What Your Kids Watch

Maybe you should suggest he watches Calliou with her--that ought to have him begging for ANYTHING else!

We don't watch:
- Sponge Bob
- Yo Gabba Gabba (it freaks me out)
- Max & Ruby (he loved it, but started talking in one-word utterances like Max)
- Dora (her voice is like nails on a chalkboard to me)

He likes and is allowed to watch:
- Bubble Guppies
- Backyardigans
- Disney movies

In general he doesn't watch much t.v. (3 ys old), but he does like to cuddle with us and watch about 20 minutes before we settle in for books and bedtime. We DVR the shows so we can pick-and-choose what he watches, not just rely on what's on at that time.

If it annoys me or my husband, we don't watch it. If there is no "learning" involved, we don't watch it- no matter how funny it is! Books can be funny too! We do a lot of puzzles and coloring when it's time to slow down or keep him occupied while I do something else.

Gee whiz I'm all for preschool shows being mostly educational but there's nothing wrong with pure entertainment.
My kids also watched mostly PBS and other educational/commercial free shows, but they also enjoyed silly cartoons and old Disney movies.
I myself enjoy documentaries and other educational programming, but I also love watching things that make me laugh. Why should our kids be any different?
As long as the programming is age appropriate I don't see why your husband's personal taste should come into play. Seems a little controlling to me :(

It should be about what your daughter enjoys watching - with you and her dad making sure the shows are "safe". If it's not harming her and she likes it, she should get to choose what she wants to watch, and not have her dad tell her it's trash. She may be only 3, but now is the time to let her explore and develop her own preferences.

Why do you two need to be so contentious about it? He wants to take away a show your daughter likes, so you're going to take away a Different show she likes, too? Think of your daughter and your marriage. Why are you battling about this?
Spongebob is actually a very smart show.

AS a mom of teens I ahve to say I had the best of intentions when my first child was young. She watched very little TV - and when she did it was on PBS, it was only educational fun stuff (old shows like Big Comfy couch, Blues Clues, Barney and Dora (which was jsut coming out). i personally ahted Barney - but she loved watchign the children and singing the songs. She even danced the same dances.

Then my son was born and I had two kids to keep happy while I tried to run the vacuum or clean the bathroom. My son was a maniac fromt he beginning - a wall-climber (really - not kidding) and a jumper - he was always on the precipice of danger. He hated BArney but loved Blues Clues and the both loved Rugrats. I was not crazy about some of the shows - but when they got to pre-school and eventually public school they were introduced to all kinds of stuff that we weren't crazy about (fruit loops for one!). They came home with the dopes expressions from spongebob...

You get to the point where you ahve to pick your battles - and you decide that some shows are OK although not your first choice - and that you'd rather do battle over the foods they eat and the friends they play with - and you let in some of the TV shows that are not preferred but not bad.

Good luck mamas! The decisions do not get easier with time - this is all the stuff to prepare you for the bigger stuff. I'm determined that our job is to outlast them - each day til bedtime and through their life. Take your vitamins!

Spongebob must be a dad thing.

I can honestly say I can see how your husband does not like Yo Gabba Gabba. I watched an episode once, and refuse to do so again. However, that being said I completely have to agree its got to be more educational than Spongebob.

In our house we watch a lot of My little Pony and Strawberry Shortcake. My husband just loves it. ;) All the episodes do have a good lesson to be learned though (mostly about friendships and getting along), so I don't mind them.

I would tell your husband, the things you have stated in your post about her learning and then ask what she learns from Spongebob. If he can name some great, then you can say good they both are educational, if not, then you have proved your point. :)

We dont have cable, my kids watch about an hour and a half of t.v. a day....My oldest likes "according to jim" and "family guy" (yes i know bring on the torches) My youngest likes "dinosaur train" and "calliou"....but they peep other things i am watching

on the upside.....he sounds like a very involved daddy and that's a good thing.

my kids are old school. they watch scooby doo with thier dad. They also like Mystery Hunters and Truth or Scare type shows. Lots of Nova and Planet Earth, and right now we have the Justin Beiber movie and Michael Jacksons This is It competing for screen time. The only thing they like that we dont watch with them is the occasional episodes of Zach and Cody and Zeke and Luther.

IMO I do not like sponge bob, too much name calling....I do like Gabba Gabba, imagination movers, Bubble Guppies, Dino Dan..and some others that I cant remember right now ;-)

My husband and I disagree on some of the other ones for our 6 yr old...Good luck Charlie is cute, for adults, but not app for 6 yr olds. I also dont like Wizards of Waverly, ANTS, and those on that channel, I think is Disney..Nick Jr is mostly ok.

PBS also has some great choices as mommycakes pointed out. Both my 3 and 6 yr old likes those as well.

Hi there,

My son is three and he does not watch sponge bob. I think that show is trash and inappropriate for children. Maybe you remember Ren and Stimpy on Nickolodeon? We were not allowed to watch that show as kids. but I knew my Aunt and her friends would watch it. They were 30 something. Just because the show is on a kids channel doesn't mean it is for kids.

My kids watch things we like or liked. I do not turn on regular television (I can't figure out the converter and don't want to) so we watch episodes on DVD of Garfield and Friends, Transformers (from the 80s), GI Joe, He-Man, old Sesame Street and Muppets movies, etc. They also like Danger Mouse, Godzilla (yes, the old movies), and Disney movies, as well as ocean documentaries like Deep Sea and Under the Sea. I hate most current cartoons and if I think they are stupid I don't want them on. I'm (perhaps poor judgement on my part, but whatever) not going to let my kids watch something I can't stand, and I have no problem with cartoons for entertainment value. "Fun" shows teach them right and wrong, good and bad, about friendship, loyalty, teamwork, etc. I've never watched SpongeBob (looks disturbing), so I can't answer if there's anything redeeming about it or not. Sorry. :(

I alloed my daughter to watch what SHE liked, and to hell with what her dad or anyone else thought about it. Some of it was educational, some not.

Never did Sponge Bob ... but have you tried Little Bear?? Such a sweet, sweet show and one of our favorites. I miss that little show!

I think both shows are creepy and annoying. and we don't put them on at our house for either our 3 or 7 year old. We watch PBS kids shows like Sesame Street, Word World, and Curious George, Dora/Diego, Wiggles Music DVDs, and some on demand shows like Berenstein Bears and Frances. My 7 year old watchs feature kids movies and some older kid cartoons, and recently started watching some old tv shows like Little House on the Prarie and Bewitched.

I actually really try to keep certain shows away from my kids.
Mostly they only watch PBS, or movies from time to time.
My son LOVES dinosaur train, Super why, Clifford etc
I really try to keep to the shows that actually have substance instead of LOUD NOISES & COLORS~!!! lol

Gabba may be obnoxious, but it is not trash...even I have very little patience for it, but my 4 yr old loves it and it does at least have good points ( educational)
I am not a huge Sponge Bob fan and it is not educational at all, my older daughter thinks it is hilarious so yes, my 4 yr old has seen it as well. I would say a compromise is in order...just don't make dad watch Gabba = )

My son LOVES Scooby Doo, which makes me so happy because I remember many of the episodes from when I was a kid. He'll watch Phineus and Ferb sometimes; and he LOVES Little Einsteins. We watch an episode or two every night.

I can't stand Sponge Bob. :)

We like:
Dora, Diego, Angelina Ballerina, Shaun the Sheep, Yo Gabba Gabba, Super Why?, Backyardigans, Veggie Tales, Blues Clues, Kipper, Little Bear, Handy Manny

We don't like:
Caillou, Barney, Wonder Pets, SpongeBob, Rugrats

Jury is out on:
Imagination Movers, The Wiggles, Bob the Builder, Dinosaur Train

i think I'm more lax, my daughters been watching anything pg and under since 3. Her grandparents let her watch jurrasic park this year at 4, and she loved it, and loves watching documentaries on war and history with her grandpop....she also has neer had nightmares and always been intersted in these things

We LOVE Yo Gabba Gabba. It is SO fun and the music and songs are such a refreshing change to the regular stuff on kids shows. We only have netflix, and they may only watch one show or movie a week...

The shows they watch? (and thanks to Netflix...) we watch Sesame Street, Fat Albert, Fraggle Rock, Popeye, Yo Gabba Gabba, Kipper, and SOMETIMES Spongebob- BUT those "butt jokes" on there are so darn obnoxious, and some of the stuff on there is gross and rude... I pick and choose what episodes of spongebob they can watch, cause not every episode is bad.