Dads: what cartoons does your 4-7 year old watch?

[nostatic]

Originally Posted by kstarnes

I would add that, IMO, a large amount (most?) of the negative stuff kids pick-up comes from parents, not cartoons or TV shows. An overheard curse word, an angry reaction, an emotional phone call, an unreasonable position or countless other things that "us" parents may do, unaware that our kids are soaking up every nuance and detail.

Best,

Kurt

yeah, kid says "*****" and parent blames cartoons.

We're back to personal responsibility...

[the]

They will come to realize that kids (at least that kids that have even a minimal amount of actual parenting) do not model their behavior after cartoons. Like I said before, just like we grew up watching Looney Tunes, but didn't go dropping anvils on peoples heads or hitting them with baseball bats.

They don't know that yet because they haven't raised kids past the age of 5 years old yet. They will give their kids more credit once they've raised them more and found out, then they won't sweat the silly things like this.

[Nathans_Dad]

Wow, I have seen the light. I am just a dumbass newbie parent who has no f*cking clue what I am doing. I should let my kids watch whatever they want, whenever they want to, because they won't absorb any of it anyways...

Thanks!

[the]

You're a good parent, a relative newbie, who is doing the best he can (and doing a fine job, I'm certain).

You will change, as a parent, as your kids get older and you have more experiences. Just like all of us.

Of course, as a relative newbie parent (you are somewhat like a teenager, parentwise, not a brand new newbie, but not experienced, either), you don't believe any of that.

That's why you are so certain that your techniques, viewpoints and attitudes as a parent will not change at all in the next 2, 5, 10 or 15 years. You've got it all right, right now. That's why you can so confidently predict what your view on your kids watching cartoons will be half a decade from now.

[nostatic]

Originally Posted by Nathans_Dad

Wow, I have seen the light. I am just a dumbass newbie parent who has no f*cking clue what I am doing. I should let my kids watch whatever they want, whenever they want to, because they won't absorb any of it anyways...

Thanks!

well, I think this kind of illustrates the issue - life isn't black and white. There is some ground in between "super parent" and "no f*cking clue", doncha think?

I certainly wasn't questioning your parenting. I did agree however that "no spongebob" rule seemed to be a bit extreme and kind of oddly singled out. And I was curious as to why that cartoon in particular was in the "ban" pile.

I find that once I figure out parenting, the damn kid gets older and everything changes. Totally unfair. At least you have multiple kids so you can apply what you learned on the older one towards the younger ones. I only have one shot (and am not asking for a second shot, thank you).

I limit my son's "screen time." He has migrated more towards gaming on the computer as opposed to cartoons. I monitor what he's doing (at age 11) and will continue to do so. He actually ended up watching some Simpsons at a younger age, and loves Futurama. But he's not a typical kid either...mom and dad are both...um...different.

I don't see that he has been adversely affected. He is a unique individual, and will always be a bit of a handful. But I don't see homicidal tendencies in him due to his viewing or gaming habits. He is incredible with his animals and a sweet kid. But don't cross him in Gary's Mod...

[Nathans_Dad]

Thanks Nostatic, but I wasn't referring to you...

And I'm not singling out Sponge Bob, that is only one of the shows my kids aren't allowed to watch. They also cannot watch any of the cartoons aimed at older kids (Superman, Batman, etc) without an adult present. I think my son has seen one or two episodes of Superman. They don't get to watch Harry Potter movies and didn't get to watch the recent Transformers movie (my son did ask to see that, we previewed it and decided there was too much violence).

Pretty much unless it is on Playhouse Disney, Noggin or PBS they don't watch it. And it isn't that they ask to watch something and we say no, we just choose to not offer it as an option.

If controlling what my kids are exposed to on TV makes me an extreme, loony, newbie, over protective parent then fine. I'd rather be that than the reverse...

[berettafan]

nostatic the '*****' comment came from me. as soon as it came out of his mouth i knew exactly when he picked it up from me. he even used the same tone/inflection that i had.

he also uses 'aw pickles'. i much prefer that

tossing SB in the 'no watch' bin is, to me, a no brainer. i'll say again there is no good reason to allow a 3yr old to watch it.

i do see the truth in your comments about changing attitudes as your kids get older. mine have changed considerably on some issues. and not just the 'when i'm a parent my kid won't...' kinda stuff that dumba$$ college couples say. i've experienced it already and no doubt will experience it again. RIGHT NOW i don't see my attitude on SB changing. Fair enough?

[the]

Originally Posted by berettafan

i'll say again there is no good reason to allow a 3yr old to watch it.

. . . RIGHT NOW i don't see my attitude on SB changing. Fair enough?

Yeah, a three year old, there's really no good reason to put it on in front of him (pretty much like any TV). You don't really "allow" a three year old to watch a show - I'm going to assume he's not changing channels himself, or asking to watch it.

But as he gets older, the angle you take will likely be different. Right now, because you have to make ALL of his decisions for him, you tend to think "is there any good reason why I should do it?" As you and he get older, and he starts to make decisions and requests by himself, the approach will be different. More like "He's asking, is there any really good reason why I should DENY it?"

We're probably actually on the same page with this. I agree it's designed for slightly older than 3. But I assume that your not saying the the purported violence and profanity of SB makes it bad for kids of any age. Or that you envision your kid at 8 wanting to watch it (because all his friends are), and you will block it so that he's the only kid at school whose mommy and daddy won't let him watch Spongebob. On the other hand, if you have actually seen SB, and you think that THAT is the kind of material that say, a 7 or 8 or 9 year old, needs to be protected from, then yeah, we disagree.

Finally, of course RIGHT NOW you don't see your attitude changing. That is pretty much definitionally impossible. If you could see your attitude changing, it has in fact already changed.

[berettafan]

Soooo much difference between an 8yr old and a 3yr old; no wonder this has been a tricky thread.

Yup, i think we are all on roughly the same page.

[nostatic]

Originally Posted by berettafan

nostatic the '*****' comment came from me. as soon as it came out of his mouth i knew exactly when he picked it up from me. he even used the same tone/inflection that i had.

sounds like dad needs to be in the "no watch" bin

it's all good...

[onewhippedpuppy]

My son has seen every Harry Potter movie, and loved Transformers. Quick, somebody call SRS!!!!

[aigel]

Originally Posted by Shaun 84 Targa

Thanks guys, really appreciate your input.

Anyone else have some thoughts on whether links in the books are a good idea or just an odd distraction?

The kids probably enjoy this. Not sure about the parent. Me personally, I would prefer a book without web links. Once the kid sees the links, it will want to go online and start to bug you. I like to be in control of what's being done for entertainment - especially in the evenings, which is prime reading time for dads.

George

[Nathans_Dad]

I think I have said multiple times that my issue with SB is that I don't think the show is right for my 5 year old to watch, however he likely would be able to watch it as he got older...

It's only common sense that as the child gets older the leash on what you do and don't let them watch gets longer. That has nothing to do with you getting more experience and more lenient as a parent, it has to do with the maturity of the kid.

But what the hell do I know, I'm just a newbie parent...

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Originally Posted by aigel

The kids probably enjoy this. Not sure about the parent. Me personally, I would prefer a book without web links. Once the kid sees the links, it will want to go online and start to bug you. I like to be in control of what's being done for entertainment - especially in the evenings, which is prime reading time for dads.

George

Thanks George, that's good to know.