I saw an episode of Doodlebops and holy shit wtf I don't even. I don't have a child but goddam if I did she wouldn't be watching this. Why is this sick stuff legal?
― Ed Love (rip van wanko), Friday, 13 January 2012 20:21 (twelve years ago) link
and don't get me started on Dora the Explorer, good Lord!
― Ed Love (rip van wanko), Friday, 13 January 2012 20:24 (twelve years ago) link
I like the Backyardigans.
― It means why you gotta be a montague? (Laurel), Friday, 13 January 2012 20:30 (twelve years ago) link
Peppa Pig is quite often the best thing on telly.
― nate woolls, Friday, 13 January 2012 20:30 (twelve years ago) link
can't stand kids' shows like waybuloo where the characters talk in gibberish. kids are supposed to be learning how to TALK, not how to go "FEEEEmooooo eeeewennn!" - they can do that already quite nicely thanks#
waybuloo also promotes a distinctly pro crystal vibes mystical bullshit ethos imo
― TracerHandVEVO (Tracer Hand), Monday, 16 January 2012 15:44 (twelve years ago) link
The show features four whimsical characters called Piplings who live in Nara and play with real children, referred to as ‘cheebies’. It encourages children to get interested in exercise by showing them a simple version of yoga.
i mean
― TracerHandVEVO (Tracer Hand), Monday, 16 January 2012 15:45 (twelve years ago) link
kids programmes are for kids tbh
― little blue souvenir (Noodle Vague), Monday, 16 January 2012 15:48 (twelve years ago) link
http://www.popartuk.com/g/l/lgPP32337.jpg
― Derartu Cthulhu (NickB), Monday, 16 January 2012 15:51 (twelve years ago) link
the Wiggles/Doodlebops continuum is just abominable
my kid primarily watches two shows: Yo Gabba Gabba and Sesame Street. She's seen Thomas the Train on occasion, and a bunch of episodes of the old Muppet Show.
― “How you like that, Mr. Hitler!” (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 17 January 2012 20:48 (twelve years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3Wf9vixP80
― It means why you gotta be a montague? (Laurel), Tuesday, 17 January 2012 21:05 (twelve years ago) link
NO, wait! This one!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fS2hhVHFJrw
― It means why you gotta be a montague? (Laurel), Tuesday, 17 January 2012 21:12 (twelve years ago) link
Horns and dance moves!!
― It means why you gotta be a montague? (Laurel), Tuesday, 17 January 2012 21:16 (twelve years ago) link
Really like Backyardigans. Music director is John Lurie's brother! Also, great dancing, fun stories, low pandering factor.
― like working at a jewelry store and not knowing about bracelets (Dr. Superman), Wednesday, 18 January 2012 04:44 (twelve years ago) link
I'd never seen Thomas until recently, but from what I've picked up, each episode seems to be about how one of the trains acts like a total asshole?
Saw an episode of Lazytown a few weeks ago. That was weird. Not certain if I like it.
Spongebob obviously supposed to skew a little older, but more than half the time, I want to set my TV on fire after watching it.
My favorite thing on earth right now is Chica on the Sunny-Side Up Show. I was home sick for a week with my daughter recently and she got so happy about that little chicken puppet. It brings tears to my eyes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mz1i4exvVMA
― beachville, Wednesday, 18 January 2012 14:27 (twelve years ago) link
My son was into Doodlebops briefly when he was a lot younger. I don't impose my tastes on the kids, because they can attach so much personal significance to the stuff they like. You know, they're like "Doodlebops are awesome! I want to be a Doodlebop!" And you can't be all like "No son, Doodlebops are LAME." I was really glad when he moved on to something else, though.
― beachville, Wednesday, 18 January 2012 14:32 (twelve years ago) link
Fresh Beat Band is more tolerable.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8RYs2iEgvg
― beachville, Wednesday, 18 January 2012 14:35 (twelve years ago) link
I don't impose my tastes on the kids
how old is your kid...?
― “How you like that, Mr. Hitler!” (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 18 January 2012 17:46 (twelve years ago) link
cuz I mean before a certain age they're incapable of making media choices on their own
― “How you like that, Mr. Hitler!” (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 18 January 2012 17:47 (twelve years ago) link
Well, on the older one. He's almost 8. I've been his parent since he was 4. I've never asked him to turn something off for the sole reason that I didn't like it. There would have to be some kind of content issue, and there usually isn't.
― beachville, Wednesday, 18 January 2012 19:07 (twelve years ago) link
ah okay that makes sense. Yeah once my daughter can figure out how to turn on the TV and play music on the stereo by herself I expect to limit my role to one of establishing ground rules for how much she can watch and monitoring questionable/adult content. But at this point (she's 4) she pretty much is only exposed to the music and the TV shows that I choose for her, so I'm always surprised when people complain about the tastes of toddlers or whatever - like, if you're annoyed that they love a particular Disney song so much, maybe you shouldn't have taken them to the movie etc.
― “How you like that, Mr. Hitler!” (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 18 January 2012 20:00 (twelve years ago) link
they learn it from their friends, child minders, etc. it's sick. my three year old is intimately acquainted with the entire cast of peppa pig despite us having never played it to him, ever.
― TracerHandVEVO (Tracer Hand), Wednesday, 18 January 2012 20:12 (twelve years ago) link
Johnny Test is so awful. I didn't even realize it until tonight when I was consciously trying to decide how much I really liked my son's tv shows. It dawned on me: every time this show comes on, I completely tune out or wander off to do the dishes or something.
It may be the noisiest show I've ever heard. It's completely reliant on repetitive soundtrack motifs the way that shitty sitcoms were completely reliant on laughtracks to let you know when the jokes happened. It's just wall-to-wall clanging.
― beachville, Thursday, 19 January 2012 01:09 (twelve years ago) link
haha, otm. that is one of the few shows we make the kids turn off.
― buzza, Thursday, 19 January 2012 01:43 (twelve years ago) link
I saw Harvey Feierstein on Sesame Street the other day. Everything was coming up noses.
― Full Frontal Newtity (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 25 January 2012 20:32 (twelve years ago) link
guys so i'm guessing your kids are pretty young you should watch yo gabba gabba while it's still not weird. it's the best show!
― hhhhhh Bill I juste like ertronic thinges (NZA), Thursday, 26 January 2012 23:56 (twelve years ago) link
my kid is almost 13 now and he likes icarly.
― hhhhhh Bill I juste like ertronic thinges (NZA), Thursday, 26 January 2012 23:57 (twelve years ago) link
I heard pre-K kids talking about Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez. For the first time, I was all "those two better not fuck up like Brittany and Miley."
― pplains, Friday, 27 January 2012 00:37 (twelve years ago) link
Add Lego Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitsu to this list, please.
― beachville, Thursday, 8 March 2012 01:20 (twelve years ago) link
Annoying Orange ftw
― the same dope water as you (how's life), Tuesday, 21 August 2012 22:23 (eleven years ago) link
Will the children of the future remember Annoying Orange with the same fondness that we remember Bugs Bunny or whatever?
― sorcery is in the gutter (how's life), Wednesday, 17 October 2012 12:21 (eleven years ago) link
"my kid is almost 13 now and he likes icarly.
― hhhhhh Bill I juste like ertronic thinges (NZA), Thursday, January 26, 2012 5:57 PM (8 months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink"
hell, I like iCarly
― BLOCKY 4 LYFE (sunny successor), Friday, 19 October 2012 14:40 (eleven years ago) link
My fav shows beats watches are fairly oddparents, danny phantom and spiderman and his amazing friends (the series with firestar and iceman). Henry is strictly yo gabba. Before gabba he just wasn't interested in tv. what a weirdo.
― BLOCKY 4 LYFE (sunny successor), Friday, 19 October 2012 14:44 (eleven years ago) link
my toddler's super into Twisted Whiskers. It's a whole TV series designed, I guess, to promote a line of greeting cards from American Greetings? Well, here"
)Twisted Whiskers is a childrens series developed in 2010 for entertainment and American Greeting has used some information for greeting cardsTwisted Whiskers is a design for greeting cards developed and licensed by American Greetings and created by Terrill Bohlar since 2001. It includes digitally modified photos of animals, creating a caricature. The series includes greeting cards, gift items, wrapping paper, notepads and holiday items. Animated e-cards and instant messenger products have been produced as well. In 2011, American Greetings relaunched the line with the release of greeting cards featuring lenticular designs, showing a pet turning into a trademark character of the Twisted Whiskers line.
Twisted Whiskers is a childrens series developed in 2010 for entertainment and American Greeting has used some information for greeting cardsTwisted Whiskers is a design for greeting cards developed and licensed by American Greetings and created by Terrill Bohlar since 2001. It includes digitally modified photos of animals, creating a caricature. The series includes greeting cards, gift items, wrapping paper, notepads and holiday items. Animated e-cards and instant messenger products have been produced as well. In 2011, American Greetings relaunched the line with the release of greeting cards featuring lenticular designs, showing a pet turning into a trademark character of the Twisted Whiskers line.
Oh, here's one:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4IGomyth9U&feature=c4-overview&list=UUWTogLTWpjItvnLSKJJUtLA
― how's life, Wednesday, 19 June 2013 23:21 (ten years ago) link
There's a fuckton of it on Netflix.
― how's life, Wednesday, 19 June 2013 23:22 (ten years ago) link
Beatrice loves twisted whiskers too. I was amazed they made a series based off of greeting cards. I mean they must be selling a shit ton of those cards to make a tv show cost prohibitive.
We dont watch "TV" much anymore. Its all Netflix. Henry is mad into Oscars Oasis and Pingu. To us these are interesting choices as they have no real dialogue and Henry has delayed speech development. The weird thing about that being he can understand everything he hears but cant say much back too clearly.
― educate yourself to this reality (sunny successor), Thursday, 20 June 2013 14:03 (ten years ago) link
fuckton shit ton. what charming parents we are.
― educate yourself to this reality (sunny successor), Thursday, 20 June 2013 14:06 (ten years ago) link
Been having total bummer-thoughts about animal cartoons with mixed-species casts and poorly-matched life expectancies. Take Wonder Pets for example. You have a guinea pig (life expectancy 4-5 years), a duck (life expectancy 10-20 years*), and a turtle (life expectancy decades). Realize this is not the programs fault and is really more indicative of my own mental state. Not exclusive to the Wonder Pets, obvs. Could easily transpose to Looney Tunes or whatever. Had to share this with someone though and I'm just adding to my list of things I'm sure as hell not gonna bring up in front of the kids.
*Presuming with the name Ming Ming that she is a Mandarin Duck.
― set the trolls for the heart of the sun (how's life), Monday, 3 March 2014 12:18 (ten years ago) link
Beatrice loves twisted whiskers too. I was amazed they made a series based off of greeting cards. I mean they must be selling a shit ton of those cards to make a tv show cost prohibitive.― educate yourself to this reality (sunny successor), Thursday, June 20, 2013 10:03 AM (three years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
― educate yourself to this reality (sunny successor), Thursday, June 20, 2013 10:03 AM (three years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
Just learned recently that American Greetings was also responsible for Care Bears, Strawberry Shortcake, and (my favorite when I was 4) The Get Along Gang.
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Get-Along_Gang_cartoon_group.jpg
Anyway, lately my youngest has been into H20: Mermaid Adventures on Netflix, a cartoon reboot of an Australian live-action show. It's corny as hell but I'm actually enjoying it and try to subtly hint for it instead of another round of Octonauts or whatever.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNa_fMQO8R4
― how's life, Friday, 2 December 2016 17:17 (seven years ago) link
i would take the shittiest cheapest narrative cartoon over the youtube videos my kids now watch of people just opening and describing toys
― na (NA), Friday, 2 December 2016 17:51 (seven years ago) link
I want to find the guy who came up with this series, lock him up in a room somewhere....
http://i.imgur.com/FnrbFzU.png
― pplains, Saturday, 3 December 2016 02:50 (seven years ago) link
hate shimmer & shine, littlest pet shop, the new strawberry shortcake, shopkins, mlp: equestria girls, paw patrol, lalaloopsy, lalaloopsy, i really cannot state enough how much i hate lalaloopsy, bubble guppies, mickey's clubhouse
all of these shows my children love
― Mordy, Saturday, 3 December 2016 03:03 (seven years ago) link
lazy town is super creepy. luckily my kids don't like it.
― Mordy, Saturday, 3 December 2016 03:04 (seven years ago) link
We Bare Bears, on the other hand, see also Adventure Time, and to a lesser extent Regular Show, I happily watch them without the kids there.
― vickyp, Wednesday, 7 December 2016 13:30 (seven years ago) link
steven universe and adventure time are both a++ shows that my kids are not half as interested in as i am
― Mordy, Wednesday, 7 December 2016 14:35 (seven years ago) link
omfg these are THE WORST
there's one of a dude ordering his wife to play with a Thomas toy set a certain way that my kids were playing on repeat for a while that is unberable and had me on the verge of going full Luddite
― ¶ (DJP), Wednesday, 7 December 2016 17:37 (seven years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNaTZV8qS1I
― nomar, Wednesday, 7 December 2016 17:40 (seven years ago) link
^^^ this OTOH made me laugh really, really loudly
― ¶ (DJP), Wednesday, 7 December 2016 17:40 (seven years ago) link
i can't believe how much Thomas i've watched. i think that phase is maybe over. i think we've talked about this before DJP but i feel like the creepy dictatorship of Sodor seems to indicate to me a nazi victory on the mainland and there's sort of "Train in the High Castle" shit that's going on. basing this entirely on my theory of topham hatt being a former Gestapo with sadistic methods, cf walling up Henry as punishment and what not, the constant terror the trains live in of being turned into scrap, etc.
― nomar, Wednesday, 7 December 2016 17:49 (seven years ago) link
I am 100% down with a "Life Is Beautiful And Really Useful" reading of Thomas and Friends
― ¶ (DJP), Wednesday, 7 December 2016 17:58 (seven years ago) link
Bing is sweet, but the impression it gives is of some far-future post-human utopia where genetically engineered "human" animal children are cared for by AIs in the bodies of toys
Bernard, about an accident-prone and bad-tempered polar bear, is quite good, but occasionally horrifyingly sadistic
― I hear from this arsehole again, he's going in the river (James Morrison), Thursday, 8 December 2016 00:21 (seven years ago) link
The Furchester Hotel Christmas special guest-stars the Count and Big Bird 👍
― Madchen, Tuesday, 20 December 2016 17:48 (seven years ago) link
My daughter now loves a show called "Dinosaur Train." It purports to be "Jim Henson's Dinosaur Train," and purporting to be the creation of a dead man should be the first clue that a show is insufferable. The second is that it's called "Dinosaur Train," which feels like the by-committee kids programming equivalent of "Abe and the Babe" from The Big Picture. As advertised, it consists of dinosaurs riding around on a train for 30 minutes. At least I think, because I never can stand to pay attention for an entire episode.
― the last famous person you were surprised to discover was actually (man alive), Tuesday, 20 December 2016 18:18 (seven years ago) link
Time tunnel approaching!
― how's life, Tuesday, 20 December 2016 18:22 (seven years ago) link
our kid loves dinosaurs and had a Dinosaur Train phase. It seemed inoffensively ok to me but it kinda sank into the muddle of all the other shows he watched that didn't leave an impression. Also any shows about lovable dinos are to me weighed down with an impending sense of doom.
p.s. I was annoyed that when trying unsuccessfully to fulfill his wish to dress up as a pterosaur for Halloween, the only mask I could find for a kid on Amazon was a goddamned Dinosaur Train one and I refused to get it.
― nomar, Tuesday, 20 December 2016 18:25 (seven years ago) link
I've never paid attention to an entire Dinosaur Train episode either, but my daughter went through a pretty big phase with it. I just remember the 4-episode (?) where they went through the Dinosaur ABCs and they'd sing a version of this song every 5 minutes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1O_pZClyrc
― how's life, Tuesday, 20 December 2016 18:27 (seven years ago) link
My son is 2 now, and we're just letting him watch a little tv. I have no idea what shows are supposed to be good for toddlers (outside of Daniel Tiger.) Maybe this doesn't belong in this thread, but we watched the adaptation of The Snowy Day on Amazon Instant and while it was admirably multi-cultural, it totally messed up what was great about the book. But at least now my son looks at me every few minutes and says, "It's a snowy day."
― duped and used by my worst Miss U (President Keyes), Tuesday, 20 December 2016 18:32 (seven years ago) link
Dinosaur Train is wholly inoffensive IMO
― ¶ (DJP), Tuesday, 20 December 2016 19:24 (seven years ago) link
what do the trains run on
― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 20 December 2016 19:52 (seven years ago) link
tracks
― ¶ (DJP), Tuesday, 20 December 2016 19:53 (seven years ago) link
I've only had to watch one episode of that Dinosaur Train show and it was the one where they met an Elvis dinosaur...? Show makes zero sense and has marginal educational value but idk I've seen worse. Octonauts still the platonic ideal of inoffensive toddler TV shows imo.
― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 20 December 2016 19:58 (seven years ago) link
That Dinosaur Train song seems hugely inferior to the songs Jim Henson used to write. Henson wrote clever, easily singable songs, which this one ain't. It has no tune, and the lyrics are just a list of names, so they opted for a speedy tempo and big beats to create a sense of fun, but the tempo garbles the dinosaur names, so unless you know them all beforehand, you learn nothing.
― a little too mature to be cute (Aimless), Tuesday, 20 December 2016 20:20 (seven years ago) link
"Dinosaur Train" is such a shamelessly-pandering name for a kids show. Why not just call it "Dinosaur Ice Cream Peekaboo Elmo Train?"
― DJI, Tuesday, 20 December 2016 20:26 (seven years ago) link
been watching Sesame Street with my 2 year old lately, is it just me or is this basically the Elmo show now? weren't there other muppets at one point?
― frogbs, Tuesday, 20 December 2016 20:27 (seven years ago) link
Have any of you seen the Furchester Hotel? Fair enough if I'm the lone UK voice and if it's only available on CBeebies, but imo it has a lot of good old-skool Henson about it, plus the bonus of a Fawlty Towersesque setting.
― Madchen, Tuesday, 20 December 2016 20:28 (seven years ago) link
Sesame Street is 100% The Elmo Show
― ¶ (DJP), Tuesday, 20 December 2016 20:35 (seven years ago) link
I guess I shouldn't even mention it in this thread, Sesame Street is good, IMO
some of the stuff on BabyTV though, sheesh. their entire lineup seems to be made on a shoestring budget and the creepiness factor of Tek the Tractor and the Tellitubby-imitating rats is off the charts
― frogbs, Tuesday, 20 December 2016 20:40 (seven years ago) link
omfg Tek the Tractor is pure nightmare fuel
by contrast, I find the sentient crayons weirdly charming
― ¶ (DJP), Tuesday, 20 December 2016 20:42 (seven years ago) link
I've had the Harry the Bunny theme song stuck in my head for months now
― frogbs, Tuesday, 20 December 2016 20:47 (seven years ago) link
Octonauts and Wild Kratts are the big ones for us these days.
― how's life, Tuesday, 20 December 2016 20:59 (seven years ago) link
Furchester Hotel is pretty great. I dubbed off a whole lot of episodes onto audio CD and Ella listens to them most nights when going to sleep.
Go Jettas also very popular round these parts.
― I hear from this arsehole again, he's going in the river (James Morrison), Wednesday, 21 December 2016 05:41 (seven years ago) link
That is such a great idea about the audio burning!
― stet, Wednesday, 21 December 2016 16:30 (seven years ago) link
octonauts has some weird dynamics I'm not quite sure about
- captain barnacles is clearly not an especially experienced seaman nor is he very well versed in science; I suspect he is a sort of Richard Branson / James Cameron type who came into a very large fortune by some means or another and has decided to follow his passion, with the help of some hangers-on that don't realize (or do, and don't care) how incredibly dangerous he is
- rather disappointing that the kiwi dog got re-dubbed for the american edition. by which I mean profoundly upsetting, every time she talks it feels like the curse word cut-outs in a radio edit, where you're reminded they intentionally ruined something on purpose for the lamest of reasons
- kwazii has no place at sea - he's clearly deranged, a danger to himself and others, the only thing I can figure is that he's barnacles old pal from school who just won't ever go away; he and kwazii have a really problematic co-codependency thing going on and I have to imagine that many eligible and attractive partners approached the wealthy "captain" over the years only to realize that his addled buddy with the questionable hygiene was never going to settle for anything less than 95% of barnacles' time and attention
- professor inkling is a total fraud, as is obvious to every other professional on the ship, but thanks to the credulousness of barnacles, scientific credentialism and the utter failure of meritocracy in the 3d cartoon animal world as well as ours, his paperwork is sufficient to ensure his continued employment on the octopod despite being only slightly less useless than kwazii
- the other crew members are remarkably talented and incredibly chipper, because not being both of those things is how you know you won't last long on the octopod with the aforementioned three idiots running the show. They all seem like sharp, hard working graduates at the top of their respective classes, but none of them went to "name" schools and of course they would jump at the chance to earn what is probably an inflated salary on a "research" expedition which doesn't have to rely on finicky government funding and there's no pressure to publish original work or whatever. Looking at the penguin and the otter in particular I'm guessing they're also carrying a massive amount of student loan debt.
- the fact that the below-decks junior crew are all "vegimals" seems to indicate a pervasive racism / caste system persists in octonaut world, so once again, not that different from real life
― The Jams Manager (1992, Brickster) (El Tomboto), Tuesday, 18 April 2017 23:32 (six years ago) link
I have similar thoughts re Bing: it seems to show a future post-human utopia with evolved-into-anthropomorphic-form animals are cared for by syntehtic AI intelligences in the form of friendly toys
― I hear from this arsehole again, he's going in the river (James Morrison), Wednesday, 19 April 2017 05:54 (six years ago) link
lol tom booming post
― illegal economic migration (Tracer Hand), Wednesday, 19 April 2017 10:01 (six years ago) link
That is everything I have wanted to say but could not put into words.
― how's life, Wednesday, 19 April 2017 11:41 (six years ago) link
the peppa pig episode where they go on holiday is fucking hilarious
"This is Captain Emergency speaking"
― El Tomboto, Saturday, 29 July 2017 21:07 (six years ago) link
every time Octonauts ends up being the day's viewing pick i think of this:
kwazii has no place at sea - he's clearly deranged, a danger to himself and others
― nomar, Saturday, 29 July 2017 21:09 (six years ago) link
haha well it's fucking true
― El Tomboto, Saturday, 29 July 2017 21:23 (six years ago) link
The first words my son says to me every morning are "I wanna watch Paw Patrol" in a really whiny voice. Cannot wait for this phase to be over.
― Madchen, Sunday, 30 July 2017 06:33 (six years ago) link
I love how this thread was started by someone with no kids who just wanted to complain about these shows that are only ever watched by kids or adults with kids
― qualx, Sunday, 30 July 2017 06:56 (six years ago) link
"I saw an episode of Doodlebops" hey bud you had literally no reason to resign from the Never Heard Of Doodlebops Club
― qualx, Sunday, 30 July 2017 06:58 (six years ago) link
Paw Patrol is the fucking worst, luckily my son's phase only lasted about 6 months. He's now heavily into Horrible Histories, which really is brilliant.
― nate woolls, Sunday, 30 July 2017 10:02 (six years ago) link
Seems pretty shitty of Ryder to summon all the pups to the lookout when he already knows which ones he wants.
Not as shitty as his cruel way of forcing them to use expensive military equipment to eg climb trees rather than their l, I dunno, claws. He is crippling their natural skills
― stet, Sunday, 30 July 2017 10:06 (six years ago) link
Watched a bunch of episodes of Dinotrux with my daughter this afternoon:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGiYFOZ-iqs
― how's life, Sunday, 3 September 2017 00:36 (six years ago) link
Holy shit this threadbump led me to read Tom's Octonauts post and yeah. Vegimals are a clear analogue to Potterverse house-elves.
I hate that the boys go adventuring and the girls are in support roles. Hypergendering is already a problem (why are Minions and Penguins of Madagascar all male, don't get me started on Smurfs).
Dinotrux is the same thing as Dinosaur Train and Dino Dan - it's like brainstorming gone stupid: "Hey gang, let's just spitball here: what do kids like?" "Dinosaurs!" "Trucks!" "Trains!" "Great! combine any two of those things and you have a show."
OTOH "Nella the Princess Knight" is trying a bit too hard to check all the boxes, and fails in the other direction. Is a puzzlement.
― Toblerroneous (Ye Mad Puffin), Sunday, 3 September 2017 00:53 (six years ago) link
Have read some new Transformers comics recently, and the writer has made a whole bunch the ostensibly male characters overtly gay, created a bunch of female characters, and also introduced characters who are regendering themselves from male to female, all of which seems a step in the right direction that will no doubt be greeted with howls of rage
― Mince Pramthwart (James Morrison), Sunday, 3 September 2017 07:27 (six years ago) link
transitioning transgender transformers huh
― Wesley Shackleton explained "look at that beast." (bizarro gazzara), Sunday, 3 September 2017 09:04 (six years ago) link
there's more than meets the eye!
― pplains, Sunday, 3 September 2017 14:58 (six years ago) link
Robots in dese guys.
― Hey Bob (Scik Mouthy), Monday, 4 September 2017 10:51 (six years ago) link
I feel like I'd trade a 3-day marathon of the trolls movie on loop or any of the above shows, no matter how execrable, for never having to watch or overhear a Zach King vine or a Lonnie Dos youtube again for the rest of my life.
― El Tomboto, Saturday, 23 September 2017 22:37 (six years ago) link
"Hey! Heard you preferred the trolls!"
*suddenly turns into troll*
"You better with this? Looks like I'm a troll now!"
MY SON: How does he do it?
― pplains, Saturday, 23 September 2017 23:26 (six years ago) link
Also, and I'm fully aware of the irony of my wishing death on this particular parent, but Batman Dad needs to die.
― pplains, Saturday, 23 September 2017 23:27 (six years ago) link
My son is obsessed with any youtube video that has Thomas the Tank Engine on it, usually some crappy flash animation or homemade action movies using Thomas toys. Fairly harmless, although often infuriatingly bad, but recently there have been ads for Jigsaw (horror movie) beforehand, that I can't skip for a few seconds. Any way to get rid of these? Other ads are usually just for toys etc.
― kinder, Saturday, 14 October 2017 20:18 (six years ago) link
ublock origin blocks all YT ads and is more or less the reliable standard for adblockers (make sure it's origin and not standard "ublock" which is apparently hated for some reason)
― qualx, Saturday, 14 October 2017 20:27 (six years ago) link
thanks - we watch it through a smart tv which I'm not sure you can put adblockers on. might just disable the youtube app and let him watch it on my laptop.
― kinder, Saturday, 14 October 2017 20:42 (six years ago) link
YouTube kids app is designed to avoid this exact problem, not saying it's wonderful of course.
― mfktz (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Saturday, 14 October 2017 22:23 (six years ago) link
We just keep an ear out. You can’t leave that responsibility to anybody else, much less a robot programmed by somebody on a short term contract who, even if they have kids, probably doesn’t really care less about yours.
― El Tomboto, Saturday, 14 October 2017 22:34 (six years ago) link
well yeah, it just starts immediately in a scary voice. we were thinking of telling him tv YouTube had gone away anyway, we've got loads of actual proper Thomas episodes for him to watch...he got into actual videos of car factories from manufacturers for a few days, these were pretty cool though.
― kinder, Sunday, 15 October 2017 07:49 (six years ago) link
My kid is super into Dinosaur Train lately, which I don’t hate because he gathers all his rubber dinosaurs together when it comes on and tells me their names and sometimes he yells DINOSAUR TRAIN like the theme song. Also I always mentally replace the first line of the song with the opening line from Slick Rick’s “Children’s Story”. I like it much more than Wild Kratts which he was way into for a while before that. Though that show did get him obsessed with walruses to the degree that he wants to be one for Halloween. Other shows sort of come and go:- Paw Patrol is fucking terrible but I’m kind jealous I didn’t come up with a show that kills a quarter of each episode with a stock montage of the team mustering for whatever. He loves his Paw Patrol shirts though. My wife bought a season on amazon when he was sick so we’re stuck with that around- Daniel Tiger sometimes is really soothing and sometimes makes me want to claw my eyes out- he had a Peg + Cat phase but that only lasted like a week or two, which is sad cause I liked that one- sometimes he’s into Sesame Street but not that often which is again sad cause I like it- Yo Gabba Gabba is awesome but it’s not on Netflix or PBS so no regular access- sometimes he likes Cat in the Hat but fuck that show Anything though is better than toy videos or whatever weird garbage he ends up with while using YouTube on the iPad
― joygoat, Sunday, 15 October 2017 11:33 (six years ago) link
We’re PJ Masks all the time now.
― Jeff, Sunday, 15 October 2017 13:19 (six years ago) link
We've seen all of those phases and weathered them all.
Possibly controversial opinion: On balance, children who can control their own entertainment input (whether by searching on their own, following chains of "if you like this..." suggestions, and/or abandoning things they're tired of) are happier children. And they're WAY easier to deal with than children who need frequent parent interventions to keep them satisfied with their entertainment streams.
In my childhood, our choices were to (A) watch what was on or (B) not watch what was on.
In the childhood of my nieces and nephews, there were more options. You could put in a video! And you could ask someone to change it to a different video if that one wasn't appealing!
Nowadays my children just flop down with their tablets on whatever surface is nearest, and they watch what they feel like watching (within a wide but constrained universe).
N.B.: I love them to pieces, and I assure you I interact with them plenty. But I'm glad of not having to deal with "Paw Patrol, but not THIS episode" every couple minutes when I'm trying to get some work done.
― looser than lucinda (Ye Mad Puffin), Sunday, 15 October 2017 20:25 (six years ago) link
Yeah, my son is too young to bring up a program on his own so there’s usually this ten minute quest to figure out which Daniel Tiger episode someone talks about a pie in or something.
― President Keyes, Monday, 16 October 2017 01:42 (six years ago) link
I know it's a cliche, but I have yet to se anything remotely as irritating as Barney.
― IF (Terrorist) Yes, Explain (man alive), Monday, 16 October 2017 01:54 (six years ago) link
pk ha yep same here figuring out which ep has diesel 10 and Henry and a ghost
― kinder, Monday, 16 October 2017 12:02 (six years ago) link
I like it much more than Wild Kratts which he was way into for a while before that. Though that show did get him obsessed with walruses to the degree that he wants to be one for Halloween.
My daughter has been a Wild Kratts super fan for like 2 years and will drop words like 'subnivean zone' into casual conversation which leaves her mother and I scrambling to google up what the hell she is talking about. It's a good problem to have imo.
N.B.: I love them to pieces, and I assure you I interact with them plenty. But I'm glad of not having to deal with "Paw Patrol, but not THIS episode" every couple minutes when I'm trying to get some work done.― looser than lucinda (Ye Mad Puffin), Sunday, October 15, 2017 4:25 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post PermalinkYeah, my son is too young to bring up a program on his own so there’s usually this ten minute quest to figure out which Daniel Tiger episode someone talks about a pie in or something.― President Keyes, Sunday, October 15, 2017 9:42 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
― looser than lucinda (Ye Mad Puffin), Sunday, October 15, 2017 4:25 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
― President Keyes, Sunday, October 15, 2017 9:42 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
Also yeah, I'm glad we're past this phase and my daughter can for the MOST part figure out which episode she wants to watch. Because otherwise it's me diving into http://dtrain.wikia.com/wiki/Episode_List or whatever.
― how's life, Monday, 16 October 2017 18:36 (six years ago) link
So much Dinosaur Train. But I realized that they seem to want to be scientifically accurate by having to travel through time in order to see all the different species some of which existed closer to us than to other dinosaurs. I also realized that full size pteranodons, standing, would probably be about the size of human adults so the main characters are roughly the size of adults and children which is kind of awesome for scale purposes.
― joygoat, Saturday, 21 October 2017 17:44 (six years ago) link
Dinosaur Train is mostly tolerable. I initially rolled my eyes about it because the premise seemed like focus-grouped boy catnip: hey, what do boys like? Trains! Great. What else? DinosaurS! Okay, awesome.
- There's also TWO shows featuring dinosaur/truck hybrids. All male, of course. Children's television is already gender-segregated enough, come the fuck on.
- The carnivores eat "meat," which is - literally - a pile of meat. The show does not address (nor should it) who the meat used to be, because they otherwise make a great show of learning about and befriending all manner of creatures.
- Why is the only technology steampunky-af trains? They can get it together to do trains and submarines, but then they stop there and everything else is done with sticks and rocks.
Of course, lots of suspension-of-disbelief required for a grownup to watch children's television. Bubble Guppies features mermaids who are underwater but who still have a fire department. And deserts.
― looser than lucinda (Ye Mad Puffin), Sunday, 22 October 2017 14:46 (six years ago) link
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51N9SD6MW8L.jpg
― El Tomboto, Sunday, 22 October 2017 14:55 (six years ago) link
I had a long talk with my daughter yesterday about whether Moana is a princess.
Went to lots of interesting places; we discussed metafiction, cultural appropriation, and power imbalances. Kids these days are woke af.
― what if a much of a which of a wind (Ye Mad Puffin), Wednesday, 1 November 2017 14:08 (six years ago) link
She’s the daughter of the village chief.We’ve also had productive conversations about Moana.“What’s a demigod? Is that half god half human?”“Yes and now we need to have a long conversation about theology.”
― Mordy, Wednesday, 1 November 2017 14:30 (six years ago) link
Right, the topic starts with "the daughter of a chief is not a necessarily a princess and different cultures treat these topics differently" etc.
(I have to physically stop myself from my normal Pocahontas digression here. Pocahontas is the daughter of a chief, not a princess ffs. And she did not get romantically busy with John Smith, ffs; she was like 12! They were friends, but she married a totally different dude. Disney is garbage, etc. But we don't need to do that one because I already flogged it to death years ago and anyway we did Virginia history in fourth grade.)
Anyway the movie has the line "you're wearing a dress and you have an animal sidekick, that makes you a princess," so we get to talk about fourth wall, "meta-" etc., and the degree to which contemporary children's movies sometimes subvert tropes while simultaneously reinforcing them.
Unfortunately my son found a series of weird-ass unlicensed fan videos that are premised on Maui/Moana marrying and having kids, which we agree is insane, so we get to address fair use and shipping and fanfiction while also addressing consent, power, age gaps, the obliteration of platonic friendship....
― what if a much of a which of a wind (Ye Mad Puffin), Wednesday, 1 November 2017 14:56 (six years ago) link
That all makes my brain hurt. Glad my kid just likes to sing the songs and doesn’t ask questions.
― Jeff, Wednesday, 1 November 2017 15:25 (six years ago) link
Ha, be glad we didn't feel the need to talk about whether Lin-Manuel Miranda counts as an appropriator of Polynesian culture. Or whether Puerto Rican ancestry gives him a "well, that's kind of an islander" get-out-of-jail-free card. Or whether (half-Maori New Zealander) Jemaine Clement is okay, but maybe should not have done a David Bowie impression because wypipo, etc.
All of which are real Internet takes of varying degrees of performative wokeness.
― Careful with that Ax, Emanuel (Ye Mad Puffin), Wednesday, 1 November 2017 15:42 (six years ago) link
how old is your kid?
― Mordy, Wednesday, 1 November 2017 15:53 (six years ago) link
Ten.
― Careful with that Ax, Emanuel (Ye Mad Puffin), Wednesday, 1 November 2017 16:04 (six years ago) link
ughhttps://medium.com/@jamesbridle/something-is-wrong-on-the-internet-c39c471271d2
I am 99.9% sure all the videos we watch are fine but from now on I'm gonna build up a playlist of things I have personally vetted and only watch those. I might have come across ones with hideous blasts of crying (and switched it off immediately).
― kinder, Monday, 6 November 2017 22:14 (six years ago) link
Most of the crying videos we've seen are actually not that sinister, tbh. I'm surprised the author couldn't figure out what was happening in the video; the outsider figure cries when the heads/faces don't match up, giggles/cheers when they do. It's easily the least sinister form of the type of video he's describing (we've encountered some very unfortunate claymation-esque pooping Elsa/Spiderman videos as well as some super macabre Thomas the Tank Engine videos; there was also a homemade video with Peppa Pig toys that ended with Peppa accidentally hitting George in the head while playing where George ended up lying in a pool of blood and Peppa was yelling "GEORGE, WAKE UP" at him before we turned it off).
The crying videos ARE annoying as sin, though.
― the Hannah Montana of the Korean War (DJP), Monday, 6 November 2017 22:19 (six years ago) link
hah, I knew this bump would be about that
is that last video completely AI-generated or was that dreamed up by an actual person? feels like a James Ferraro art project but even then it's too weird and haphazardly random. I had no idea this world existed.
― frogbs, Monday, 6 November 2017 22:24 (six years ago) link
the ironic thing is that a bunch of parents afraid of their kids being exposed to this stuff are now gonna have their YouTube recs loaded with it, and I now do
― frogbs, Monday, 6 November 2017 22:27 (six years ago) link
for some reason this stuff really spooks me, I read that article this morning
yeah I think we'll stick with DVDs for the grandkids
― sleeve, Monday, 6 November 2017 22:28 (six years ago) link
ha i just read this today too. i think the writer is definitely overstating how many of those videos constitute "child abuse" but jeez there is much weird content out there. i spent a little time this afternoon clicking around some of the shit he links and ..... i just don't know any more man
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wm4Algab_qk
― marcos, Monday, 6 November 2017 22:28 (six years ago) link
what the
― the Hannah Montana of the Korean War (DJP), Monday, 6 November 2017 22:33 (six years ago) link
That is simultaneously hilarious and terrifying
It's also probably going to show up on my smart tv now because I'm logged into my Gmail account
:-/
― the Hannah Montana of the Korean War (DJP), Monday, 6 November 2017 22:34 (six years ago) link
yeah I wasn't really sure about the "child abuse" part either. like I get what might be terrifying about Spiderman riding around on a giant syringe or Elsa "giving birth" to eight different superheroes but none of that really seems explicit - it's just deeply, profoundly strange. I mean, lets not forget what sort of horrible things were always right around the corner 15 years ago
or to put it more succinctly
jealous that kids get procedurally generated videodrome and I just had goatse— Kevin Snow (@bravemule) November 6, 2017
― frogbs, Monday, 6 November 2017 22:41 (six years ago) link
this one's pretty good
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9QOGFX2gos&t=737s
― marcos, Monday, 6 November 2017 22:43 (six years ago) link
Well let's be clear; dude explicitly said in his article that he wasn't going to link the really disturbing videos. The Peppa Pig one I described was definitely not anything I would want my toddlers to watch, even though thanks to being on YouTube it wasn't full-on goaste/Tubgirl.
― the Hannah Montana of the Korean War (DJP), Monday, 6 November 2017 22:44 (six years ago) link
MARCOS MY CHILDREN HAVE WATCHED THAT ONE
but from now on I'm gonna build up a playlist of things I have personally vetted and only watch those.
I do this, but it seems impossible to avoid YT just playing whatever the fuck it wants when a playlist is over, is my worry. At least on the AppleTV app
― stet, Monday, 6 November 2017 22:45 (six years ago) link
lol no way xp
― marcos, Monday, 6 November 2017 22:45 (six years ago) link
That is def one of the videos where we went "okay we cannot just put Youtube on and let it cycle through random things" because we did not choose that for our kids to watch
― the Hannah Montana of the Korean War (DJP), Monday, 6 November 2017 22:45 (six years ago) link
my embed didn't work huh. LETS TRY AGAIN WHY NOT
Finger family videos are plenty dumb and often pretty weird, but they are recognizable kid culture, with a reasonable level of tie-in to developmentally appropriate things. It's no worse than the very similar and venerable "Where is Thumbkin."
The phenomenon I do NOT get is "Johnny Johnny Yes Papa" which is even more annoying and has no clear genesis, it just keeps happening.
YouTube Kids is, of course, cleaner than normal YouTube but is still plenty weird.
― Careful with that Ax, Emanuel (Ye Mad Puffin), Monday, 6 November 2017 22:48 (six years ago) link
toy freaks was legit alarming imo
― marcos, Monday, 6 November 2017 22:49 (six years ago) link
Finger family videos are plenty dumb and often pretty weird, but they are recognizable kid culture
yea a lot of this doesn't seem that far off from idk teletubbies
― marcos, Monday, 6 November 2017 22:50 (six years ago) link
The first time I saw Johnny Johnny Yes Papa, I was certain someone had slipped me acid.
― the Hannah Montana of the Korean War (DJP), Monday, 6 November 2017 22:50 (six years ago) link
The boy has come home from nursery singing that more than once. Now I’m wondering just how much YT he is getting there
― stet, Monday, 6 November 2017 22:55 (six years ago) link
wow, that animals for kids stuff is wild
― reggae mike love (polyphonic), Monday, 6 November 2017 22:59 (six years ago) link
yeah it's amazing. the version of 'buried alive' Bridle links to had a low hit count but other Animals For Kids uploads of the same video total 20 million+ views
I remember Teletubbies being the moment when TV officially sanctioned going after the 6-24 month old demographic; everyone agreed the content was well-meaning, the issue was whether or not it was morally ok to target viewers that young, but babies were just magnetized by that stuff and so it became a moot point. this feels like a breakthrough moment where the people targeting that demographic are getting competitive and creating edgier and edgier content to attract audiences -- there's still an attempt at a moral center in some of these (the superheroes usually end up winning by the end) but the ride on the way there -- there isn't 10 seconds of this I think unsupervised children should be watching
the NYT's article about this yesterday was a little more button-pushing, but the stuff they linked to was even edgier
― Milton Parker, Monday, 6 November 2017 23:12 (six years ago) link
With my children the worst stuff is always a passing phase. My daughter went through a brief period of watching deliberately grating things (Annoying Orange, Battle for Dream Island). It was during a gap when she didn't particularly like kid's shows (Dora/My Little Pony) anymore, but she hadn't yet gotten interested in tweenier stuff. And now she mostly just reads books, so it's working out okay.
My son sometimes falls into a rut of something pretty stupid, but he tires of it and moves on to something else.
Sometimes he rediscovers something he used to like, and gets back into it. He recently rediscovered Signing Time, which were the first videos he watched (back when we thought he might be deaf). Indeed, for a while, he signed "Time!" to mean all videos for a while. And then it will be on to something else.
Given the transitory nature of all this, I don't have the energy or time to vet and control his video input. The cost/benefit ratio just isn't there for me. Some day he may see chance to see something inappropriate, but I assume we'll just process that as we would any other unpleasant thing that happens from time to time.
― Careful with that Ax, Emanuel (Ye Mad Puffin), Monday, 6 November 2017 23:15 (six years ago) link
I thought this comment underneath the medium post was interesting:
I just remembered I was discussing this with someone once and we came to the conclusion that they should essentially be called “fetish videos aimed at children.” The slavish devotion to search terms and SEO’d nonsense video titles has given rise to a… well, fetishistic product. You can look at the thumbnails and see it. Superheroes, costumes, taped up/tied up women. Syringes, blood, inappropriate gore. Crying is popular on thumbnails. The videos showing people dressed up as Frozen characters and doing something against their will. The main fetishistic aspect of it is, of course, for each of these videos there are probably a hundred more like it. Add in that all of these channels are weirdly foreign and seem to be imitating more popular channels and I think the fact that the strange knockoffs are on theoretically the same footing as established and legitimate channels adds to the general disturbing atmosphere.
― soref, Monday, 6 November 2017 23:17 (six years ago) link
I had no idea wtf Johnny Johnny Yes Papa was when my kid was saying it for a while. It had just come up in auto play after a parade video or something. Theres so much insane garbage on YouTube that we basically disabled it on the iPad and if he watches stuff in it it’s videos we’ve downloaded and put there on purpose. Works out cause we mostly reserve it as the nuclear option on car or plane trips. Say what you will about Dinosaur Train and Wild Kratts but when he watches those he gets all his dinosaurs and trains and plays with them while watching and tells us facts about dinosaurs or animals for days. With YouTube he basically just goes catatonic and stares.
― joygoat, Monday, 6 November 2017 23:31 (six years ago) link
procedurally generated fetish porn targeted at children. wonderful.
burn the internet to the ground.
― bob lefse (rushomancy), Tuesday, 7 November 2017 12:24 (six years ago) link
Yabbut some of these oddities have a weirdly charming moral core.
There's a version of "Baa Baa Black Sheep" where new verses extol charity (giving clothes to homeless children) and prudent savings. There are also versions of "Johnny Johnny..." that regard naughtiness as played out and take a turn toward healthy habits ("eating broccoli?"). A version of "Humpty Dumpty," apparently subcontinental in origin, becomes a safety parable.
― Careful with that Ax, Emanuel (Ye Mad Puffin), Tuesday, 7 November 2017 12:44 (six years ago) link
finger family is giving me a full on panny
― illegal economic migration (Tracer Hand), Tuesday, 7 November 2017 12:47 (six years ago) link
― Careful with that Ax, Emanuel (Ye Mad Puffin)
my god, have things truly gotten so awful that edutainment is now considered "charming"?
― bob lefse (rushomancy), Tuesday, 7 November 2017 13:22 (six years ago) link
good call on Teletubbies being the origin of this sort of thing, I hadn't really thought of that.
I try to push my kid (who is almost 3) towards stuff like Sesame Street, but that's mostly for selfish reasons, because I find it entertaining (or at least moreso than anything else he wants to watch). He's mostly drawn to BabyFirst TV, which has some of the shoddiest, most low-budget animation imaginable, some of which is not so dissimilar to the stuff linked in that article. They even have a Teletubby knockoff featuring three very creepy animatronic mice - my wife and I joke that half the channel's budget went into those mouse costumes.
― frogbs, Tuesday, 7 November 2017 14:51 (six years ago) link
I found some of the BabyFirst stuff fascinating but that creepy devil tractor needs to go immediately.
― the Hannah Montana of the Korean War (DJP), Tuesday, 7 November 2017 14:54 (six years ago) link
I'm not quite sure what's going on with that show either. I feel like it's made in the Ukraine or something and just dubbed over in the States. It's not like there's any information online.
My kid definitely goes through some phases with that channel. He LOVES "Mio Mao", this Italian claymation show from the 70's that they just licensed out. It is bizarre but pretty charming. I like it. He was into Harry the Bunny for a while until they made it into "Harry & Larry", after which he lost interest. That was funny to me because that was kinda like him experiencing his first pop culture disappointment. Both my kids love "Tillie Knock Knock" which I find amusing simply because they (apparently) make two people do all the voices. The frustrating thing is that I just have no idea when any of this stuff is on, since they have like 10 different names for "assorted programming" and none of this stuff is ever like, "on" in the listings.
― frogbs, Tuesday, 7 November 2017 15:09 (six years ago) link
my sons and i were reading the original rev. w. audry thomas the tank engine stories last night and you know what those stories suck and i think they execreble. i couldn't even understand what the fuck is going on in most of these stories, they are incomprehensible gibberish. "poop poop!" said thomas cheekily. "poo poo!" whistled gordon crossly.
― marcos, Tuesday, 7 November 2017 15:10 (six years ago) link
so is there a "good children's programming" thread? I'm taking any & all recommendations for the granddaughters, who are almost 3 1/2 and 1 respectively, but there might be a better thread to bump
― sleeve, Tuesday, 7 November 2017 15:11 (six years ago) link
I loved Mio Mao when I was young! Amazing that's still around and being watched!
― Le Bateau Ivre, Tuesday, 7 November 2017 15:16 (six years ago) link
We didn't do screens till 2.
A 3.5er can and should gorge on pre-HBO Sesame; there's a lot out there. I rather like the Tina Fey "Pirates of the Care-to-be-Readin'" disc.
― piezoelectric landlord (Ye Mad Puffin), Tuesday, 7 November 2017 15:17 (six years ago) link
yeah we're down with the no-screens-til-2 thing (parents are a bit more liberal/slack but they do pretty good), just wanted to mention that a younger one is coming up and will also watch video at some point, so we wanna pick up a few things now. thanks!
― sleeve, Tuesday, 7 November 2017 15:20 (six years ago) link
Good children's programming
― the Hannah Montana of the Korean War (DJP), Tuesday, 7 November 2017 15:35 (six years ago) link
ty
― sleeve, Tuesday, 7 November 2017 15:35 (six years ago) link
maybe relevant to this discussion - there seem to be a bunch of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse videos on YouTube that do pretty much everything possible to get around Disney's copyright detection algorithm, including increasing the speed, flipping the screen, and dropping out big chunks of the show. they're completely unwatchable but I assume someone's making a quick buck there.
― frogbs, Tuesday, 7 November 2017 15:54 (six years ago) link
My "favorites" are the MMC "episodes" that turn out to be video of some terrible tie-in game
― the Hannah Montana of the Korean War (DJP), Tuesday, 7 November 2017 15:58 (six years ago) link
sorry to be That Guy but we don't let our kids watch TV or YouTube except on special occasions and i gotta say it works out GREAT. and if you think "it's too late, can't put the genie back in the bottle" well, in our case at least, we totally could. we used to let them watch cbeebies every day, but the crying and whining about how many episodes they could watch, and the screaming when the TV got turned off, was eventually just too much for us so we just shut it down for good. it only took three or four (hellish) days for them to stop asking about it. when grandparents are over the kids get to watch some TV, usually DVDs brought by the grandparents, and sometimes as a reward for good behaviour we'll let the oldest one watch graffiti stuff on YT but i watch that shit like a HAWK (or at least keep an ear out). no way am i going to let them just follow "watch next" links, i just do not trust that shit at all.
― illegal economic migration (Tracer Hand), Tuesday, 7 November 2017 16:02 (six years ago) link
no way am i going to let them just follow "watch next" links, i just do not trust that shit at all.
You shouldn't, it gets weird and terrible very quickly.
For us, we have the TV on as background noise constantly so putting it on their channels made sense for us. So far the whining has been manageable (and there's been little-to-no screaming when the TV goes off).
― the Hannah Montana of the Korean War (DJP), Tuesday, 7 November 2017 16:05 (six years ago) link
good god you are blessed. honestly.
speaking of thomas the tank engine this is at least as disturbing as anything in the algorithmic shite factory article:
https://youtu.be/iO6qIM2WO6k?t=168
"i think he deserved his punishment, don't you?"
― illegal economic migration (Tracer Hand), Tuesday, 7 November 2017 16:07 (six years ago) link
yea we don't do any screen time either. our kids are 2 and 5. it's not wholly an intentional thing, we just don't watch a lot of TV ourselves and don't own any tablets or anything. though i think our older kid's autism diagnosis made us a little more firm about it since screen time is especially not recommended for young kids with autism. it does make things easier in general i think. i don't judge folks who do. there are a lot of times when we've thought it would be a nice thing for them to do while we're cooking dinner or whatever, but instead we just let them play on their own with trains, cars, outside in the yard, etc.
― marcos, Tuesday, 7 November 2017 16:10 (six years ago) link
old-skool Thomas is terrifying; did you ever see the one where they were laughing about lorries driving off of mountains?
― the Hannah Montana of the Korean War (DJP), Tuesday, 7 November 2017 16:25 (six years ago) link
lool
― marcos, Tuesday, 7 November 2017 16:27 (six years ago) link
sorry to be That Guy but we don't let our kids watch TV or YouTube except on special occasions and i gotta say it works out GREAT.
I am increasingly thinking about this. We have clamped right down on portable screens — no iPad at all except on flights, no phones except in extremis, eg in the restaurant that inexplicably took 40 minutes to bring our food.
TV he has had daily, tbh, in restricted amounts at breakfast time and bedtime. Breakfast time because schedules mean it's often him left unsupervised in the flat while the adult in charge is showering, and TV is a reasonable way of stopping him climbing the bookcase or other lethal activities. Bedtime because it's a good mood manager — 30 mins of watching brings him down from late-evening mania.
I think we could definitely go without at bedtime, once we trust his behaviour a bit more probably go without at breakfast time too.
― stet, Tuesday, 7 November 2017 17:01 (six years ago) link
We just recently started turning off the TV 30 min before bedtime because without it, they're much more likely to go to bed without argument; sometimes they'll go early and ask for extra stories which is A++
― the Hannah Montana of the Korean War (DJP), Tuesday, 7 November 2017 18:39 (six years ago) link
We experimentally began allowing a 1/2 hour of screen time per weekday and 1 hour on the weekends when my son was turning 2. We've held it at that level for a year and he doesn't seem to want any more.
― President Keyes, Tuesday, 7 November 2017 19:54 (six years ago) link
What, I thought Jonny Jonny Yes Papa was an American thing?! It's on Little baby Bum and other nursery rhyme things like Dave and Ava, absolutely baffled by it. Telling lies, ah ah ah
Son also likes appalling quality knock-off animations which is particularly hilarious as his dad is fairly senior in VFX/animation and it pains him
― kinder, Tuesday, 7 November 2017 22:36 (six years ago) link
Little Baby Bum is out of India IIRC; I had never heard that song before encountering that video, which was honestly one of the most perplexing experiences of my life.
― the Hannah Montana of the Korean War (DJP), Tuesday, 7 November 2017 22:38 (six years ago) link
http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/johnny-johnny-yes-papa
apparently someone just made the damn thing up 8 years ago
― the Hannah Montana of the Korean War (DJP), Tuesday, 7 November 2017 22:40 (six years ago) link
Right. It seems to be of Indian origin and recent - not, like a lot of YTK vids, an Indian version of an Anglophone nursery rhyme. Which would be fine if it were not also stupid.
― piezoelectric landlord (Ye Mad Puffin), Tuesday, 7 November 2017 22:43 (six years ago) link
F's crafty "no papa" face makes it all worthwhile for me
― stet, Tuesday, 7 November 2017 22:47 (six years ago) link
My son flipped the script and indicated that we should do Daddy Daddy? / Yes Sammy? / Drinking beer? / No Sammy.
― piezoelectric landlord (Ye Mad Puffin), Tuesday, 7 November 2017 22:50 (six years ago) link
Yeah, that Johnny Johnny 3D thing freaked me the fuck out when I first saw it - I've caught a fair few of these on "weird youtube" and seen some very odd Elsa from Frozen Caesarian Section type games on hosting sites but I think not having (or having much to do with) kids means I may well have missed out some proper weirdo content.
― emil.y, Tuesday, 7 November 2017 22:53 (six years ago) link
I still cannot believe that Elsa game exists
― the Hannah Montana of the Korean War (DJP), Tuesday, 7 November 2017 22:54 (six years ago) link
I just spent a good 30 mins trying to find a Medium post that made waves over the summer abt this "phenomenon", creepy youtube for kids. It was about these youtube clips, seemingly created for children but with bitter, torturous twists (stuff like Peppa Pig being degraded, hurting etc). The comment sections all had comments in some form of code language, seemingly gibberish, but when decoded lead to child pornography websites and degradation porn. No conspiracy (or lunacy) theory stuff here, trust me, it really did lead to horrible websites. But I cannot for the life of me find the medium article any more... :-(
It's probably deleted. Regardless, it's where tl;dr James Bridle got his info from though, but in his Medium article he's only barely scratching the surface.
In short: there's some fucked up stuff just a click away. The digital variant of luring kids makes me nauseous.
― Le Bateau Ivre, Tuesday, 7 November 2017 23:59 (six years ago) link
KIDEODROME: scary "Kid's Youtube" algorithms, fringe programming, insert conspiracy theory here
― sleeve, Wednesday, 8 November 2017 04:00 (six years ago) link
Have generally been on board with Hey Duggee but ffs the stick song gaaaaah
― calumerio, Wednesday, 13 December 2017 16:36 (six years ago) link
STICKY STICKY STICK STICK
― Madchen, Thursday, 14 December 2017 11:39 (six years ago) link
beachville at 8:20 7 Mar 12Add Lego Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitsu to this list, please.
― how's life, Thursday, 15 March 2018 11:07 (six years ago) link
Paw patrol is fecking terrible. Just awful. Thomas and Friends is like a masterclass in storytelling in comparison
― kinder, Sunday, 8 April 2018 09:26 (five years ago) link
It’s amazingly terrible but I’m really jealous I didn’t come up with it. Like half of every episode is just a montage of them getting into their vehicles. Thankfully my kid isn’t that into it other than when he’s sick and has already watched Moana, Dino Dana, and Peg + Cat all of which are orders of magnitude better.
― joygoat, Sunday, 8 April 2018 13:44 (five years ago) link
We’re in a Sarah and Duck/Puffin Rock phase, which are about the chillest cartoons ever.
― Jeff, Sunday, 8 April 2018 14:43 (five years ago) link
we've pretty definitely jumped out of this thread - they're all about match of the day and effing top gear now
― illegal economic migration (Tracer Hand), Sunday, 8 April 2018 16:07 (five years ago) link
Hey Dugee is very enjoyable, i am discovering.
― Mince Pramthwart (James Morrison), Monday, 9 April 2018 00:13 (five years ago) link
Hey Dugee is the best thing on the BBC at the moment
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K05N2jqFHc8
― mfktz (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Monday, 9 April 2018 09:31 (five years ago) link
This is the only clip I can find of their Apocalypse Now parody
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vN-FrziBbWU
― mfktz (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Monday, 9 April 2018 09:34 (five years ago) link
That Apocalypse Now bit felt like a present just for me
― calumerio, Monday, 9 April 2018 09:36 (five years ago) link
Aaaahk! My daughter has for some reason become obsessed with watching these interminable unboxing/reviewe videos where over-excited middle-aged American women with irritating voices and vocabularies consisting of only 14 words other than "soooo cuuuute!" open up endless blind-bagged collectible toys. I am going insane.
― Mince Pramthwart (James Morrison), Tuesday, 24 April 2018 06:53 (five years ago) link
My daughter is deep into a Pokemon obsession right now and while I guess the show isn't the worst, she always wants to have imaginary pokemon battles with me and I can never remember any of their names our their powers. She spent three straight hours last night skipping around the house and babbling about various Pokemon and their attacks and evolutions. I'm proud of her for memorizing all these facts and I want to participate in her obsession in some way but my brain just shuts down at anything beyond Bulbasaur, pretty much.
― how's life, Thursday, 10 May 2018 11:00 (five years ago) link
I would welcome Pokémon at this time. RN my son got into watching Beyblade (a show which makes exactly zero sense) and that led him to Yo-Kai Watch.
Occasionally, though he comes up for air and rediscovers some shows I kinda liked when my daughter was little (10 years back). The music in Wonder Pets, Backyardigans, and Bubble Guppies is pretty decent.
― let's not talk about the gincident (Ye Mad Puffin), Thursday, 10 May 2018 13:01 (five years ago) link
Man, I miss Nick Jr. All I see now is "Hey guys, what is up. Today we're going to learn how to glitch out of the police station in Murder Mystery 2...."
― pplains, Thursday, 10 May 2018 13:19 (five years ago) link
Beyblade doesn't look like something I'll have to worry about but this Yo-Kai Watch thing seems to have a ton of cute animals, which is right up her alley. I am very afraid.
I miss Wonder Pets and Backyardigans.
― how's life, Thursday, 10 May 2018 13:22 (five years ago) link
Wonder Pets featured some of the most negligent parents in the world though. </judging>
― pplains, Thursday, 10 May 2018 13:25 (five years ago) link
Yeah, what the fuck, mama kangaroo? YOU EVEN HAVE A HANDY POUCH TO KEEP YOUR YOUNG IN.
But the "...Save the Beetles" ep was choice.
I like the Boinga song from Backyardigans' "Mission to Mars." Bubble Guppies brought some clever lyric writing (like the internal rhymes in "all of the bones that everyone owns / underneath the skin they're in").
― moresoupial (Ye Mad Puffin), Thursday, 10 May 2018 13:31 (five years ago) link
Is this 'baby shark' song an actual thing or just something my son has picked up from somewhere?
― kinder, Wednesday, 13 June 2018 21:38 (five years ago) link
this one?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GR2o6k8aPlI
― sleeve, Wednesday, 13 June 2018 21:41 (five years ago) link
this is the one I know and am doomed to have in my head forever: http://youtu.be/XqZsoesa55wI'm not actually sure which version he was trying to tell me about ...
― kinder, Wednesday, 13 June 2018 21:45 (five years ago) link
1.3 BILLION views
― illegal economic migration (Tracer Hand), Wednesday, 13 June 2018 23:18 (five years ago) link
jesus christ
they teach it in day care. its got its own coordinated hand movements and everything
I saw the vid sleeve posted, thought "ahh that's where it comes from". later came to realize that every cheapo kiddie animation factory does this song. so who knows.
― frogbs, Thursday, 14 June 2018 03:37 (five years ago) link
we spent some time in Mexico and found out that they do this stuff way better than us
there are a lot of really catchy ones. and not in the same way as "Baby Shark, doo doo doo doo". plus the videos are actually kind of funny. these two crack me up
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_c-HVfe4VM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGFOXpgsw1M
― frogbs, Thursday, 14 June 2018 03:41 (five years ago) link
My 8yo son mentioned last night about some terrible catchy song kids in his class were singing and asked me to look it up so I found it, or a version of it, on YouTube. It is indeed a terrible catchy song with ok animation but then 55 seconds in a cartoon boy pops up with a handgun, wearing a tshirt that says "Jerk":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-xWhG4UU_Y
wtf is that all about? Have I stumbled across one of those sinister kids youtube channels that people were talking about a few months ago?
― nate woolls, Thursday, 14 June 2018 08:04 (five years ago) link
pic.twitter.com/knHwe2dIPt— webding (@WINDuckyQuaCKer) June 2, 2020
― Anti-Cop Ponceortium (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Tuesday, 2 June 2020 20:03 (three years ago) link
My kids are now big into Peppa Pig and....I have to say it’s actually pretty funny. It’s made me laugh out loud several times. Kinda reminds me of The Fuccons.
― frogbs, Sunday, 14 March 2021 23:31 (three years ago) link
Bluey is good for similar reasons
― 𝔠𝔞𝔢𝔨 (caek), Sunday, 14 March 2021 23:39 (three years ago) link
i will swear to Bluey being one of the best shows on television on every thread if i can
― G.A.G.S. (Gophers Against Getting Stuffed) (forksclovetofu), Sunday, 14 March 2021 23:43 (three years ago) link
Peppa Pig is fine, when we lived in China I had a couple of DVDs of UK kids TV for my son to watch, mostly downloaded from UKNova, including a single episode of Peppa Pig where the family go to a theme park called Potato City based around a character called Mr Potato, and there is a section with dinosaurs for no reason. We must have watched this episode 20 times and imagined this was a surreal flight of fancy, however last year I found out that this is a real place, with a slightly different name.https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tayto_Park
― Bastard Lakes (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Monday, 15 March 2021 00:01 (three years ago) link
Peppa Pig is decent but Ben & Holly is even better. Not watched either for a long time now. (They grow up so fast etc...)
― groovypanda, Monday, 15 March 2021 07:58 (three years ago) link
Massive Archibald phase in our family right now. It is quite funny. Also saw We Bare Bears for the first time last week and us grown-ups had actual lols.
― Madchen, Monday, 15 March 2021 08:37 (three years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtmnO9-GD3M
some of these crack me up
― boxedjoy, Monday, 15 March 2021 09:49 (three years ago) link
we had a big peppa pig phase like a year and half ago to the point that my kid started saying some words with a british accent and was saying 'petrol' and 'ready steady go' instead of the american equivalents
My daughter has been a Wild Kratts super fan for like 2 years and will drop words like 'subnivean zone' into casual conversation
lol my son used this phrase like a week ago while watching a video of a fox hunting for mice under the snow. he loves wild kratts now and will store up what we call KRATT FACTS that get dumped on you frequently, often right after hearing it on the show (which I can also hear cause I'm in the other room).
― joygoat, Monday, 15 March 2021 17:04 (three years ago) link
my kids have recently gotten into a new show called Wolfoo. it is basically an evil version of Peppa Pig. I don't really know how else to describe it. the look is so similar, but it sucks. it's incredibly loud, stuffed stupid with sound effects, and the voice actors sound like they've never spoken a word of English in their lives. characters will randomly repeat the same phrase over and over again. it also steals a bunch of IP in ways that are kind of jarring to see in another show. like there will just be Spongebobs laying around. it also plays part of the Spongebob theme song at random intervals?? it's so weird. it also seems really bad for them...characters are constantly crying and getting hurt and a bunch of episodes seem to be about one character getting fat. it's really creepy!
on the plus side, they did recently discover a show called Bluey, which is really charming and good. it is maybe the first kid's show I've ever seen that accurately depicts how kids actually play with each other. plus the soundtrack sounds like Penguin Cafe Orchestra!! show damn near made me cry at one point. its really cute.
― frogbs, Friday, 7 January 2022 14:32 (two years ago) link
oh, I see Bluey was mentioned upthread
― frogbs, Friday, 7 January 2022 14:34 (two years ago) link
also here: Bluey - Spectacular Australian kids cartoon (in the US on Disney +)
― two sleeps till brooklyn (ledge), Friday, 7 January 2022 14:34 (two years ago) link
Grebt children’s programming: Schoolhouse Rock, which had a birthday/anniversary yesterday, I think.
― The Door into Summerisle (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 7 January 2022 14:35 (two years ago) link
First air date: Jan 6, 1973.
― The Door into Summerisle (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 7 January 2022 14:38 (two years ago) link
A whole thread with no mention of the fever-dream horror of BOOHBAH?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myhMnljOC10
In my former jobless life I used to see bit of this sometimes and it almost felt like some kind psychedelic mind-control programming. Truly unsettling
― "Spaghetti" Thompson (Pheeel), Friday, 7 January 2022 14:53 (two years ago) link
that at least looks like it might be fun while extremely high
― frogbs, Friday, 7 January 2022 15:14 (two years ago) link
Back in the 90s yr artsy types liked to get high and binge-watch Teletubbies
― nonsensei (Ye Mad Puffin), Friday, 7 January 2022 15:20 (two years ago) link
Wolof seems to be just a YouTube thing? Definitely a candidate for the Kideodrome thread from a couple years back.
― A Pile of Ants (Boring, Maryland), Friday, 7 January 2022 16:32 (two years ago) link
Wolfoo lol
― A Pile of Ants (Boring, Maryland), Friday, 7 January 2022 16:33 (two years ago) link
there's a lot of copyright infringement going on
― frogbs, Friday, 7 January 2022 16:36 (two years ago) link
at first I dismissed it as a cheap attempt at piggybacking off of Peppa but the plotlines are like...actively harmful. characters are constantly getting hurt or sick, stealing things, getting locked up in jail or otherwise trapped in a small space, everyone is always either angry or crying, and there's never a good lesson anywhere. I get overwhelmingly bad vibes from it and wouldn't be surprised to find there's some sinister element of child psychology they're exploiting to get kids to click on it.
― frogbs, Friday, 7 January 2022 16:46 (two years ago) link
i haven't seen this show you're describing and really don't want to but your description is making me think of this article which made me lose sleep
https://medium.com/@jamesbridle/something-is-wrong-on-the-internet-c39c471271d2
― Lavator Shemmelpennick, Friday, 7 January 2022 16:53 (two years ago) link
Yeah, reading about all that Peppa Pig Gets An Abortion and Spiderman Gets Tortured stuff is basically why our kid isn’t allowed to watch YouTube on his own. Even on Kids YouTube he once came across an instructional video for How To Build An Electric Chair in Minecraft.
― Madchen, Friday, 7 January 2022 17:20 (two years ago) link
This is from 2017 but it’s clearly still going on.https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-39381889.amp
― Madchen, Friday, 7 January 2022 17:23 (two years ago) link
ugh just the screencaps in that bbc article are churning my stomach all over again.
i so don't want to be a helicopter parent but it's really hard to let kids explore the world independently when so much of the world they want to explore is online and it's so easy to stumble into this shit
― Lavator Shemmelpennick, Friday, 7 January 2022 17:35 (two years ago) link
i have this idea for what seems like it would be a very profitable youtube channel:
the fred rogers crayon video https://www.pbs.org/video/mister-rogers-neighborhood-how-people-make-crayons-1/ but about new/more stuff.
that's the idea. if this channel exists please tell me.
kind of like this guy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=captainrani but a bit more accessible to younger kids and done with library footage (but crucially with the with the same "i just took 6 benedryl" narration style as that guy and fred rogers).
library footage like https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twentytruck.
feel like you could put these together pretty cheaply, and parents would be OK with them because they would be chill, and kids would like them (or at least not hate them relative to pj masks or some shit). i know my kids would go for them.
― 𝔠𝔞𝔢𝔨 (caek), Friday, 7 January 2022 17:50 (two years ago) link
ah links to youtube channels don't work.
first link
second link
― 𝔠𝔞𝔢𝔨 (caek), Friday, 7 January 2022 17:51 (two years ago) link
Here's the Kideodrome thread, I think it was prompted by that Medium article Lavator posted: KIDEODROME: scary "Kid's Youtube" algorithms, fringe programming, insert conspiracy theory here
― A Pile of Ants (Boring, Maryland), Friday, 7 January 2022 18:18 (two years ago) link
thanks but i posted here on the basis that my idea is execrable!
― 𝔠𝔞𝔢𝔨 (caek), Friday, 7 January 2022 18:35 (two years ago) link
things are definitely much better than they were 2017 - I remember taking a nap w/ my 3 year old as YouTube was playing Cocomelon (called ABC Kids TV back then) and when I woke up it was some really bizarre live action thing with adults dressed as Elsa and Spiderman eating a gigantic gummy worm. it was so fucking weird, too gross to be sexual but the camera swung around like a porno, idk it really gave me the creeps. Most of it is gone but it does occur to me now that Wolfoo is maybe an attempt to do those sorts of videos without immediately getting copystruck. The whole thing is like creepypasta for kids.
also found the whole Bounce Patrol thing unsettling, I know it's just knockoff Wiggles but clearly the videos they are making are attempting to take advantage of The Algorithm. so despite being kind of wholesome on the surface there's some real creepiness behind it.
― frogbs, Friday, 7 January 2022 19:05 (two years ago) link
― A Pile of Ants (Boring, Maryland), Friday, 7 January 2022 19:09 (two years ago) link
ah right! there's also the kids should see this which is just where i dump youtubes my kids get into.
― 𝔠𝔞𝔢𝔨 (caek), Friday, 7 January 2022 19:17 (two years ago) link
everyone is always either angry or crying, and there's never a good lesson anywhere. I get overwhelmingly bad vibes from it
the makers of Wolfoo seem to feel obliged to at least pretend it's good for kids (article is sponsored by SCONNECT, a "Vietnam-based entertainment company" which produces Wolfoo:
At Wolfoo, each episode is more than just entertainment. All the videos impart positive social life lessons and focus on the development of 12 personality traits and skills for children: courage, gratitude, compassion, empathy, humility, integrity, persistence, creativity, curiosity, self-control, teamwork and communication.
https://www.list.co.uk/article/124851-wolfoo-is-dominating-youtube-for-kids/
― soref, Friday, 7 January 2022 19:40 (two years ago) link
I think I've figured out what bothers me so much about Wolfoo: it's utterly soulless. Nearly all kids' programming has *some* level of emotional involvement in its characters - it's why the good shows, like Bluey, work so well for the parents (because the emotions and attitudes are so familiar), but even the bad ones have this to some degree. In Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, if a character is frustrated or excited, I can at least understand why - there's a plot, or the dialogue is delivered a certain way. In Wolfoo there are plots, I guess, but the characters themselves have no uhh...emotional continuity. The voice actors deliver their lines as though they have no idea what the plot is. I mean I surmised that the actors probably don't speak English, but they don't even seem to understand a single thing about what the episodes is about. It's as though they just have all their lines written down on a sheet of paper and given to them to record in one take. So you have things like the Mom laughing when her kids get hurt, or characters getting mad at each other and then becoming best friends 5 seconds later. The characters don't register as anything. Like, I probably would not enjoy watching Donald Duck get stabbed to death, but when bad things happen to the Wolfoo characters it's like watching someone drop a GI Joe down the stairs. I get this strange cognitive dissonance watching it. Like it's slowly eating away at your soul.
― frogbs, Wednesday, 1 June 2022 16:51 (one year ago) link
It's as though they just have all their lines written down on a sheet of paper and given to them to record in one take.
i guarantee you this is what happens
― Tracer Hand, Wednesday, 1 June 2022 17:12 (one year ago) link
Bing you little shit.
― buffalo tomozzarella (ledge), Sunday, 5 June 2022 15:33 (one year ago) link
it astonishes me that on netflix alone there are approximately 800 pre school team based cheap cgi shows worse than paw patrol. rainbow rangers this means you.
― buffalo tomozzarella (ledge), Sunday, 5 June 2022 16:26 (one year ago) link
But low-budget children's media has always been cheap and souless.
― Christine Green Leafy Dragon Indigo, Sunday, 5 June 2022 17:00 (one year ago) link
Fingerbobs begs to differ!
― kinder, Sunday, 5 June 2022 20:09 (one year ago) link
My toddler is 2. My overton window for what is and isn't crap keeps expanding. Lately she's been into videos where adults play with toys of her favourite characters (Night Garden, Frozen, Peppa, etc) -- in fact she'd rather watch the toy videos than the original cartoons. But! They also seem kinda harmless and maybe even encourage imaginative play, even though I find them infuriatingly dull. I guess the Bluey marathons might have to wait to next year.
― Chuck_Tatum, Tuesday, 12 July 2022 11:49 (one year ago) link
Daughter just turned two and a half. Her media diet is probably 80% Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, which, while it basically never winks to adults to offer them something for themselves, is about as unobjectionable as can be. However, there is a battle for her soul going on in the remaining 20%. This morning I gave in and let her watch Peppa Pig -- I know it could be a lot worse but all I can say is WHY WHY WHY do they have to pepper every few seconds of the show with those snorts? It's like nails on a chalkboard to me. Was there some market research or some shit that said kids would like that?! Hard for me to imagine...
― Lavator Shemmelpennick, Friday, 16 September 2022 13:57 (one year ago) link
We watched Daniel Tigers neighbourhood yesterday, after you mentioned it here – I never would’ve noticed it amongst the thousands of other identikit shows on Netflix otherwise. I wouldn’t say it’s a great show – but I’m glad she’s watching it instead of Peppa Pig toy videos on YouTube now.
I like the snorts! It makes it easier to do impressions. Don’t mind it as much as Morty’s repulsive belches which render that show unwatchable to me
― Chuck_Tatum, Saturday, 8 October 2022 09:10 (one year ago) link
Haha good connection - Rick and Morty definitely took the mantle from Peppa Pig on the curious choice to intersperse bodily noises with dialogue as part of your core aural aesthetic. Daniel Tiger is not very high on the artistry/creativity scale but the characters all model kindness and are never annoying (ok, the repetitive songs can get annoying). More than a few of the lessons have been great tools in teaching things in our home from emotion regulation to trying new foods to toileting.
― Lavator Shemmelpennick, Sunday, 9 October 2022 15:17 (one year ago) link
“Grownups come back” is a banger.
― 𝔠𝔞𝔢𝔨 (caek), Sunday, 9 October 2022 23:29 (one year ago) link
You’re telling me, i sing it as a bedtime song most nights (by request ofc)
― Lavator Shemmelpennick, Monday, 10 October 2022 01:09 (one year ago) link
I do like the piano flourish before the final verse.
My kids prefer the extended dance remix
― the floor is guava (Ye Mad Puffin), Monday, 10 October 2022 10:07 (one year ago) link
Oh man Daniel Tiger was like a third parent for my kid. Def not meant for adults, but surprisingly effected. Grownups come back for sure. And one about going to the bathroom was big for us.
― dan selzer, Wednesday, 12 October 2022 14:27 (one year ago) link
I still have those songs in my head, "You've got to try new foods cause they might taste good!"
― “uhh”—like, this is an insane oatmeal raisin cookie “uhh” (President Keyes), Thursday, 13 October 2022 14:45 (one year ago) link
Goo-oo-oo-ood!
― Lavator Shemmelpennick, Thursday, 13 October 2022 15:43 (one year ago) link