As a parent, are there certain things you just refuse to do?
I got to thinking after reading this string of comments in the Weekend Open Thread, concerning how the kids wanted to see The Chipmunks movie, while mom and dad wanted to see Fantastic Mr. Fox.
The thing is… I HATE The Chipmunks. Their screeching voices make me want to pull my nails out, one by one, just for the distraction. So Maya did NOT see the first Chipmunks movie, nor will she see the second one. She wouldn’t even have been aware of the Chipmunks’ existence if her class hadn’t ended up singing one of their songs at the Christmas concert this year.
(And yes, it was darn cute… check out the video HERE, if you’re so inclined. DD spins a mean imaginary hula hoop!)
Other kiddie phenomenons that my kid remains blissfully unaware of, thanks to Mami’s cold calculations: The Wiggles, Barney, Hannah Montana, High School Musical, The Jonas Brothers, and Dan Zanes.
And I don’t feel the least bit guilty. I have gladly indulged her kiddie passions like Thomas the Train, Dora, The Backyardigans and Yo Gabba Gabba! (I’m actually a fan of both Backyardigans and Yo Gabba Gabba… hence our picture in matching DJ Lance Rock glasses, from our trip to see Yo Gabba Gabba Live!).
I would do anything for my daughter… but crappy shows with annoying characters? Painful movies? Really bad music? No, I won’t do that.
What about you? Where do YOU draw the line when it comes to indulging your kiddos?
See, you’re th nice mom
I won’t do dora or the backyardigans or any of that stuff. Most kids’ shows melt my brain, so I just choose not to introduce her to them. And when someone at school does, I buy her a pasteboard book about the character, and will read THAT to her.
I’m meaner than that.
We don’t watch TV at home at all with Inkspot, so he remains mostly unaware of all those characters unless he hears about them at preschool (which he does, but he’s never shown interest in exploring them himself).
I have a personal aversion to Elmo, so that’s been avoided completely. We’ve managed to keep most of the really commercial, kid-directed licensed characters at bay. (Inkspot does like his Bugs Bunny, though, which he watches on YouTube.)
We’re also blissfully free of the Wiggles, Backyardigans, Barney, HS Musical, and whatever else would be in that category. Instead, we’ve selfishly foisted classic rock and They Might Be Giants on him. He loves it. Basically, we play music for him that we like too, so we all enjoy it together.
has he seen the band’s the last waltz?
all the little kids who come to our house love it and request it.
Not yet!
We will check that out!
See, you’re th nice mom
I won’t do dora or the backyardigans or any of that stuff. Most kids’ shows melt my brain, so I just choose not to introduce her to them. And when someone at school does, I buy her a pasteboard book about the character, and will read THAT to her.
I’m meaner than that.
We don’t watch TV at home at all with Inkspot, so he remains mostly unaware of all those characters unless he hears about them at preschool (which he does, but he’s never shown interest in exploring them himself).
I have a personal aversion to Elmo, so that’s been avoided completely. We’ve managed to keep most of the really commercial, kid-directed licensed characters at bay. (Inkspot does like his Bugs Bunny, though, which he watches on YouTube.)
We’re also blissfully free of the Wiggles, Backyardigans, Barney, HS Musical, and whatever else would be in that category. Instead, we’ve selfishly foisted classic rock and They Might Be Giants on him. He loves it. Basically, we play music for him that we like too, so we all enjoy it together.
has he seen the band’s the last waltz?
all the little kids who come to our house love it and request it.
Not yet!
We will check that out!
With you on that, Erika
I’m pretty casual about the shows, since if they are being watched it means I can be productive — I’m not sitting there watching it with them. But I couldn’t bring myself to sit through any movie that looked annoying. And Avery has no idea what’s in the theaters, so she’s none the wiser.
I’ve been debating taking the kids to Princess and the Frog tomorrow — should be another gray, snowy day here. But I’m a little unsure of how Avery would take some of the scarier parts — this kid can’t even watch the Little Mermaid without getting scared. I’m eager to take them to a G-rated movie (they’re so rare now!) but I read through the reviews at Common Sense Media and a lot of people were upset by some of the scenes in the movie — like the one character getting killed (don’t want to spoil it for anyone!).
Do any of you have sensitive kids? I know Tessajp was not happy with the movie for being too scary — anyone else?
We’re going to go see it
Rory plays scared, but really loves the scary parts of movies, especially the second time. I think I might take her to go see the Frog movie the week Jules is with the grandparents
There are scary bits, and then there’s *also*
a death. I’d read up on it, since it seems like a lot of kids would be upset by one if they’re not by the other.
But all the kids in the theater with us seemed to absolutely love it (and no one got really upset that we could tell), and some of them were Rory’s age.
Argh!
Just took a glance at Common Sense Media. They list it as a negative that a character makes a comment that “could be interpreted as being racially motivated.” Um, yes, that’s sort of the point. That an African-American woman in New Orleans in the 1920s would have to overcome racism. (It’s something like “It’s just as well, someone with your background is better off staying where you are [professionally].”)
Um, duh?
Seriously. And then she overcomes it. Yay!
She’s awesome.
I’m not a princess person in general and never was, but she’s shot to the top of the (short) list of my favorites.
mine too!
feminist princess all the way.
Before I saw it
I read this review, which made it sound like the movie was filled to the brim with negative stereotypes about poor white people. I watched the movie for about an hour, trying to figure out where the poor white people were. Then they showed up, were there for maybe three minutes, and disappeared, never resurfacing. I kind of have to laugh.
I mean, they felt so *obvious* to me.
If you’re going to have a movie about frogs in New Orleans in the 1920s, of course at some point they’re going to have to be chased by Cajuns. Just like Sebastian the crab in The Little Mermaid had to be comically chased by the French chef.
I think it felt a lot more balanced when you realized that the fireflies were portraying the same culture as the frog hunters.
I know
When the fireflies showed up, I thought “Are these the poor white people?” When you think about it, people who eat frog lets are the enemies of frogs, so what’s the problem?
Well, it could be interpreted that way
Or it could have just as well applied to someone like me, white, but from a rural, uneducated background. So I suppose it depends on how you’re looking at it.
Right, exactly.
I thought it was excellently balanced, depending on whether you wanted to choose to see it that way or not. I thought it was a real high point in the film’s moral, like “this is can be a jumping-off point to talk to your kids about racism (or sexism or ageism or classism–after all, it’s two middle-aged middle-class white men talking to a young, working-class African American woman), if you want; or not, if you want to just tell them that sometimes people are jerks.”
But CSM had listed that possibly racially-motivated comment (spoken by a “bad” character) as being a negative, and that’s what I don’t understand.
We saw it
I think it depends on what Avery is sensitive to. Simone is afraid of people getting in trouble, so the scary parts in The Princess and the Frog were alright for her. Around here, we can’t watch the first half of The Sound of Music because of all the strife in the family, but the second half with the Nazis is fine.
All of the Disney princess movies have some scary parts, and this one is no different. However, I don’t think it’s any scarier than any of them. Perhaps even a bit less so. My $.2 is that it’s probably fine, but it depends on the nature of Avery’s fears. My guess is that she will be scared at times, but when the movie is over she will have enjoyed it more than enough to compensate. If it’s too scary, you can always leave. You even stand a good chance of getting your money back if you ask nicely:-)
The death of one of the characters didn’t necessarily bother me either, because death is a part of life. I can see some parents being bothered by the romantic idea that it suggests about the character’s death, but I didn’t have any trouble with that, either.
It wasn’t a death.
It was a fairly malicious murder. While I am perfectly willing to discuss death with my daugter, man’s inhumanity to “man” is a bridge too far for me right now. ;). Lucikly, the cause and effect escaped my daughter. I’m not even entirely sure she realiZed the character died!
Just saw it
It was DS’s first movie theatre film. It depends on your child. Gus isn’t too spooked, but he did say to DH that it had monsters in it. I don’t think he got the story at all, but the colors were gorgeous, the music was fun, and he’s at that age where he’ll laugh because the other kids laughed, so I think he enjoyed it, and I did as well.
With you on that, Erika
I’m pretty casual about the shows, since if they are being watched it means I can be productive — I’m not sitting there watching it with them. But I couldn’t bring myself to sit through any movie that looked annoying. And Avery has no idea what’s in the theaters, so she’s none the wiser.
I’ve been debating taking the kids to Princess and the Frog tomorrow — should be another gray, snowy day here. But I’m a little unsure of how Avery would take some of the scarier parts — this kid can’t even watch the Little Mermaid without getting scared. I’m eager to take them to a G-rated movie (they’re so rare now!) but I read through the reviews at Common Sense Media and a lot of people were upset by some of the scenes in the movie — like the one character getting killed (don’t want to spoil it for anyone!).
Do any of you have sensitive kids? I know Tessajp was not happy with the movie for being too scary — anyone else?
We’re going to go see it
Rory plays scared, but really loves the scary parts of movies, especially the second time. I think I might take her to go see the Frog movie the week Jules is with the grandparents
There are scary bits, and then there’s *also*
a death. I’d read up on it, since it seems like a lot of kids would be upset by one if they’re not by the other.
But all the kids in the theater with us seemed to absolutely love it (and no one got really upset that we could tell), and some of them were Rory’s age.
Argh!
Just took a glance at Common Sense Media. They list it as a negative that a character makes a comment that “could be interpreted as being racially motivated.” Um, yes, that’s sort of the point. That an African-American woman in New Orleans in the 1920s would have to overcome racism. (It’s something like “It’s just as well, someone with your background is better off staying where you are [professionally].”)
Um, duh?
Seriously. And then she overcomes it. Yay!
She’s awesome.
I’m not a princess person in general and never was, but she’s shot to the top of the (short) list of my favorites.
mine too!
feminist princess all the way.
Before I saw it
I read this review, which made it sound like the movie was filled to the brim with negative stereotypes about poor white people. I watched the movie for about an hour, trying to figure out where the poor white people were. Then they showed up, were there for maybe three minutes, and disappeared, never resurfacing. I kind of have to laugh.
I mean, they felt so *obvious* to me.
If you’re going to have a movie about frogs in New Orleans in the 1920s, of course at some point they’re going to have to be chased by Cajuns. Just like Sebastian the crab in The Little Mermaid had to be comically chased by the French chef.
I think it felt a lot more balanced when you realized that the fireflies were portraying the same culture as the frog hunters.
I know
When the fireflies showed up, I thought “Are these the poor white people?” When you think about it, people who eat frog lets are the enemies of frogs, so what’s the problem?
Well, it could be interpreted that way
Or it could have just as well applied to someone like me, white, but from a rural, uneducated background. So I suppose it depends on how you’re looking at it.
Right, exactly.
I thought it was excellently balanced, depending on whether you wanted to choose to see it that way or not. I thought it was a real high point in the film’s moral, like “this is can be a jumping-off point to talk to your kids about racism (or sexism or ageism or classism–after all, it’s two middle-aged middle-class white men talking to a young, working-class African American woman), if you want; or not, if you want to just tell them that sometimes people are jerks.”
But CSM had listed that possibly racially-motivated comment (spoken by a “bad” character) as being a negative, and that’s what I don’t understand.
We saw it
I think it depends on what Avery is sensitive to. Simone is afraid of people getting in trouble, so the scary parts in The Princess and the Frog were alright for her. Around here, we can’t watch the first half of The Sound of Music because of all the strife in the family, but the second half with the Nazis is fine.
All of the Disney princess movies have some scary parts, and this one is no different. However, I don’t think it’s any scarier than any of them. Perhaps even a bit less so. My $.2 is that it’s probably fine, but it depends on the nature of Avery’s fears. My guess is that she will be scared at times, but when the movie is over she will have enjoyed it more than enough to compensate. If it’s too scary, you can always leave. You even stand a good chance of getting your money back if you ask nicely:-)
The death of one of the characters didn’t necessarily bother me either, because death is a part of life. I can see some parents being bothered by the romantic idea that it suggests about the character’s death, but I didn’t have any trouble with that, either.
It wasn’t a death.
It was a fairly malicious murder. While I am perfectly willing to discuss death with my daugter, man’s inhumanity to “man” is a bridge too far for me right now. ;). Lucikly, the cause and effect escaped my daughter. I’m not even entirely sure she realiZed the character died!
Just saw it
It was DS’s first movie theatre film. It depends on your child. Gus isn’t too spooked, but he did say to DH that it had monsters in it. I don’t think he got the story at all, but the colors were gorgeous, the music was fun, and he’s at that age where he’ll laugh because the other kids laughed, so I think he enjoyed it, and I did as well.
more than I said I would
I swore before kids, no Barney, no Wiggles, etc. Well, I don’t much like Barney but the kids don’t care either – we do like the Wiggles (DH totally wants to be a Wiggle in his next life), Backyardigans are fun, but Yo Gabba Gabba…sorry Erika, that scares me. It’s like watching someone else’s drug trip. Eeek! And I hate frickin’ Thomas and his annoying friends but the kids, esp the little one, loooove them.
We have never seen any of the kids’ concerts, though – our friend and our old babysitter have gone together to see the Wiggles, Sesame St. Live, etc, but never included us. I never felt that our kids would enjoy it that much, so it didn’t matter. Our kids were all born within the same year (I mean DS1).
I kind of like it, but
it also reminds me of a Mr. Show sketch about a drug-themed kids’ tv show. DJ Lance Rock himself is fantastic, though.
Thomas shorts were annoying, indeed
But we still bought her many, many of those trains, and took her to A Day Out With Thomas three times, before her train passion waned.
more than I said I would
I swore before kids, no Barney, no Wiggles, etc. Well, I don’t much like Barney but the kids don’t care either – we do like the Wiggles (DH totally wants to be a Wiggle in his next life), Backyardigans are fun, but Yo Gabba Gabba…sorry Erika, that scares me. It’s like watching someone else’s drug trip. Eeek! And I hate frickin’ Thomas and his annoying friends but the kids, esp the little one, loooove them.
We have never seen any of the kids’ concerts, though – our friend and our old babysitter have gone together to see the Wiggles, Sesame St. Live, etc, but never included us. I never felt that our kids would enjoy it that much, so it didn’t matter. Our kids were all born within the same year (I mean DS1).
I kind of like it, but
it also reminds me of a Mr. Show sketch about a drug-themed kids’ tv show. DJ Lance Rock himself is fantastic, though.
Thomas shorts were annoying, indeed
But we still bought her many, many of those trains, and took her to A Day Out With Thomas three times, before her train passion waned.
BTW, that video
of her doing the hula hoop, is just Priceless!
BTW, that video
of her doing the hula hoop, is just Priceless!
The video is priceless
She had all the moves…so cute. Love how it speeds up at the end. Adorable!
The video is priceless
She had all the moves…so cute. Love how it speeds up at the end. Adorable!
I’m convinced that Yo Gabba Gabba
is made for us adults. I mean…. Mark Mothersbaugh is the creator. How can you not like that??? That show came out at the tail end of our preschool show viewing in this house. I kind of miss it, actually!
I sort of shunned Barney, but that was pretty much it. Honestly… I’ve never been too picky in regards to the shows my kids watch….especially if it bought me some peaceful moments.
I lucked out on the chipmunks movie…. Grant went with a friend. So far Madeline hasn’t asked about going. I’m not a huge fan of the whole Alvin and the chipmunks thing. I don’t know WTH Jason Lee was thinking making that piece of sh#t. I normally like his movies. I guess the money must have been too good to pass up. : /
i like yo gabba gabba!
DS doesn’t watch it but i wouldn’t mind if he did, i think it’s really funny
totally!
The Yo Gabba Gabba Live! show was quite a scene. It literally reminded me of a rave. Tons of hipster parents singing along enthusiastically. A massive balloon drop in the middle of the show. Half the parents had actual eyeglasses that looked like DJ Lance Rock’s, not just the goofy paper ones that we wore for fun.
Jon Heder (Napoleon Dynamite) was the special guest of the day, Jason Bateman and his family were there.
Biz Markie did Biz’s Beat Of The Day, and Maya got to meet him after the show! He was outside the stage door as we were walking to our car
I’m not even sure why I like the show so much. I just think it’s funky and fun.
Beat of the day!
That is my son’s favorite. I have no idea who Biz is, otherwise, though.
yes you do!
you just don’t know this is him-
YOUUUU!! you got what i nee…eeeed.
but you say he’s just a friend. you say he’s just a friend.
OH BABY… YOU…ou- you got what i nee eeed…
Um…no…
I just took a Pagan music survey and told it I listen to SCA/filk, country, and a wee bit of folk and bluegrass. Very litttle else, and not much of that stuff really. I listen to myself sing Kid Sparky to sleep with “Joe Hill” every night…
i just went here-
bizmarkie.com
and now i like him even more than i used to-
in all of the photos he has on a completely plain t shirt, except for just one which has “republican’t” printed on it
OMG!
He’s so old!
loves it!
So I took Blah Blah’s word for it at this time
I thought just having a friend couldn’t be no crime
‘Cuz I got friends, and that’s a fact
Like Agnes, Agatha, Jermaine and Jack…
I wish I could “like” this comment
If this was on Facebook I totally would although now that I think about it you can’t like individual comments there but “like, like, like, like!”
Everytime he does Biz’s beat of the day I think of that song.
The great thing about that song is I can’t tell if it’s fabulously bad singing or just fabulous singing and I’m a trained professional LOL. He does get the point across very well.
yeah, baby!!!
Love, love, love!!!
I’m convinced that Yo Gabba Gabba
is made for us adults. I mean…. Mark Mothersbaugh is the creator. How can you not like that??? That show came out at the tail end of our preschool show viewing in this house. I kind of miss it, actually!
I sort of shunned Barney, but that was pretty much it. Honestly… I’ve never been too picky in regards to the shows my kids watch….especially if it bought me some peaceful moments.
I lucked out on the chipmunks movie…. Grant went with a friend. So far Madeline hasn’t asked about going. I’m not a huge fan of the whole Alvin and the chipmunks thing. I don’t know WTH Jason Lee was thinking making that piece of sh#t. I normally like his movies. I guess the money must have been too good to pass up. : /
i like yo gabba gabba!
DS doesn’t watch it but i wouldn’t mind if he did, i think it’s really funny
totally!
The Yo Gabba Gabba Live! show was quite a scene. It literally reminded me of a rave. Tons of hipster parents singing along enthusiastically. A massive balloon drop in the middle of the show. Half the parents had actual eyeglasses that looked like DJ Lance Rock’s, not just the goofy paper ones that we wore for fun.
Jon Heder (Napoleon Dynamite) was the special guest of the day, Jason Bateman and his family were there.
Biz Markie did Biz’s Beat Of The Day, and Maya got to meet him after the show! He was outside the stage door as we were walking to our car
I’m not even sure why I like the show so much. I just think it’s funky and fun.
Beat of the day!
That is my son’s favorite. I have no idea who Biz is, otherwise, though.
yes you do!
you just don’t know this is him-
YOUUUU!! you got what i nee…eeeed.
but you say he’s just a friend. you say he’s just a friend.
OH BABY… YOU…ou- you got what i nee eeed…
Um…no…
I just took a Pagan music survey and told it I listen to SCA/filk, country, and a wee bit of folk and bluegrass. Very litttle else, and not much of that stuff really. I listen to myself sing Kid Sparky to sleep with “Joe Hill” every night…
i just went here-
bizmarkie.com
and now i like him even more than i used to-
in all of the photos he has on a completely plain t shirt, except for just one which has “republican’t” printed on it
OMG!
He’s so old!
loves it!
So I took Blah Blah’s word for it at this time
I thought just having a friend couldn’t be no crime
‘Cuz I got friends, and that’s a fact
Like Agnes, Agatha, Jermaine and Jack…
I wish I could “like” this comment
If this was on Facebook I totally would although now that I think about it you can’t like individual comments there but “like, like, like, like!”
Everytime he does Biz’s beat of the day I think of that song.
The great thing about that song is I can’t tell if it’s fabulously bad singing or just fabulous singing and I’m a trained professional LOL. He does get the point across very well.
yeah, baby!!!
Love, love, love!!!
I’m kind of the opposite
I don’t mind kids stuff that is obviously for small kids like most of the Noggin programming, The Wiggles and even Barney. I thought I would hate Barney but I have fond memories of my first child coming and hugging and kissing me whenever the I love you song came on at the end so Barney’s OK in my book. What I do not appreciate are things geared for older kids being foisted upon preschoolers and younger like Spngebob, High School Musical, Hannah Montana. Luckily my kids demand the younger shows should I accidentally turn on something older. Let them be little is my philosophy -especially if it buys me some “me” time to be productive.
That said, as a music educator talking shop I love what the Wiggles do. Their songs could not be better constructed for getting small children to sing and move. The form works and the songs are catchy and enjoyable to boot. I also love me some Yo Gabba Gabba.
i agree
i don’t care for spongebob and i don’t like hannah montana’s attitude. and don’t get me started on iCarly, which i was forced to watch with my nephew a few times. i really don’t like that girl’s ‘tude and i don’t ever want my son to see it.
but we actually did rent HSM from netflix last year to see what all the fuss was about, and i’m ashamed to admit we both liked it! but, it’s not for preschoolers! i was shocked at how many preschool girls are really into these shows.
Mira loves them
We’ve watched all the HSM. It started when she was 4 and continues. I have put my foot down to Hannah Montana and the others though. One nice thing is that now that Isaac has shows he’s liked she’s gotten into some of them again. I missed Jack’s Big Music Show and am glad it’s back
I’m kind of the opposite
I don’t mind kids stuff that is obviously for small kids like most of the Noggin programming, The Wiggles and even Barney. I thought I would hate Barney but I have fond memories of my first child coming and hugging and kissing me whenever the I love you song came on at the end so Barney’s OK in my book. What I do not appreciate are things geared for older kids being foisted upon preschoolers and younger like Spngebob, High School Musical, Hannah Montana. Luckily my kids demand the younger shows should I accidentally turn on something older. Let them be little is my philosophy -especially if it buys me some “me” time to be productive.
That said, as a music educator talking shop I love what the Wiggles do. Their songs could not be better constructed for getting small children to sing and move. The form works and the songs are catchy and enjoyable to boot. I also love me some Yo Gabba Gabba.
i agree
i don’t care for spongebob and i don’t like hannah montana’s attitude. and don’t get me started on iCarly, which i was forced to watch with my nephew a few times. i really don’t like that girl’s ‘tude and i don’t ever want my son to see it.
but we actually did rent HSM from netflix last year to see what all the fuss was about, and i’m ashamed to admit we both liked it! but, it’s not for preschoolers! i was shocked at how many preschool girls are really into these shows.
Mira loves them
We’ve watched all the HSM. It started when she was 4 and continues. I have put my foot down to Hannah Montana and the others though. One nice thing is that now that Isaac has shows he’s liked she’s gotten into some of them again. I missed Jack’s Big Music Show and am glad it’s back
you are workin those glasses, Erika!
hmmm, where do i draw the line? well i said i hate toys that play music and have flashing lights, but we’ve managed to accumulate a few. DS probably watches more TV than i would prefer, but mostly it’s movies and DVDs we’ve bought him. i used to be creeped out by thomas the train, but he’s grown on me. i don’t make DS sit at the table to eat all the time. as long as he eats i’m not going to fight that battle. i do the short order cook thing to get him to eat. sometimes i don’t even offer him what we’re having if i know he will just waste it, and skip directly to chicken tenders. and i never thought i would serve chicken tenders in my house, let alone on a daily basis!
so my line in the sand i guess would be clutter. i have a very small house, so he does have toys that live in the living room. i could keep all the toys in his room, but i don’t want to be running up and down the stairs all day getting toys and dragging bins around. but i am pretty strict about not letting the toys overflow the living room. we have a bookshelf with labeled bins, and when there are too many toys for bins (like now, after Christmas), i do a serious re-org and rotate out the stuff he doesn’t play much with. i sorted all his toys today and was amazed at how i actually did have plenty of space for all the new things, once i took out all the stuff he doesn’t use.
you are workin those glasses, Erika!
hmmm, where do i draw the line? well i said i hate toys that play music and have flashing lights, but we’ve managed to accumulate a few. DS probably watches more TV than i would prefer, but mostly it’s movies and DVDs we’ve bought him. i used to be creeped out by thomas the train, but he’s grown on me. i don’t make DS sit at the table to eat all the time. as long as he eats i’m not going to fight that battle. i do the short order cook thing to get him to eat. sometimes i don’t even offer him what we’re having if i know he will just waste it, and skip directly to chicken tenders. and i never thought i would serve chicken tenders in my house, let alone on a daily basis!
so my line in the sand i guess would be clutter. i have a very small house, so he does have toys that live in the living room. i could keep all the toys in his room, but i don’t want to be running up and down the stairs all day getting toys and dragging bins around. but i am pretty strict about not letting the toys overflow the living room. we have a bookshelf with labeled bins, and when there are too many toys for bins (like now, after Christmas), i do a serious re-org and rotate out the stuff he doesn’t play much with. i sorted all his toys today and was amazed at how i actually did have plenty of space for all the new things, once i took out all the stuff he doesn’t use.
on a related note, one thing we forced on DS:
mo willems pigeon books! the librarian at storytime read them one day and i was beside myself with how funny they are! DS wasn’t that interested but i checked them all out of the library and my husband and i would read them to him every night and quote them to eachother! so DS got into them. we got 2 of the books for Christmas and of course they are more for my husband and I but DS has wanted to read both of them every night.
try Piggie and Elephant
Mo Willems writes these books for kids learning to read. They all feature an elephant named Gerald and his best friend Piggie. They are simple stories but hilarious! One of our favorites is “There is a Bird on Your Head”
Edwina The Dinosaur who didn’t know she
was extinct. Favourite Mo Willems book…evah.
on a related note, one thing we forced on DS:
mo willems pigeon books! the librarian at storytime read them one day and i was beside myself with how funny they are! DS wasn’t that interested but i checked them all out of the library and my husband and i would read them to him every night and quote them to eachother! so DS got into them. we got 2 of the books for Christmas and of course they are more for my husband and I but DS has wanted to read both of them every night.
try Piggie and Elephant
Mo Willems writes these books for kids learning to read. They all feature an elephant named Gerald and his best friend Piggie. They are simple stories but hilarious! One of our favorites is “There is a Bird on Your Head”
Edwina The Dinosaur who didn’t know she
was extinct. Favourite Mo Willems book…evah.
I think
that the only mass marketed cash cow that Simone’s gotten into is Disney princesses. Other than that, we actually do stick to netflix and PBS, so she doesn’t see the commercials or shows on the Disney channel or Nickleodeon. She’s largely unaware of Hannah Montana and everything else on your list, which is great! People have given her Dora merchandise as gifts, but she’s never really watched it.
She always looked so much like Tyler, but now Maya is starting to resemble you a lot more!
I think
that the only mass marketed cash cow that Simone’s gotten into is Disney princesses. Other than that, we actually do stick to netflix and PBS, so she doesn’t see the commercials or shows on the Disney channel or Nickleodeon. She’s largely unaware of Hannah Montana and everything else on your list, which is great! People have given her Dora merchandise as gifts, but she’s never really watched it.
She always looked so much like Tyler, but now Maya is starting to resemble you a lot more!
Dan Zanes?
I LOVE Dan Zanes! Especially the duets with Father Goose. Huh. To each her own.
I won’t let my DD (age 7) watch Drake and Josh after one of them demonstrated tying a cherry stem with your tongue. Uh, hello Disney channel?!? WTH???
Hahahaha!
I think that is a stupid show, but that point makes me like it more.
I am OK with Laurie Berkner
I love Laurie Berkner
and her band. And pretty much all the performers on Jack’s Big Music Show.
Dan Zanes?
I LOVE Dan Zanes! Especially the duets with Father Goose. Huh. To each her own.
I won’t let my DD (age 7) watch Drake and Josh after one of them demonstrated tying a cherry stem with your tongue. Uh, hello Disney channel?!? WTH???
Hahahaha!
I think that is a stupid show, but that point makes me like it more.
I am OK with Laurie Berkner
I love Laurie Berkner
and her band. And pretty much all the performers on Jack’s Big Music Show.
Well, I like a lot of kids’ stuff
I like most of the Noggin shows, although Dora and Wubbzy get on my nerves after a while. Kid Sparky is big into movies these days, and those are pretty good, although sometimes I worry we’ve gotten him in to stuff that’s too old already.
I think I like Wall-E as much as he does, and Bolt and Monsters vs. Aliens are alright, and I can live with Up. He’s kind of obsessed with fighting and killing and bad guys right now, and some of that may come from movies, but it’s not like we would have kept it away from him. DH plays World of Warcraft right in the living room, and most of the grown up movies involve fighting, so even if he only sees the cases…plus we do sword fighting as a hobby.
He’ll probably grow up to like music I hate, but that’s why god gave us headphones.
Also I want Baby Sparky to grow up soon and like the Disney fairies. Waaaay more tolerable than princesses, to me.
has he seen nacho libre?
it’s one of my favorites
my son is obsessed with wall-e
we watched it 3 times yesterday and once today alone (he’s been sick, and i’m sick today – that is a little excessive TV time i know!) i really love that movie. i’m afraid i’m getting a wee bit tired of it, seeing as it’s been on constantly. but the part where eve and wally are dancing in space makes me cry every time. and i love the peter gabriel song and the ending sequence.
The song is my favorite part!
Also my son has Wall-E sheets. I am very fannish, and therefore do not mind my kids being so. In fact I hope they will be, but that they will like things I also like.
Fairies
I’m trying so hard to push the Disney Fairies to push out the Princesses. So far it’s not working.
Have you read the Fairy books by
Gail Carson Levine? She is also the author of Ella Enchanted. Anyhow the first one “Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg” literally had me in tears. And the audio book rocked my world too. As good as Jim Dale and Harry Potter, definitely!
Well, I like a lot of kids’ stuff
I like most of the Noggin shows, although Dora and Wubbzy get on my nerves after a while. Kid Sparky is big into movies these days, and those are pretty good, although sometimes I worry we’ve gotten him in to stuff that’s too old already.
I think I like Wall-E as much as he does, and Bolt and Monsters vs. Aliens are alright, and I can live with Up. He’s kind of obsessed with fighting and killing and bad guys right now, and some of that may come from movies, but it’s not like we would have kept it away from him. DH plays World of Warcraft right in the living room, and most of the grown up movies involve fighting, so even if he only sees the cases…plus we do sword fighting as a hobby.
He’ll probably grow up to like music I hate, but that’s why god gave us headphones.
Also I want Baby Sparky to grow up soon and like the Disney fairies. Waaaay more tolerable than princesses, to me.
has he seen nacho libre?
it’s one of my favorites
my son is obsessed with wall-e
we watched it 3 times yesterday and once today alone (he’s been sick, and i’m sick today – that is a little excessive TV time i know!) i really love that movie. i’m afraid i’m getting a wee bit tired of it, seeing as it’s been on constantly. but the part where eve and wally are dancing in space makes me cry every time. and i love the peter gabriel song and the ending sequence.
The song is my favorite part!
Also my son has Wall-E sheets. I am very fannish, and therefore do not mind my kids being so. In fact I hope they will be, but that they will like things I also like.
Fairies
I’m trying so hard to push the Disney Fairies to push out the Princesses. So far it’s not working.
Have you read the Fairy books by
Gail Carson Levine? She is also the author of Ella Enchanted. Anyhow the first one “Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg” literally had me in tears. And the audio book rocked my world too. As good as Jim Dale and Harry Potter, definitely!
live shows
we drew the line at Sesame Street Live, and all of those live shows of kids’ stuff. No interest in going to those at all and certainly not for the price of taking four of us.
I love SpongeBob.
I love Spongebob too
Will gladly let her watch because I get a kick out of them as well. Plankton is my favorite!
Plankton
a.k.a. Dick Cheney.
His megalomania and lust for power
is hysterical… because it’s fictional, unlike Cheney’s.
ITA
Also because just when you think he’s about to take over the world he gets trod upon by some tiny creature.
Kind of like the Stonehenge in Spinal Tap.
I like spongebob too
Same here. There wasn’t a lot of viewing variety at this house, largely because the TV remains off except during their very limited viewing times. I can’t stand Elmo and I don’t care for the pacing of Sesame St, so my boys never watched it. We may be the only family where SpongeBob made the cut but Sesame Street did not.
live shows
we drew the line at Sesame Street Live, and all of those live shows of kids’ stuff. No interest in going to those at all and certainly not for the price of taking four of us.
I love SpongeBob.
I love Spongebob too
Will gladly let her watch because I get a kick out of them as well. Plankton is my favorite!
Plankton
a.k.a. Dick Cheney.
His megalomania and lust for power
is hysterical… because it’s fictional, unlike Cheney’s.
ITA
Also because just when you think he’s about to take over the world he gets trod upon by some tiny creature.
Kind of like the Stonehenge in Spinal Tap.
I like spongebob too
Same here. There wasn’t a lot of viewing variety at this house, largely because the TV remains off except during their very limited viewing times. I can’t stand Elmo and I don’t care for the pacing of Sesame St, so my boys never watched it. We may be the only family where SpongeBob made the cut but Sesame Street did not.
Baby shows.
Teletubbies. Night garden. Elmo and Zoe on Sesame Street. And Yo Gabba Gabba falls in there too (sorry). They all make me want to light myself on fire. Can. Not. Take. It.
Other than that, I’m okay with most kids’ stuff. I can put up with a lot of Disney and Dora nonsense. Luckily, the kids are more into David Attenborough, Bill Nye, and The Magic Schoolbus these days…I think the truly annoying show days may be behind us!
Yo Gabba Gabba is love or hate, methinks
DH hates it, thinks it’s creepy and way too trippy. I love it… couldn’t even tell you why, but I do
Yes, creepy.
And yelly. But now I’m feeling like I’ve never really watched it (because the beginning drove me so nuts). And I’d give it another chance…but I don’t want to risk the kids loving it.
Baby shows.
Teletubbies. Night garden. Elmo and Zoe on Sesame Street. And Yo Gabba Gabba falls in there too (sorry). They all make me want to light myself on fire. Can. Not. Take. It.
Other than that, I’m okay with most kids’ stuff. I can put up with a lot of Disney and Dora nonsense. Luckily, the kids are more into David Attenborough, Bill Nye, and The Magic Schoolbus these days…I think the truly annoying show days may be behind us!
Yo Gabba Gabba is love or hate, methinks
DH hates it, thinks it’s creepy and way too trippy. I love it… couldn’t even tell you why, but I do
Yes, creepy.
And yelly. But now I’m feeling like I’ve never really watched it (because the beginning drove me so nuts). And I’d give it another chance…but I don’t want to risk the kids loving it.
Not a thing I’ll say no to
really, she’s developing her own tastes, her own style, who am I to say no? She typically watches her shows on her own, and we’ve seen all the movies with her. She’s on a talking animals kick, and I can’t really stand the Snow buddies or (shudder) G-Force’s talking Hamsters. I will admit to digging Demi and Hannah’s silly songs, Selena Gomez is a horrendous singer but Lily is addicted to her rendition of “Magic” so we start most car rides with it.
What other parents choose to do is completely coolio with me- I just figure she’s going to come into this stuff on her own. I’m also going with the anti-my-mom thing because everything she wanted me to dislike I wound up trying to like anyway and I don’t feel like creating any resentments if I can avoid it.
I also try very hard not to FORCE her into some kid thing. She heard Hannah Montana at her friend’s 5th birthday party and has been addicted since, and she heard the silly magic song on the Disney channel. I don’t go out of my way to expose her to things but if she shows an interest, I’m fine with her exploring it.
Not a thing I’ll say no to
really, she’s developing her own tastes, her own style, who am I to say no? She typically watches her shows on her own, and we’ve seen all the movies with her. She’s on a talking animals kick, and I can’t really stand the Snow buddies or (shudder) G-Force’s talking Hamsters. I will admit to digging Demi and Hannah’s silly songs, Selena Gomez is a horrendous singer but Lily is addicted to her rendition of “Magic” so we start most car rides with it.
What other parents choose to do is completely coolio with me- I just figure she’s going to come into this stuff on her own. I’m also going with the anti-my-mom thing because everything she wanted me to dislike I wound up trying to like anyway and I don’t feel like creating any resentments if I can avoid it.
I also try very hard not to FORCE her into some kid thing. She heard Hannah Montana at her friend’s 5th birthday party and has been addicted since, and she heard the silly magic song on the Disney channel. I don’t go out of my way to expose her to things but if she shows an interest, I’m fine with her exploring it.
What I hate about Dora is…
…that the damn show barely includes Spanish anymore! I think there’s one Spanish word thrown in to keep the educational designation, and that’s it. Boo! Ni Hao, Kai Lan does A better job incorporating Chinese more consistently (even full sentences, which to my great she I have trouble figuring out!)
What I hate about Dora is…
…that the damn show barely includes Spanish anymore! I think there’s one Spanish word thrown in to keep the educational designation, and that’s it. Boo! Ni Hao, Kai Lan does A better job incorporating Chinese more consistently (even full sentences, which to my great she I have trouble figuring out!)