Nobody Likes Calliou

shakeysix said:

... Look at Stewie-- he wants his mother dead and nobody hates him!

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Word!

(Oh, and by the way, I was a grown-butt woman when Barney came on the scene, and I absolutely loved him) :eggplant

It's a show meant for toddlers. Calliou's annoying, but fine.

...Unlike a little red muppet, who I would fight in an alleyway, and is clearly the harbinger of the end times.

On a side-note, as someone without kids but who spends his entire working life around them at all stages of development, I've noticed that shows/music/books adults find annoying have no appreciable negative effect on their child's development.

ETA: But I miss Mr. Rogers. Lord how I miss him.

I miss Captain Kangaroo. His show was paced so much more slowly than Sesame Street. He had great friends. like Mr. Greenjeans and Bunny Rabbit and that great bentwood rocker to sit in while he read us stories from books. As a young mother, I could not wait to get my own bentwood rocker. I loved it. I settled it into a sunny dormer and put a bookcase with my favorite kids books next to it.

I did manage to read the stories to my girls but from the floor. It was an uphill battle. They were a rowdy crew. They wrecked the rocker by turning it upside down and pretending it was a train. It didn't last a year. I blame Sesame Street--s6

the Caillou thread is back and kicking!

I miss Zoom.

We're gonna Zoom, zoom zoom-a zoom.

They had all sorts of nerdy hands-on activities. And I lub-earned tub-oo spub-eak hubba-dubba.

I think the issue most parents have with Calliou is that he's so whiny. After watching the show for a while, their kids start to copy his behavior.

As a parent who has dealt with this, I agree.

NateCrow said:

I think the issue most parents have with Calliou is that he's so whiny. After watching the show for a while, their kids start to copy his behavior.

As a parent who has dealt with this, I agree.

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This. So much this. Kids copy shows constantly.

At one point, when she was three or four, my little niece's favorite film was "The Rugrats Movie." Now I rather like the Rugrats, except for the one character my niece most enjoyed imitating: Angelica. If you're unfamiliar with the show, Angelica is the resident bully. She's bratty, has an intentionally obnoxious voice, and, IIRC, spends the entirety of the film trying to retrieve her lost doll, Cynthia.

So I drive in for a visit, and my niece is screeching "Cynthiaaaaa! Cynthiaaaaa!" all...day...long.

I decided that what movies had caused, maybe movies could fix, so I bought her a copy of one of my own childhood favorites, the Carebears movie.

She watched the first few minutes, looked at me funny, and said "This is a baby movie."

But she didn't turn it off.

The story pulled her in and she ended up thoroughly enjoying it. Two hours later, I hear her playing with her toys, sweetly singing to herself, "Caralot, it's a place we all can go..."

I think what I'm trying to say is that the Carebears are freakin' miracle workers.

Kjbartolotta said:

It's a show meant for toddlers. Calliou's annoying, but fine.

...Unlike a little red muppet, who I would fight in an alleyway, and is clearly the harbinger of the end times.

On a side-note, as someone without kids but who spends his entire working life around them at all stages of development, I've noticed that shows/music/books adults find annoying have no appreciable negative effect on their child's development.

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Both are annoying, and when kids imitate either it's bad for the kids.

It's great that you have the patience to deal with kids of all developmental levels, but that's not the status quo of people the kids will meet throughout their life. I know we're supposed to all be completely fine with little kids being annoying little $#!ts, but ultimately it's bad for the kid when he or she is a whiner, a brat, a bully, or any type of annoying turd. I've tried like hell to teach my kids to behave in a manner that will make adults like them.

It's a life skill.

I can't tell you how many younger employees I've had that just haven't figured out how to fit in with the office environment and ultimately leave their first job on bad terms, because they couldn't behave in a socially acceptable manner, which varies depending on a number of variables. Being able to read and work a room opens up hundreds of opportunities. I've seen my own kids create opportunities, to be taught new skills, and even be taken around the world simply because they can socialize at the level of those around them. I'm proud, because it's a skill I never fully mastered.

I remember walking in on my grandmother watching Calliou with my sister.

"Hello sweetheart. We're watching the program about cancer boy."

Tazlima said:

This. So much this. Kids copy shows constantly.

At one point, when she was three or four, my little niece's favorite film was "The Rugrats Movie." Now I rather like the Rugrats, except for the one character my niece most enjoyed imitating: Angelica. If you're unfamiliar with the show, Angelica is the resident bully. She's bratty, has an intentionally obnoxious voice, and, IIRC, spends the entirety of the film trying to retrieve her lost doll, Cynthia.

So I drive in for a visit, and my niece is screeching "Cynthiaaaaa! Cynthiaaaaa!" all...day...long.

I decided that what movies had caused, maybe movies could fix, so I bought her a copy of one of my own childhood favorites, the Carebears movie.

She watched the first few minutes, looked at me funny, and said "This is a baby movie."

But she didn't turn it off.

The story pulled her in and she ended up thoroughly enjoying it. Two hours later, I hear her playing with her toys, sweetly singing to herself, "Caralot, it's a place we all can go..."

I think what I'm trying to say is that the Carebears are freakin' miracle workers.

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That makes sense. The problem with a lot of children's tv is that it's riddled with conflict that's never resolved. It's in our nature to be drawn/interested to conflict, look at the obessesion adults have with reality tv.

However, when a parent becomes involved I think it can give a lot more leverage on the quality vs entertainment of the show.

For example, a kid watching Mr. Rogers over Spongebob simply because the parent is watching it with them and engaging with what is happening in the show "Look at the funny puppet! Look at the train."

Justobuddies said:

Both are annoying, and when kids imitate either it's bad for the kids.

It's great that you have the patience to deal with kids of all developmental levels, but that's not the status quo of people the kids will meet throughout their life. I know we're supposed to all be completely fine with little kids being annoying little $#!ts, but ultimately it's bad for the kid when he or she is a whiner, a brat, a bully, or any type of annoying turd. I've tried like hell to teach my kids to behave in a manner that will make adults like them.

It's a life skill.

I can't tell you how many younger employees I've had that just haven't figured out how to fit in with the office environment and ultimately leave their first job on bad terms, because they couldn't behave in a socially acceptable manner, which varies depending on a number of variables. Being able to read and work a room opens up hundreds of opportunities. I've seen my own kids create opportunities, to be taught new skills, and even be taken around the world simply because they can socialize at the level of those around them. I'm proud, because it's a skill I never fully mastered.

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I had a friend who's son violently attacked him once after watching Max and Ruby. I have no doubt the show was in some way the cause, and four years later he's the sweetest, most well-adjusted boy I've ever met.

Never gonna have kids, so feel free to label me unqualified on this matter as much as you, but I feel like all kid's media get labelled, at some point, bad for kids. Mr. Rogers is too soft and cosseting. Harry Potter is too dark and encourages a break with reality. TMNT promotes junk food and improper language. Junie B Jones is an all-around buttmunch. But I don't think I'd especially stand behind the assertion that none of these influences have a negative effect on kids, or that a parent should simply 'take responsibility'. But I gotta defend a lot of kid's media on any given day, good, bad, or inbetween, it doesn't bother me to hear people say Callou sucks and kids shouldn't watch it, but there are stories where kids act like butts where it does (Ivy and Bean springs to mind, which is pure chaos and amazaballs). :shrugs:

Kevin, who watched too much Labyrinth as a kid and is now obsessed with crotch-bulges and babynapping.