Thursday, September 25, 2008

What Are 5-Year-Olds Watching?

I have no idea. I know what my 5 year old is watching, and I know we are very careful about we let him watch. Careful in terms of vetting new shows first, and sitting with the kid(s) through the first couple of episodes. Careful in terms of content he isn't ready for, and understanding that some content will be over his head regardless. And if he actually picks up on it, we'll talk about it.

Here is the list:
-Sid the Science Kid (PBS) - this show is great and my son is learning a ton from it.
-Cyberchase (PBS)
-WordGirl (PBS) - a spelling superhero - no issues here
-Ben 10 / Ben 10: Alien Force (Cartoon) - as far as 'violent' cartoons go, this one registers as low impact. They reinforce teamwork which is nice.
-Transformers (Cartoon) - Again, the violence is against machines and the lessons are about teamwork and the environment
-SpongeBob (Nick) - I hate this show, I hate that they use the word 'stupid' all the time, but we've talked about it and other than that this show is just kind of funny.
-Batman / SpiderMan (KidsWB) - these superhero cartoons are geared toward the younger set.
-Spiderman and His Amazing Friends (JETIX) - remember this one from Saturday morning? Yep, same one. Too awesome for words. The boy loves it, and its straight early 80's cheese.
-Barn Yard (Nick) - this is one of those shows that is great for parents too -- the jokes are way over the kids heads, but my kids laugh out loud more at this show than any other.
-Drake and Josh (Nick) - this is an example of how you cannot control every aspect of your kids life. They will have playdates and they will come home having seen something new that is probably not age appropriate, but they beg, and you recant a little. Its actually not so bad, a little slap-sticky, kind of silly, and only one time did I see someone kiss a transvestite.
Yeah, I know. Really?
Anyway, this is the list, give-or-take, that you will find in our DVR at any given time. Oh, we also don't watch them all at once in a row. Stop judging me.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Gross.

EdHoffman (Twitter handle: eahoffma) said...

'Gross' says the man whose son one day will come home from school screaming 'Dad, THERE ARE MORE THAN 9 CHANNELS -- DID YOU KNOW THAT? HUH HUH DID YA?"

Anonymous said...

My 2 year old knows how to say spongebob, not "yes" or "please", but spongebob.

I also agree with your analysis, SBSP (that's right I acronymed it) can teach some bad things like stupid and moron, but secretly I find the show funny.

PhaniJ said...

what about wonder pets. I love the song.