http:\/\/www.med.umich.edu\/yourchild\/topics\/tv.htm<\/a><\/p>\nThe fact is, children reenact what they see. ESPECIALLY small children. \u00a0They reenact the good and the bad and they don’t always learn the lesson a show is trying to teach- especially when they see and hear the “hero” hitting, fighting, being bratty or having bad attitude. \u00a0But let’s be honest – do you watch it all? \u00a0Do you sit with them for every lesson to ensure the RIGHT things are being translated into your kid’s brain? \u00a0Of course you don’t. \u00a0Should you? Yeah, probably.<\/p>\n
Guilty and sometimes feeling defensive, we tend to say, “well, there’s only so much you can shield from your kids” to justify our actions and sure, that’s true. But let’s be honest for a second. \u00a0It’s okay to admit we’re not as careful as we “should\/could\/want to” be. \u00a0Once we can all agree that we’ve all done it and that some of us just don’t care, the conversation gets a lot easier. \u00a0As always, I’m about facts, not judgement. \u00a0The fact is, we allow our kids to watch TV that sometimes we probably shouldn’t. There. \u00a0Easy, right?<\/p>\n
We’ve all been there, we get in a rush, we get busy… Some days it feels like you’ve\u00a0got a low flying helicopter circling your feet with its grabby hands and high pitched voice trying to interrupt you every 12 seconds, you’ve got a migraine coming on and deadlines, dinner and dusting to do, the bills are unpaid and the phone calls have got to get done. \u00a0So what do you do? \u00a0You grab the remote, find something animated and think, yeah that’ll do for the moment-\u00a0then\u00a0you move on to get stuff done or finish the phone call you started while the child is suddenly mesmerized and attention is diverted. Everyone I know has done this. \u00a0I’ve done this. \u00a0I’m not saying\u00a0you are evil if you’ve done this… I’m saying it’s universal and it’s a problem. \u00a0The problem isn’t that we’ve allowed a small portion of our child’s day to be managed by a television, it’s our assumption that just because it’s animated and on a children’s network, the show we turned on is good for them. \u00a0Or at the very least; not detrimental, to\u00a0a child’s development.<\/p>\n
That is a vastly over-confident assumption.<\/p>\n
My growing frustration with typical children’s programming has led me to start making a list of the shows and movies we like and those we don’t. \u00a0I started this after a conversation with a friend who also has a toddler and a pre-schooler. \u00a0I asked her if she had ever seen a certain show because I had decided we weren’t watching it anymore and her response was, “oh yeah, they watch it all the time, it has cute music”.
\nI paused. \u00a0Then asked, “but have you ever sat down to watch it?
\nShe answered that she had not, because it seemed cute and was on a “Jr” channel which means, obviously, it’s okay for kids that age.
\nSo I began telling her about the show and what happened in the specific episode that finally tipped the scales for me and she was pretty horrified. \u00a0She vowed to sit down and watch it next time it was on. \u00a0Which she did a day or so later, she called to tell me she was really sad that it was so bad and that they would not be watching it anymore in her house, either because a nasty new habit her youngest started was obviously a direct result of watching that show and she didn’t even know it.
\nAfter this conversation, she and I went through several programs, comparing notes and generally evaluating them based on things like talking back, attitude, how many times a child character said “no” to an adult, how many times a child character whined about not getting their way, how many times hitting took place or bullying, or snarky, sarcastic attitude along with unnecessary violence of any kind.<\/p>\n
I believe it is important to take each day at a time when it comes to these things and know that you may break your own rules when the time is right. \u00a0Something that is “off the shelf” today, might be totally okay tomorrow. \u00a0Something that is “off the shelf” for me and my kids might be completely acceptable to you. \u00a0It’s all different and mutable, just as every human being is. \u00a0My oldest reenacts what he sees almost instantly after he’s watched a new show. \u00a0One of my best friend’s sons almost NEVER does that, so his shows are not screened the way ours are. \u00a0So, see, it’s all different for everyone. \u00a0But that does not mean a general list of fundamental truths can’t be laid out; \u00a0things like kindness, compassion, honor and grace, respect for all things, glorifying goodness and not laughing at other’s failures or pain, and the value of truth should be static no matter who you are. \u00a0Now, does every single thing a kid watches HAVE to have all these lessons, alongside ABC’s and how to do basic math? Of course not! \u00a0Sometimes entertainment really is just entertaining and that’s okay- it doesn’t all have to be educational, but even plain old entertainment still should not tear down fundamental philosophies and key life lessons we want our kids to learn.<\/p>\n
It’s frustrating and disappointing that we can’t trust networks to produce quality entertainment that will enrich our\u00a0kids or at the very least, not\u00a0undo the work we have done, but we also have to be realistic and understand that their job is to produce cartoons and make money, not to teach a child how to be a decent person. That’s our jobs, right? \u00a0SO, while I will continue to do my job bringing up my children as kind, compassionate and loving humans, regardless of what’s on TV, that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t be really awesome if I didn’t feel like I had to fight every other influence they encounter in order to do it.<\/p>\n
That’s why I’m writing this. \u00a0I believe it is\u00a0important that a parent not only see these shows as their child sees them, but also\u00a0be brave enough to be the one to stand up and say NO. \u00a0Not in my house… sorry if all your little buddies watch it and sorry if daddy thinks it’s fine because he watched that show when he was young, but we don’t watch this show, not until you’re older. Period. Done. End of conversation.<\/p>\n
Now, I’m not axing the TV altogether, so before you go thinking I’m turning into a crazy person trying to shelter my kids to keep\u00a0them hidden under a rock, let me explain.<\/p>\n
I think it’s a logical parenting move to want to make sure I’m not contributing to a behavior problem down the road by allowing them to see a bratty little cartoon character talking back, whining about not getting to play with something or hitting someone because they’re angry. \u00a0I don’t believe that makes me a crazy, over-sheltering mom, I think that makes me a decent mom that doesn’t want to sabotage her kids. \u00a0I’ve seen that kind of sabotage in action and it’s really sad. \u00a0The kids who grow up like that inevitably get in trouble in school or church or even at home because they talk back, throw attitude around, even hit and y’know what… WHEN (not if) that happens, it isn’t the KID’S fault. \u00a0The blame rests entirely on the parent’s for allowing the kid to be exposed to it, for allowing the behavior to be seen on a daily basis. \u00a0It’s not the kid’s fault when they are learning from their favorite characters that reacting to situations through anger, violence, being sneaky, bratty, selfish or lying is okay because they see it on TV all the time.<\/p>\n
Unless- you sit and talk about the lessons being learned every single time they watch the show and the child is truly grasping that concept of cause and effect. \u00a0In that case- you’re totally doing it right, but just know that it might be better not to expose them to the behavior at all if they are learning the behavior exists JUST to be told it’s bad. \u00a0That also doesn’t really make sense, in my opinion. \u00a0At least not for children under 7.<\/p>\n
What I’ve found is a tremendous amount of peer pressure to let my kids watch whatever they want. \u00a0Parents are vocal about how lame it is that some people screen TV shows and act cautiously with their child’s entertainment options. \u00a0There are some things I’m totally lax about that others are not, so I think it all balances out.<\/p>\n
The truth is, I’m not a “go with the flow” mom. \u00a0I don’t parent to stay unnoticed. \u00a0I don’t parent to keep us off the radar and blend. \u00a0I parent to provide my children with the absolute best future I can by teaching them what I believe will help them the most. \u00a0I don’t want to be the mom who lets my kids watch whatever- consequences be damned, just so some other person won’t think I’m over protective. \u00a0I don’t want to set them up for failure just because I want my friends\u00a0to think of me as the “cool mom” who’s child knows the Animaniacs song by heart at age three.<\/p>\n
Speaking of three… that’s how old my oldest son is. \u00a0My daughter just turned two\u00a0and the truth is,\u00a0I WAS pretty easy going when it came to TV in the beginning. \u00a0In fact, my son actually DID<\/em> know the theme song to Animaniacs at age two… until I realized that was a very, very bad plan. \u00a0I am always open to trying something out first, then\u00a0allowing them\u00a0to dictate what we watch based on how they react to it. \u00a0I wait to see what behaviors, if any, manifest after\u00a0we watch. \u00a0Then, if something is crossed off our watch list, I keep it on a top shelf\u00a0to bring back\u00a0when I think they are\u00a0old enough to try again. \u00a0This has been my process since Liam was about 9 months old.<\/p>\nI’m realizing now that this “let’s see what happens” process really doesn’t work very well in preventing bad behaviors from sticking. \u00a0Even one viewing of a negative behavior can take DAYS\u00a0and DAYS to get out of his head and the damage done is NOT worth the hour of entertainment, especially when his sister or the cat or the neighbor’s children or mommy’s friends or grandparents who come to visit bear the brunt of that behavior.<\/p>\n
So… until they are both old enough to recognize the bad behavior as actually BAD and not repeat it like little parrots, filters are important. \u00a0My\u00a0ability to make a proper judgement PRIOR to allowing them to view the show\/movie, is important. \u00a0Yes, this is harder. \u00a0Yes, I know, most people don’t have time to do that.<\/p>\n
You should know, these decisions did not come lightly, but I’ve been backed up in my choices, not only by my own, personal experiences with my children, but also watching other families. \u00a0I watch these really good, careful parents who teach solid morals and compassion at home, yet, allow their kids to watch shows that contradict family directives and they never consider that one will effect the other. \u00a0I see them completely confused when the kids act out, hit one another, slam doors, yell, throw things and basically emulate the exact behavior they saw on TV. \u00a0Then of course, I see the children punished and the parents confused, never even considering it has to do with the shows they are watching.<\/p>\n
In the geek culture, we have it rough. \u00a0We want to share all of the things<\/strong> with our kids and we don’t want to wait. \u00a0It’s SO HARD to wait! \u00a0But we have to. \u00a0For their sake, we just have to. \u00a0Like all things in the world of parenting, its not about us, it’s about them and we have to have the presence of mind to recognize that and do what’s right. \u00a0It’s our job to wait until we know they are ready to be exposed to the behaviors they see and to know WHEN that is. \u00a0Sometimes it’s earlier than others and sometimes it’s later than others. \u00a0Just because all the other 5 year olds can watch TMNT and not have to enact every fight scene with random people and hit them with stick swords, doesn’t mean my kid can do that. \u00a0Doesn’t mean he’s ready for it just because the age on the box of the DVD says he should be. \u00a0It’s our job to know when, where and how much they aught to be exposed to. \u00a0Anything less is just us trying to live vicariously through them or making an incorrect assumption that because it’s a children’s show, every child is old enough to watch it. \u00a0That isn’t fair to them and it’s time we stop pretending that we are allowing it because we want THEM to experience it. \u00a0The truth is, we’re exposing them because we want to see them being exposed to it. \u00a0We expose them because we want them to be part of our club. \u00a0That’s NOT a good reason. \u00a0So let’s be honest and just wait till they really can<\/strong> experience it with us in a real and full way, when they are really ready to do so, and not before, just because we don’t want to be patient. \u00a0I think we would find the whole experience to be far more exciting and magical if we wait anyway.<\/p>\nI guess the bottom line with this stuff for me is toddler and pre-school shows should be for toddlers and pre-schoolers. \u00a0Logical, yes? \u00a0They should be full of good language skills, solid and positive lessons, concepts like shapes, numbers, letters and basic issues like early math skills or cause and effect, all depicting behaviors we want them to emulate. \u00a0We want our kids to be exposed to shows that enrich them and work in tandem with the lessons we teach at home. \u00a0It doesn’t seem like too much to ask that a network that has an entire channel devoted to the age groups of 0-5 years do its utmost to provide this level of quality entertainment and yet, here we are, floating in a sea full of attitude, negative behaviors, ambiguous lessons and some really terrible examples to follow.<\/p>\n
What we do not want, are examples of the behaviors we will have to discipline our children for emulating. \u00a0What we do not want, are influences that are directly contradicting what we try to teach at home. \u00a0What we do not want, is a toxic influence that we have to fight against every day to maintain a positive example.<\/p>\n
Since I’ve been thinking about this and evaluating programs for literally 2 years now, my list of shows we don’t watch has become a little long, so instead of dumping it all into one ultra-long post that no one will read, I’m breaking it up into several review articles that will cover TV we don’t watch, TV we love, movies we shelved and movies we watch weekly.<\/p>\n
I’ve been told I’m “really strict” when it comes to TV, but you be the judge.<\/p>\n
In the mean time, I would love to hear from people, especially preschool and kinder parents…. What shows do you love and which ones do you avoid like the plague\u00a0and why?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Do you know what your kids are watching? I mean, REALLY know? \u00a0No, not just what the shows are called and what network they’re on, or even just the “oh yeah, it’s got a bunny and it’s cute”. \u00a0I mean.. have you sat down and screened the shows you let them watch?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[4,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10274","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog-and-reviews","category-lessons-from-the-mother-ship"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1opIU-2FI","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":10323,"url":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/toxic-television-pt-3-the-shows-we-love\/","url_meta":{"origin":10274,"position":0},"title":"Toxic Television- Pt. 3; The Shows We Love","author":"Janelle","date":"January 9, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Okay, you\u2019ve already heard my rant on toddler programming, and you\u2019ve already read about what shows we don\u2019t like. Now, as part 3 in the \"Toxic Television\" series, I\u2019m covering the shows we love. \u00a0You\u2019ll see there are many more great shows than there are toxic shows, so that\u2019s reassuring\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blogs\/Reviews\/Stories"","block_context":{"text":"Blogs\/Reviews\/Stories","link":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/category\/blog-and-reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hwnd.babyfirsttv.com\/images\/TV-main\/globe-illustration.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":10276,"url":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/toxic-television-pt-2-the-shows-we-hate\/","url_meta":{"origin":10274,"position":1},"title":"Toxic Television- Pt. 2; The Shows We Hate","author":"Janelle","date":"January 9, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Per my previous post HERE, I\u2019m starting my review list off with the programs that are popular in the ages 5 and under crowd that we don\u2019t care for. \u00a0I thought it might be helpful for some and at least spark conversation for others. 1- Caillou- Shelved for: whining, tantrums,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blogs\/Reviews\/Stories"","block_context":{"text":"Blogs\/Reviews\/Stories","link":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/category\/blog-and-reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10246,"url":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/eyes-changed\/","url_meta":{"origin":10274,"position":2},"title":"My Eyes Have Changed","author":"Janelle","date":"October 18, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"As a mother of two small kids, 90% of my television experience is spread across a vast ocean of talking letters, problem solving foxes, mathematician monsters, alien artists and hundreds more creative, educational and brilliant characters designed for the stimulation of children ages 0-6 years. That other 10%? \u00a0That's the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blogs\/Reviews\/Stories"","block_context":{"text":"Blogs\/Reviews\/Stories","link":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/category\/blog-and-reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"http:\/\/thefakegeekgirlblog.files.wordpress.com\/2014\/07\/teen-wolf-season-4-cast-group-promotional-photo1.jpg?w=350&h=200&crop=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"http:\/\/thefakegeekgirlblog.files.wordpress.com\/2014\/07\/teen-wolf-season-4-cast-group-promotional-photo1.jpg?w=350&h=200&crop=1 1x, http:\/\/thefakegeekgirlblog.files.wordpress.com\/2014\/07\/teen-wolf-season-4-cast-group-promotional-photo1.jpg?w=525&h=300&crop=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":20847,"url":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/panelcast-episode-279\/","url_meta":{"origin":10274,"position":3},"title":"PanelCast Episode #279","author":"Forbidden Panel","date":"October 16, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"In this episode the guys chat Marvel Zombies, V\/H\/S\/ Halloween, One Battle After Another, Caught Stealing, and Toxic Avenger.","rel":"","context":"In "PanelCast"","block_context":{"text":"PanelCast","link":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/category\/panelcast\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/279.png?fit=1200%2C675&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/279.png?fit=1200%2C675&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/279.png?fit=1200%2C675&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/279.png?fit=1200%2C675&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/279.png?fit=1200%2C675&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4890,"url":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/cbr-tv-cci-jeph-loeb-on-avengers-assemble-hulk-agents-of-s-m-a-s-h-comic-book-resources\/","url_meta":{"origin":10274,"position":4},"title":"CBR TV @ CCI: Jeph Loeb On “Avengers Assemble,” “Hulk: Agents of S.M.A.S.H.” – Comic Book Resources","author":"Forbidden Panel","date":"July 18, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Marvel's Head of Television Jeph Loeb spent some time with CBR TV during Comic-Con International in San Diego to discuss Marvel Animation's upcoming slate of series as well as its returning shows, but not before dipping into the history books to relate the story of his first CCI visit as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1973,"url":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/tv-shows-coming-to-comic-con-2011\/","url_meta":{"origin":10274,"position":5},"title":"TV Shows Coming to Comic-Con 2011","author":"Forbidden Panel","date":"June 18, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"by Eric Goldman via tv.ign.com Ready or not, Comic-Con is almost here again! There has been some word that there might be a slightly lessened presence from the major movie studios this year in San Diego, but no one expects there to be anything quiet on the TV front, which\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10274","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10274"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10274\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10278,"href":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10274\/revisions\/10278"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10274"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10274"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/forbiddenpanel.com\/PanelCast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10274"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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<\/p>\n