

My older kids occassionaly saw TV when they were little (we never had cable and we didnt get a TV until later).  I never had issues with behavior and TV. Yet I still didn't go out of my way for them to watch. As they got older, they were more curious and we could talk about what we saw more easily. I never forbade it, it just wasn't a big part of our day, and it still isn't. By the time my youngest was born, we did have a TV that wasn't totally fuzzy! lol And a computer. She used to like Teletubies, which I liked as well. She never took to vaccumming or eating custard, or carrying around a purple bag, however. lol

If you ever have another child, you might decide on a couple of episodes of some shows here and there so you can nurse the new baby...I don't know. Some people never use tv this way. How important is TV to your tot?

Edited September 15, 2014 by LibraryLover

[fairfarmhand]

nope. if there are bad attitudes displayed, I cut it off. We have enough of that here as it is.

[Suzanne in ABQ]

My 4yo watches tv, but only Noggin (the preschool channel). All the programming is appropriate for her age and development, and there are no commercials. Some of the shows are silly, but some are wonderful! We love The Backyardagins and The Wonder Pets!

[nova147]

I don't let the kids watch Cailou. His parents are way to lax on discipline! DS (my smarty) watched it a couple of times when he was 3 and started telling me how I wasn't nice like Cailou's mom. I certainly don't need cartoons undermining my discipline!

 

I haven't run into any others I have a problem with, but I'm sure it's coming!

[Garga]

At that age we limited shows like that. We watched Playhouse Disney type stuff, that was entirely geared for innocent kids. (Tho, I know some people hate Disney no matter what they show.)

 

As they get older, you can discuss and teach through moments like that. But when they're little it just sinks in and you can't always explain why they shouldn't act that way.

[Renthead Mommy]

....type shows make me want to slap the stupid out of someone.

 

Love it! That is just such a perfect saying for some things!

[Tangerine]

Absolutely. I see no reason to let them watch unkindness and rudeness as entertainment. I really think they have opportunities to resolve things like that in real life, and at such a young age learn diddly from tv snark...even when there is a message attached.

[junepep]

I actually do both with my girls (3.5 & ~2). I limit shows that contain inappropriate behaviour (rudeness, not sharing, unhealthy competitiveness) and I also discuss poor behaviour whenever I see it regardless of the flow of the show.

 

Television is interactive when it's on, one of us is always talking over the television set or getting up to dance and move around with the music on the show.

 

I also try balance letting the girls watch G-rated material that contain adult themes (eg Mulan, Aristocats or Sword & the Stone) or which are frankly pointless, mind-numbing garbage (Wonderpets) with my personal viewing preferences (Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Word World, SuperWhy) because I still feel that they should have some (limited) exposure to popular / iconic material from a cultural literacy standpoint.

 

In the end, I really feel quite awful for allowing them to have any television at all, especially with the younger one since the TV was never even on for the oldest until the younger was born. So perhaps my limitations are a way for me to compensate for that as well -- crazy is a good place to be ;) why fight it??

[Rosie_0801]

We do limit shows w/ bad attitudes. We were pretty disappointed to rewatch many of our own childhood favorites & realize they really weren't ok for our dc at the ages they were intended for.

 

 

We found the same. I put dvds on for my kids, rather than tv. The favourites are Singing in the Rain, Sound of Music, Wizard of Oz, Beauty and the Beast, an Auslan vocab dictionary and, funnily enough, An Affair to Remember. You'd think the last one would be inappropriate but if you look at it through a child's eyes, it's much tamer than most kiddie movies.

 

Rosie

[jillian]

thank you, dd learns ALOT from her shows. we watch lots of Blue Planet, Planet Earth, educational stuff, but she does enjoy some scooby doo now and then lol. it is kind of important to her but she accepts when she can't watch it. we have it on more when it's nasty weather out (live in western washington so yeah lots of rainy dreary days). i will put it on when i need to get some deep cleaning done especially with chemicals (like the bathrooms or something)

 

eta: we have no cable anymore, these are shows we get on netflix instant or that dh has found downloadable versions

[Wheres Toto]

We do limit shows w/ bad attitudes. We were pretty disappointed to rewatch many of our own childhood favorites & realize they really weren't ok for our dc at the ages they were intended for.

 

We have a little more flexibility the older they get, but I *staunchly* believe that what you watch, you become. Whether that's on tv or w/ friendships or whatever, if you spend any time really looking at, absorbing, watching, you can't help but be influenced by the thing.

 

 

So, do you feel you became rude, and inappropriate because of the shows you watched? Not being snarky, just curious. I watched a lot of Scooby Doo, Bugs Bunny and the various Hanna Barbara cartoons (probably showing my age) but never felt they had that much of an effect on my life compared to all the reading I did.

 

FWIW - our children ocassionally watch PBS, PBS kids and Nick Jr. We also have all the Magic School Bus episodes on DVR. I vastly prefer the non-commercial stations so I avoid Disney (results in too much "I want....").

[Rosie_0801]

So, do you feel you became rude, and inappropriate because of the shows you watched?

 

I know you were talking to Aubrey, but I've noticed that my daughter will pick up inappropriate behaviour from movies that I don't even notice, it's usually some new behaviour of hers that alerts me to something I've missed! "Monkey see, monkey do" and all that.

 

I managed to grow up into a reasonable person despite the incredible amount of tv I watched as a child. I remember Mum banned a few shows, but not many. Her style was more to discipline the child for behaviour rather than remove the show.

 

Rosie

[Mommy22alyns]

I keep a close eye on what the girls watch. If they're picking up bad attitudes, then off it goes. We also pretty much exclusively watch from DVR and fast forward through commercials.

 

The girls never picked up anything bad from MSB. Sometimes I might use a character's bad behavior as a talking point - "So and so isn't very nice to say those things to xyz, is she? How do you think that makes xyz feel?"

[jillian]

I keep a close eye on what the girls watch. If they're picking up bad attitudes, then off it goes. We also pretty much exclusively watch from DVR and fast forward through commercials.

 

The girls never picked up anything bad from MSB. Sometimes I might use a character's bad behavior as a talking point - "So and so isn't very nice to say those things to xyz, is she? How do you think that makes xyz feel?"

yeah, dd is still young so she doesn't really "get" per se that some attitude isn't nice. she understands a lot but doesn't understand WHY yet at least that i can tell lol

[Tangerine]

I've been reading a book called NurtureShock, and just happened to come to a chapter tonight about a study regarding violent television and physical aggression in children. What they found out was that educational television (like Arthur, Clifford...etc) dramatically increased "relational aggression" (shunning, peer cliques, cruel words...). So if you're interested in the study, the book is fascinating.

[Saille]

Tangerine, that makes total sense to me. Actually, the Dorothy Sayers "poll parrot" thing is stuck in my head now. But I did always think that kids' sit-coms were bound to lead kids who hadn't yet experienced cliques and the like to explore them as a way of understanding them. Sort of explained one particular four-year-old girl who used to cause absolute social chaos in my little group of friends.

 

I've read several books about the pacing of children's shows, as well. They cut to a different scene or face every 4-7 seconds. Watch one and count sometime. Seriously, is it healthy for a child (especially a child we expect to do memory work, nature study, and the classics) to have a short attention span reinforced in that way?

 

Not to mention all the subtext that's put in there to keep parents watching.

 

O/T: Have I mentioned Bob the Builder's...um, tea-deprived...assistant, Wendy? Could she BE any more passive-aggressive? Dude, your ankle is broken! Let Bob take Mavis from the Post Office to the stinking barn dance! You're platonic friends on a show about claymation machinery, for pete's sake! Don't do the awkward, "Is Bob going to kiss me," hemming and hawing at the door at the end of the evening, either. Gross. It is, for me, almost exactly like the time that someone (on Hardball, maybe?) took Jon Stewart to task as a newsman, and he responded, "Who said I was a newsman? I follow a show that features puppets making crank calls!" Now, maybe I just caught a weird episode. But then again, maybe not. Do not combine mommy's "stories" with children's programming. Ew. Ew. Ew.

[LibraryLover]

My kids have never picked up any negative behaviors from TV. In fact, I can't think of any behaviors they picked up from TV. If I thought it was possible, I would have sat them in front of Martha Stewart, or America's Test Kitchen. (I don't have cable, so nothing really esoteric was available to them...:( ) What would have happened if at 5 or 6 they watched Myth Busters? Would I have had to have invested in Mentos and Coke. Or poppy seeds? Or something...

 

My youngest loved Telletubies, but never once in those days did she ever vaccum!

[OrganicAnn]

We don't have cable. We didn't let DD watch TV the first 2 years of life (not even the Baby Mozart DVDs). She watches some PBS, but we keep it to a minimum 1 hour a day unless she gets up early. A little more on the weekends. She will often decide to turn it off on Saturday morning. I like that there are no commercials (to buy things) on PBS.

 

We watched a Peanuts Christmas or Halloween show this year on a network channel. Why do they put commercials for adults on shows like this? "Mom's what is a tampon?" is not something you want to explain to a 6 yo in the middle of a Charlie Brown special.

[LibraryLover]

No, you explain tampons to 6 year old when her sister has her period at Panera. Or to a 5yr old boy when you plug money into a tampon machine at WDW. Then you get to hear him say, "Whew! I am glad I am not a girl!"

 

We don't have cable. We didn't let DD watch TV the first 2 years of life (not even the Baby Mozart DVDs). She watches some PBS, but we keep it to a minimum 1 hour a day unless she gets up early. A little more on the weekends. She will often decide to turn it off on Saturday morning. I like that there are no commercials (to buy things) on PBS.

 

We watched a Peanuts Christmas or Halloween show this year on a network channel. Why do they put commercials for adults on shows like this? "Mom's what is a tampon?" is not something you want to explain to a 6 yo in the middle of a Charlie Brown special.

[stripe]

"Mom's what is a tampon?" is not something you want to explain to a 6 yo in the middle of a Charlie Brown special.

I haven't seen a tampon or douche ad in years. That's what was on when I was a teen. What I do see a lot of is medical ads. Most feature a couple in separate bathtubs staring at a sunset, wondering how to get more intimate. (Gee, maybe the separate tubs is a problem? Don't any of the neighbors mind, seeing naked people running across the lawn before hopping in the tub?) I really don't want to discuss erectile dysfunction with young children. On the plus side, my kids think the ads featuring adult pipe creatures with "leaks" are hilarious. And it provides ample opportunity to discuss constipation.

 

I tend to agree with the NutureShock analysis. I find a lot of sibling rivalry themes on PBS shows. My kids don't watch much of that or anything else. We occasionally watch some more "educational" programs without the relational stuff.

[jillian]

I haven't seen a tampon or douche ad in years. That's what was on when I was a teen. What I do see a lot of is medical ads. Most feature a couple in separate bathtubs staring at a sunset, wondering how to get more intimate. (Gee, maybe the separate tubs is a problem? Don't any of the neighbors mind, seeing naked people running across the lawn before hopping in the tub?) I really don't want to discuss erectile dysfunction with young children. On the plus side, my kids think the ads featuring adult pipe creatures with "leaks" are hilarious. And it provides ample opportunity to discuss constipation.

 

I tend to agree with the NutureShock analysis. I find a lot of sibling rivalry themes on PBS shows. My kids don't watch much of that or anything else. We occasionally watch some more "educational" programs without the relational stuff.

i see lots of tampon and pad commericals. the playtex sport one is always on (or was when we had cable)

[BigMamaBird]

Oh yeah! We scrapped Ni Hao Ki Lan, which I was SO excited about, because a characters attitude. Calliou too, that kid drives me nuts!:glare: I could go on and on.

[Amy Jo]

do you limit the cartoons with bad attitudes in them? like we really like magic school bus but there are a few episodes where some of the kiddos (particularly wanda) have an awful and rude attitude, we won't watch that episode anymore because i can't stand how she treats the other characters. am i weird? we also have a pup named scooby doo episodes and i have issues with how daphne is always so sarcastic....i am beginning to think dh is right i am a little nuts lol

 

Yes. As far as DH, I am the one with the kids most days, so I have to put up with the attitude.

[funschooler5]

We don't have TV service, so the only new shows my kids watch are at their grandparents' house. This has allowed me to brainwash them into liking shows that I like.:tongue_smilie: One of those is Mystery Science Theater 3000, a show that I believe has influenced them more than anything else they watch. This may sound weird, but I think it has made them more critical of "crap" television and movies. If something of poor quality comes on, they'll often watch it just so they can mock it. This might seem like bad behavior to some, but I honestly feel like it makes them think about what they're watching, and they definitely don't imitate characters on shows they mock, because who wants to act like a poorly-written, obnoxious character? My oldest Dd regularly complains about the one-dimensional characters in live-action kid movies, and we often compare classic tv shows to newer ones. Watching a whole season of a show on DVD really brings out the strengths and weaknesses of the show (and there are no commercials).

 

I guess my point is that yes, we do watch crap sometimes, but we don't do it mindlessly (most of the time) so I don't think it influences them in a negative way.

[Dobela]

Oh yeah! We scrapped Ni Hao Ki Lan, which I was SO excited about, because a characters attitude. Calliou too, that kid drives me nuts!:glare: I could go on and on.

We just stopped Kai Lan. :glare: My dd turned 3 and decided she liked being mad like one of the characters for attention. At first I really liked it because she was recognizing emotions and was even using some great social problem solving.

 

I think for each child it has to be a different decision. Shows that were ok for my son (like Calliou) have a completely different effect on my dd.

[stripe]

I can't stand Caillou! So whiny. Even my kids have finally decided he is annoying.

 

I don't have cable. Is that where all the tampon ads are hiding?!

 

I love the idea of Mystery Science 3000 as helping determine quality. I love it.

[Kirch]

My kids have never picked up any negative behaviors from TV. In fact, I can't think of any behaviors they picked up from TV. If I thought it was possible, I would have sat them in front of Martha Stewart, or America's Test Kitchen. (I don't have cable, so nothing really esoteric was available to them...:( ) What would have happened if at 5 or 6 they watched Myth Busters? Would I have had to have invested in Mentos and Coke. Or poppy seeds? Or something...

 

My youngest loved Telletubies, but never once in those days did she ever vaccum!

 

That's great--maybe yours are strong leaders who aren't into imitating. Mine definitely have picked up words and behaviors, good AND bad from movies and TV shows. Ds 1 learned the word "idiot" from 101 Dalmations. They both love acting out sword fighting in imitation of The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe (and most of their imaginary play lately includes Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy--dinosaurs, legos, the Pevensies vs. Zurg from Toy Story, etc. :lol:). Honestly, based on my observation of my kids and other kids as well as stories from other parents, your kids seem to be the exception rather than the rule.

[LibraryLover]

Honestly, based on my observation of my kids and other kids as well as stories from other parents, your kids seem to be the exception rather than the rule.

 

 

In our hs group, some families are more relaxed about TV--not all. Most of the hsers have children who watch far more TV than mine did. I don't notice a difference between them, imagination-wise, or even aggression -wise. Sometimes my children will quote movies, and sometimes some of the children will talk about a Scooby-Do movie, but it doesn't drive play etc. My children loved the movie Nemo, but they never layed Nemo.

 

I know that popular research often makea a connection with certain behaviors and watching TV. I think excessive viewing without supervision can be a problem, but there are going to be extremes involved in extremes. ;)

 

One doesn't have to watch Calliou to be a whiner. I can see that in my hs group. LOL

[Aubrey]

So, do you feel you became rude, and inappropriate because of the shows you watched? Not being snarky, just curious. I watched a lot of Scooby Doo, Bugs Bunny and the various Hanna Barbara cartoons (probably showing my age) but never felt they had that much of an effect on my life compared to all the reading I did.

 

FWIW - our children ocassionally watch PBS, PBS kids and Nick Jr. We also have all the Magic School Bus episodes on DVR. I vastly prefer the non-commercial stations so I avoid Disney (results in too much "I want....").

 

It's a tricky question to answer. I was definitely ruder to my sibs than I want my dc to be to ea other. As far as my attitude overall...I was flippant. There was a certain...range? of insult that was...ok? or cool, maybe?

 

My attitude didn't nec come from one particular show or one particular experience; rather, it was a lifestyle of exposure that dulls the senses. When I watched these things fresh w/ my dc, sometimes there were some shocking behaviors. Characters would call things/people "stupid" & other harmlessly insulting things like that. (I know, this is coming out so eloquent, lol.)

 

I love using the word stupid. Sometimes it feels like a shield against the assaults of the less-intelligent. Sometimes it works like a sword, but I try not to use it that way, unless the victim is a political policy & my dh is the only person present.

 

Still, though...I find that when I'm using words like "stupid" I'm not...dealing w/ my frustrations in a mature way. Do we have to *always* be mature? Not necessarily. But I figure we come by immaturity naturally. I'd rather have something higher soaked into my kids via the meditation-machine that is TV.

 

Have you ever met one of those people who just has an inner calm? It usually goes along w/ genuine generosity & insatiable curiosity & a stinking pile of charm. It's tempting to not like these people, but very, very hard to follow through on that, lol. And so you go away w/ a sense of what a louse you are for thinking badly of anyone, using stupid wors like stupid & ohmygosh--whatever left your mouth while you were sitting in the presence of the calm intellectual whom you in no way resemble, & being a general oaf.

 

I'd like my kids to have every opportunity to be the calm intellectual. Despite me. To that end, I need TV on my side. :lol:

 

It's late. If this didn't come out making sense, will someone pm me to come back & clean up? Thank you.

[martinswife]

On Saturday mornings while I cleaned up the house, I allowed my girls to watch Raven, Hannah Montana and Zack and Cody.......(WHAT WAS I THINKING!)---problem was is that I wasn't. We had to sit them down and explain why they couldn't watch them anymore. I still feel SOOOO guilty about letting them watch it that I want to cry over my failure. Now they are only allowed to watch SOME PBS and of course SOME movies we Okay.

[jillian]

On Saturday mornings while I cleaned up the house, I allowed my girls to watch Raven, Hannah Montana and Zack and Cody.......(WHAT WAS I THINKING!)---problem was is that I wasn't. We had to sit them down and explain why they couldn't watch them anymore. I still feel SOOOO guilty about letting them watch it that I want to cry over my failure. Now they are only allowed to watch SOME PBS and of course SOME movies we Okay.

It's not a parenting failure, you did the best you could at the moment. There are moments that I look back at and think "omg what was I thinking/doing/justifying kwim?

[atara]

nope. if there are bad attitudes displayed, I cut it off. We have enough of that here as it is.

 

Yes, this one is a biggie for me. It is sad when I think of all the shows I've cut that are supposed to be good for kids.

 

We dropped DirecTV and rely on the library, Netflix, and videos online.

[NanceXToo]

It depends on the age of the kid and it depends on the show- would I limit something like Magic School Bus? No, I like that show. And if it has an episode where a character has a bad attitude, I'd use that for a casual conversation with my child about it (if it was a young child: "Was that a nice thing for her to say/do? No, it wasn't! What would you say/do instead?" kind of thing).

 

I am a lot more lax about TV watching (amount of time and content) than a lot of you guys (on this board not just this thread lol) seem to be, although I don't think I let them watch anything ENTIRELY inappropriate for their ages! But, so take what I say with a grain of salt anyway lol.

[Carrie12345]

I've relaxed *dramatically* as my kids have gotten older. I really don't think there's any right or wrong answer, since every child and every family is different.

 

There are still times when I do draw a line. "Sunny with a Chance" completely sent me into freak out mode when the girls on the show were showing off their skinny jeans to a bunch of drooling boys. Some show on The Food Network or Travel Channel (not sure which) ticked me off when they had girls working in a food truck in bikinis, with LOTS of innuendo. The latter isn't considered children's programming, so I'm not quite as angry at the show/station.

 

Anyway, while I'm pretty lax compared to some parents, OF COURSE I turn the tv off or change the channel when I see something that doesn't meet my standards. Who in their right mind wouldn't? But everyone has different standards.

[lapsetmom]

We have one TV in the house--a large one in the living room. When the kids are awake, we are basically all watching the same program or at least know what they are watching. Certain stations like Nickolodeon and PBS are allowed and particular family shows we approve of. I don't worry too much about these shows, and the random attitude or inappropriate scene can be discussed as a family and be used as a learning and discernment activity. My children are now in public school, and I think our years of sitting around the TV discussing issues we see as they have arrived have helped my children be discerning of attitudes that are appropriate and not. The world is filled with bad things, and if they are exposed in small increments with me nearby to guide their thinking, I feel that I am able to do my job as a parent more easily. For instance, we have just recently let them start watching iCarly. I do not like Sam's attitude, but it is a funny family show we enjoy in many respects, and Carly almost always tries to do the right thing. Both characters give us examples of good and bad behavior to discuss. TV helps me teach my children when the shows are chosen wisely but without extremes.