Children's TV

Ok, so our parenting skills have gotten an assist lately. Relia has started to notice the TV and we've been using it as a pacifier. She hasn't been feeling well (we think, communication is sometimes iffy) or at least she's been much fussier the past few days. The alternative seems to be letting her yell and yell without any idea of what she wants. This serves as a distraction if nothing else.
And you know what? I'm already tired of this gentle world where every child shares and picks up after themselves. Do these plaster saints convince any kids at all? I'm very curious on this point. It seems like kid TV took a turn for the puffy sometime in the mid-80's or so. I'd love to talk to some school teachers that started teaching before then. Are kids more likely to share now? Or play gently?
I've got my doubts. My guess is that even very young kids are cynical enough to discount the behavior as 'just something adults want us to believe'. Or maybe as likely, they don't look to these shows for moral lessons. I certainly didn't look to Bugs Bunny for them.
Not to put too much emphasis on this. At this age, she just likes the active music and the fun colors. Frankly, her name is Relia. And she likes to dance!

Comments

Alfred T. Mahan said…
Sesame Street has been wussified for years now, and I'm not even talking about that fuzzy red THING whose name I will not utter.

Who Mourns For Cookie Monster?
7:57 PM
Peder said…
Yeah, and Cookie Monster is a great illustration of this. I don't think any kids really became gluttons because of him. But as soon as 'caring adults' worried too much about it and bowlderdized him, it gave kids reason to think that adults weren't being honest with them.
7:57 AM
Alfred T. Mahan said…
Another thing! Remember the "Song Of (insert number)"? The one where the baker has a tray full of goodies and says "Six banana cream pies!" (or whatever), and then promptly falls down the stairs?

I am not kidding; the head of Children's Television decided to take those off Seasme Street after Jim Henson died because she felt they were too slapsticky and (wait for the foghorn) "inappropriate". So, because she never liked them, one of the best bits dealing with counting disappeared.

It's never been the same after Henson died, IMVHO.
4:29 PM
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