T.v. Content

[CMSturgeon]

Anyway, in general, what shows or channels do you block in your home?

My daughter is only 4 so I'm not too worried about her channel surfing yet. I'm not sure that made me think of the question but now I'm really interested to know what's going on in your homes. I usually let my daughter watch any cartoon that comes on but I'm really becoming more hesitant. I've noticed they even say insults like stupid and idiot on Spongebob, and that's something I dont want her to learn. We don't make fun of people in our home and so she never hears anything like that from us. So far, I've not heard her repeat one thing from t.v. Should I cut off Spongebob and just make her watch stuff like Dora or what?

[BailJumper]

Block? We don't block anything. The kiddos know what they are allowed and not allowed to watch. Never been an issue.

[Intrepid]

I don't block any cartoons either. It is understood that my 9 year old doesn't watch anything on Cartoon Network....one she knows that I don't think most of the shows on there are really kid appropriate, and two, she really doesn't think anything on there is funny.

Now, as for other shows....I do block all shows that are rated PG-13 or "worse"., and that's just to help prevent something from accidentally appearing on the screen if she puts in the wrong number, or something. I'm not opposed to her watching any PG-13 movies, I just want her to ask first so I'll know. If I approve, I enter the PIN via the remote and she can watch.

I think the key is to talk with the kids about what your expectations are, and then take extra precaution by utilizing the tools that are available thru the cable/satellite box (or TV).

As for the Spongebob question, I didn't like Spongebob at first and wouldn't let my daughter watch it. But then I sat down and started watching a few episodes and love it and see no problem with my child watching it.

[SoonerDave]

I've been very fortunate in establishing guidelines such that my kids are pretty darned good at knowing what I will and won't let them watch. They're equally good at asking me if I would approve something for them, and I think that's incredibly cool. I really can't recall a time when I've caught them watching something I had told them specifically wasn't allowed, so I've never felt the need for explicit blocks. The one channel we simply removed from the list was MTV.

Cartoon Network is pretty much persona-(or is that channela?)-non-grata in our house, and it's never been an issue. The only time we ever watched it was when they ran old Warner Brothers cartoons, and they shifted those over to the Boomerang network a few years back (and Cox doesn't carry it). I ended up buying some WB collections on DVD and love to see them unedited.

The kinds of things that we won't let through are things like Avatar, That's So Raven, most anything that relates to mysticism or psychic nonsense; no Yugioh, no Pokemon, or PowerRangers (although they're pretty much passe these days) or any of the strange creature-power-collector-card tie-in shows. I don't mind Spongebob, although its a little loud, I must admit to finding some of it funny myself. Maybe that doesn't reflect too well on me; who knows. I don't think there's one contemporary cartoon today made with the quality of writing or animation that even remotely approaches that of the old WB cartoons.

I find Dora the Explorer insultingly stupid and condescending to children, and I never let so much as one episode of Barney the Imbecile Dinosaur contaminate my home. The kids like reruns of Full House, which I despise on imbecilic grounds as well, but its content per se is not objectionable so I allow it. The kids like "Suite Life of Zach and Cody" on Disney, which is not bad for a kid-themed comedy...

What I really like, however, is that my older son is starting to enjoy more science-oriented shows like "Mythbusters" and "How Its Made," which we all really enjoy. He's also starting to enjoy things on Food Network like "Good Eats" with Alton Brown, who does a great job of making food fun and explaining some of the science behind cooking in a way that hardly seems educational...

-soonerdave

[CMSturgeon]

Have any of you seen the Muzzy videos? I watched some in French class and think they'd be good for learning for my daughter. But they ARE pretty old school.

[Intrepid]

Cartoon Network is pretty much persona-(or is that channela?)-non-grata in our house, and it's never been an issue. The only time we ever watched it was when they ran old Warner Brothers cartoons, and they shifted those over to the Boomerang network a few years back (and Cox doesn't carry it). I ended up buying some WB collections on DVD and love to see them unedited.

I miss the old cartoons on CN and wish Cox would carry Boomerang. The annual "June Bugs" marathon was always a favorite of mine.

What I really like, however, is that my older son is starting to enjoy more science-oriented shows like "Mythbusters" and "How Its Made," which we all really enjoy. He's also starting to enjoy things on Food Network like "Good Eats" with Alton Brown, who does a great job of making food fun and explaining some of the science behind cooking in a way that hardly seems educational...

My daughter LOVES "Good Eats" and "Unwrapped" on Food Network. Alton Brown is also a favorite of ours.

[BailJumper]

I forgot to mention, we do not allow TV anywhere but in the living room.

So, they can't watch anything I do not know about. We also limit daily TV watching to about 3 hours week days and probably 5-6 on weekends.

We also do not allow wireless internet for the same reasons.

[CMSturgeon]

I forgot to mention, we do not allow TV anywhere but in the living room.

So, they can't watch anything I do not know about. We also limit daily TV watching to about 3 hours week days and probably 5-6 on weekends.

We also do not allow wireless internet for the same reasons.

My daughter has a tv in her room. She is only 4 so she only knows how to turn her tv on and off and hasnt really explored anything further. She just knows when she turns it on there are cartoons (its always on the same channel). I remember when I was little I would stay up way late watching t.v. and would keep the remote pointed at the t.v. so if I heard my parents coming I could turn it off so I wouldnt get caught. Kids dont think about that whole t.v. emitting light thing. lol. Anyway, so I'm not going to let her have a remote when she gets older. And she almost never watches it because she's always in the front room with us doing stuff or watching tv with us.