My daughter recently turned four and has shown a BIG interest into Disney channel shows/pop stars. She LOVES Playhouse Disney and Dora but also likes Hannah Montana, High School Musical, Suite Life of Zach and Cody and Etc. My husband and I would much rather let her watch/listen to anything Disney channel rather than cartoon Network or even some shows on Nickoloden. I just don't want her to grow up too fast. Have we let her get into this phase to early? Is this age appropriate? Should we be worried about what she is learning from them? Am I just a worry wort???
Thank you all for your responses to my request. I appreciate your thoughts and opinions on this issue. We have decided this seems like a pretty normal phase and to just be cautious of whats going on in these shows. She is also aware of what is and isn't acceptable in our home. And if she doesn't abide by that, her shows will QUICKLY come to an end! Thanks Again!!!
I don't plan on letting my children watch some of those shows. It just leads to them wanting to dress, act and behave the same way, and I'm shocked at how grown up some of those themes and apparel are int some of those shows.
We have a 5 yr old in our house, and we've been living and breathing high school musical all summer. It may seem early, but sounds normal to me, and like you said, much better that some of the junk on cartoon network or nickelodeon.
I have a 6 year old, and she lives and breathes the Disney channel and has been like this since she was 4. I was worried also but I think it has helped her understand alot of things in her own way. High School Musical 2 was a big hit this past Friday! ( she has the backpack,folders and lunch bag....)
You shouldn't worry about alot of the shows have great lessons and if you be up front with your child they will understand things alot better..My opinion! I mean she even has my 2 boys watching Zack and cody and the love it. So dont worry about it....Just watch some shows with her-its better than the cartoon network..LOL
My 5 yr. old daughter found Boomerang channel. I had to block the channel & can't believe I grew up on those cartoons! In our house we do not say words like, stupid or idiot & the boomerang cartoons live on those words. I believe my girls need to be kids now & not grow up so fast. So I limit what they watch on TV. I even wait until 8pm (after they go to bed) to watch my shows. They are 3 & 5 year olds & they don't need to be acting like 15 yr olds.
My daughter started getting into the disney channel shows when she was 6 & 7 so I'd personally say that 4 may be too young. The characters on those shows can be pretty "sassy" so that's something the kids can definitely pick up on when dealing with others if you're not careful. Also, other than learning about dealing with relationships with friends, teachers, classmates and parents, there's no real educational value that I can gather from watching them. I would personally say stick with nick jr, noggin, kera kids and young kid videos until they are at least 6 but that's my personal opinion. I certainly wouldn't say that she would be scarred for life from watching the Disney Channel. But a 4 year old is a long way off from a 6 & 7 year old emotionally and some of those shows deal with conflict in a more grown up way than a 4 year old might understand. I personally wish I had been more strict and not let my daughter get so tied up in some of those shows. She not only watches the programs, she wants to read the books, wear the clothes, go to the "concerts", blah blah blah. I tell you, those shows are a racket! :-)
My daughter just turned 5 this past weekend and she LOVES High School Musical. She also enjoys watching Hannah Montana & the Suite life too. She also still enjoys the Little Einsteins & Backyardigans too, so I don't get too concerned that she's growing up too fast. I try to watch the shows with her and if she doesn't understand something, she asks. She also know what words & attitudes are & are not acceptable in our house, so if she does pick something up from those shows, she knows the consequences and that I will quickly put an end to it.
My daughters are 12 but I also have a 4 year old son. He sometimes watches those shows with his older sisters. Personally, I don't have a problem with those shows but I think it is up to you & her father if you find anything in those shows disturbing or something you don't want her watching. If you see signs that it is affecting your daughter's behaviors, then definetely revisit the issue.
When one of my daughters was 4, she was totally OBSESSED with The Monkees & The Partridge Family. LOL!!!!!!!! This child was born in 1995. Her grandpa had her watch The Monkees with him one day & then she was obsessed for years. LOL! It seemed awful strange that my 4 yr old was crushing on Davy Jones. We took her to his concert & she even met him in person on a news set, she kinda got over the crush when she realized he is her grandpa's age, I guess. lol She turned out just fine. Really. : )
Turn off the television. Tell her to go play. It's as simple as that. She's FOUR. My seven year old isn't allowed to watch most of the shows you just mentioned. Yes, I think you're exposing her to advanced content before she's ready. My girls like to watch Noggin - there are some great shows on there and I've never objected to anything Little Bear has to say. Good luck; I know it's hard sometimes to be objective on these things. Trust me - there's plenty of time for all of this when you actually need it. If she sees all this now, by the time it's age appropriate she'll be so savvy she'll be ready for full teeny-bopper mode. I think all would agree noone wants that transition happening early!
A.
We are doing the same thing at our house, my 5 year old daughter loves all those shows too, I have a 9 year old son and he loves them and that's how she got on them. But, like one lady said, she still loves Backyardigans, Max & Ruby, Dora, so I am just kind of "chillin out" about it, that is until she starts getting too big for her britches :)
It's good to know we're all dealing with the same things and helping each other out!! Good luck!
I agree - I think age 4 is a little young for Hannah Montana and High School Musical. My 7 yr old daughter saw them once at a friends house, and is always telling me how much she LOVES both of them, but we don't watch them in our house. Luckily, we don't have cable so we can't even get them in our house. We don't watch much t.v. My daugther still enjoys NICK Jr. videos- Dora, Little Einsteins, etc. Take a stand and keep your daughter young while you can.
