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My wife doesn't care for programming like The Wizards of Waverly Place or iCarly, shows which my 8 year old adores. Specifically, my wife sees the shows as nonsense with no redeeming qualities, and finds the scripts rife with anti-adult references and conceits (adults in general and parents in particular are often portrayed as bumbling idiots with no social grace or cultural sense). The children tend to use language, gestures and expressions consistent with more adult notions of self-assurance, self-confidence and self-reliance.
I don't particularly enjoy the shows, but they're watchable and, to me, not objectionable. I notice a marked improvement in my daughter's cognitive reasoning and language skills when she watches these shows as opposed to standard children's fare like Dora or Sesame Street. My wife complains that when she (the little girl) watches Little Bear, she's polite and sweet, but when she watches iCarly or Wizards, she's snippy and acts like a 12 year old.
Anyone else have any experience in this area? Suggestions or comments?
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Hard Call Andy. Playschool, Mr Squiggle, and Sesame Street were good enough when we were kids. Then We got to see Asian TV like Monkey, Astroboy, the Adventures of Bell and Sebastian, and Star Blazers in our later years. Watched Australian Drama in the Teen years and then were halfway through Blakes 7 when Someone turned over to Tom Selek and his Red Ferarri on Magnum PI.
Asterix and Savage Sword of Conan were the only comics we ever read.
We helped build the House we live in. We held up the I-beams while our dad welded/concreted them in place.
We Read Louis Lamour, and educational books.
I suppose the distinct difference is that you dont take the Kids fishing and camping every weekend and holiday so that they imprint on you and the Misus. I suggest that you get the Kids out of the House. Kids TV is off limits. Outdoor stuff, and talk to them using every day language in Adult Conversation.
Project one: Sun Dried Mud and Straw Bricks. Use them to build a Kiln.
Make Pottery, Chop wood and make charcoal. Fire your Pottery.
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...all kinds of good stuff...
Weekends are filled with all variety of activities. Outdoor events were easier in Alaska, year round, but are a bit more problematic here in Seoul. We do a lot of arts and crafts, games, etc.
The problem with tv happens during the week. I head in to work at 0600 and usually get home around 1800. We eat, finish up homeworks, and then the kids are all off to bed by 2030. That period between 1430 and the end of school, and when I get home is where tv land comes in to play.
I find it difficult to justify to my rather precoscious 8 year old reasons she shouldn't watch shows all her friends are watching; shows that aren't particularly objectionable, and especially when I notice intellectual benefit ( like improved vocabulary and reasoning skills).
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...all kinds of good stuff...
Weekends are filled with all variety of activities. Outdoor events were easier in Alaska, year round, but are a bit more problematic here in Seoul. We do a lot of arts and crafts, games, etc.
The problem with tv happens during the week. I head in to work at 0600 and usually get home around 1800. We eat, finish up homeworks, and then the kids are all off to bed by 2030. That period between 1430 and the end of school, and when I get home is where tv land comes in to play.
I find it difficult to justify to my rather precoscious 8 year old reasons she shouldn't watch shows all her friends are watching; shows that aren't particularly objectionable, and especially when I notice intellectual benefit ( like improved vocabulary and reasoning skills).
Still...its hard to break them of the addiction. I guess all you can do is make sure they are getting some educational benifit or appropriate messages from it (I recall some weird one with fat bloby aliens who jump up and down but they serve as mnemonic reminders for Fied Theory concepts - It freaks me out when they are subliminally teaching kids field theory).
You might want to get a cell phone handler called data pilot and have them write their own music on it, mix it with windows movie Maker and encourage them to make their own Animated films.
Here is the animated shortfilm I did. Wrote the music on Datapilot:
About all I can say is give them homework.
(lol) my five year old talks like a twelve year old after watching Icarly.....I was listening to her and said, "wwww....when did she make this vast cognitive leap in speech ability?" So much for the media not influencing people...
Then I watched the show.
Sam is MEAN!!!
And all the adults are mowrons. They're pandering to children the same way they pander to women in commercials when all the men are mowrons.
I look on the bright side; there's no sex and violence, no vulgarity, and she hates Hannah Montana. That must be good.
I just wish Sam wasn't such a juvenile delinquent, or b&e, assault and battery, and/or whatever else the little felonious blonde girl does wasn't "just so cute."
I guess there is violence, it's just a little girl so it's innocuous. I don't know if that's bad or not.
Yo Gabba Gabba is pretty good though.
Anyone else have any experience in this area? Suggestions or comments?
It is good she is learning adults are bumbling fools, because most of them are.
Another option is to get rid of the television completely.
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I suggest you let her watch Ninja Scroll. Jubei displays many qualities that I want MY son to learn, such as patience, honor, and strength, as well as efficiency of motion. I can only hope my boy will be able to kill three men and STILL catch the riceball. And that's another thing, Jubei also teaches you not to be wasteful.
EDIT: I have just been informed that this is a bad idea.
Better off starting them out on Christopher Plumber's Dracula.
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Andrew, I got to agree with your wife. We are very particular about what our kids watch as I find most of the "kids" shows to be pure tripe. Not all of it mind you. I always liked Little Bear and Blues Clues but kids do outgrow those to some extent (though I like Little Bear and I'm in my 30's. :)
Our solution has been as follows: Netflix and a Roku. Rather than letting the kids watch standard fare off the networks, we cull through the best of the last few decades. You can get an amazing array of good DVD material through Netflix and their on-demand selection keeps growing, from old comedies (my kids like Abbot and Costello) to older cartoons. We watched Gummi Bears last month and I had forgotten how enjoyable that show could be. The Dungeons and Dragons Cartoon last year was also well recieved. Some of the Anime can be pretty good for kids (Best Student Council, Angelic Layer, etc.) though some of it is hit and miss. Add to this shows like the original Addam's Family, Get Smart, Avatar (the cartoon series) and you can get a nice broad eclectic, entertaining mix and and the same time expose your child to a broad array of cultural goodness. Oh, and we also watch MST3K off of netflix, though I have found the Joe years are generally kid appropriate and the Mike years are not.
You do have to take the time to pick out selections you think are both age appropriate and not completely inane but it can be done. My children, I am happy to say, have never watched the Wizards of Waverly Place, Hannah Montanna or I-Carly. They also can converse intelligently about a wider array of cultural references than they would get from more common fare.
It is very hard for a parent to choose what programing your children should be watching. On the one had her vocabulary has increased. This is a good thing. Does that however include reading skills? When was the last time she read a book?
I find I have the same issues with my children, or rather did they are 14 and 11 now. We did let them watch some of those shows ourselves yet after seeing them for ourselves and coming to much the same conclusion as your wife. My wife and I limited what shows and just how much they do in fact watch of TV. Ours is on way too much and honestly right now it is my wife and I who spend most of the time watching TV. My issue now is simply limiting how much time my oldest reads. Well and cutting the attitude from my 11 year old, he still does not like to read.
TV, and no I am not trying to get you to TV tropes, has a lot of tropes. Even if you look in the older TV shows you will find the husband is a idiot in most of them and the wife is the one who is the lynchpin that holds the family together. The husband is just there for his paycheck.