A Word On Kids' Shows

As you may or may not know, I have a boy who is almost three, and a girl who turns one next week. So we watch a lot of kids' programming on TV, and specifically Nick Jr. As a result, I have become quite a connoisseur and have developed my own tastes in this area. There are some shows I really don't like at all, like Dora, Diego, and Wonder Pets. For the first two, I'm just not a fan of the continuing agenda of teaching Spanish to very young children who need to learn English first. For me, it stems from two main arguments:

1. Language development -- my kids need to learn English first. The majority of this country speaks English only and/or primarily, and so my kids need to focus on English, not Spanish or Spanglish.
2. Culture -- As a linguist, I recognize the strong bond between language and culture. The French recognize it also, and they work very hard to protect their language and its proper use. A culture that cedes its language will not long survive. For some reason, we seem bent on not only permitting, but actively aiding and abetting this in America, as we cede a great deal every day to a language spoken by a very small minority of this country's inhabitants.

To be honest, I'd probably be more OK with the idea of "but kids SHOULD learn other languages" if we'd focus on lots of other languages and not just Spanish. We have Ni Hao, Kai Lan for Chinese, but where's German? Where's Japanese? Where's French? If we want to be multicultural, how about Arabic? This issue is that none of those languages carries the sort of political favor that Spanish currently enjoys in this country. That's all I'm going to say about that. It's unfortunate, too, because I think Dora actually has some great stuff in it.

Wonder Pets is a different issue for me, and it goes back along the same line of the first argument point above. The show has some cute parts and some VERY annoying parts, but I just can't get behind a show for small children that has a main character with a noticeable and pronounced speech impediment that is never addressed. Hit this link to a Google search for what I'm talking about. As someone who knows a little about language development, I know it's not good to present non-standard patterns to small children, because children who are in the midst of learning how to talk are VERY imitative and integrate speech patterns that they hear directly into their own speech (that's just how it's done). If they hear Ming Ming talk like Elmer Fudd, they may end up talking like Elmer Fudd themselves. I'm just not into that. A lot of the show is really cheesy and the writers sometimes try too hard to connect with the parents inevitably watching with their kids (see the Rat Pack/Fiddler Crab On The Roof episode as evidence), but it's not all bad...I love the constant focus on teamwork in solving problems.

There are several great shows though, as well. Yo Gabba Gabba is Owen's favorite. It's also enjoyable for adults, because so many of the references in it are 80s and early 90s pop culture. Mark does drawing lessons; he was an art student, of course, before hitting it big as lead singer of Devo. Biz Markie does Biz's Beat of the Day. There are little snippets of 8-bit pixelated video games, just like we played as kids, and the editing style and music has a definite mid-80s, Great Space Coaster kind of feel. Oswald is also a great show, because it's very low-key and easy-going, a nice change from the high-energy stuff you usually get that gets your kid so wound up you spend three hours bringing them down. Plus, Oswald is voiced by Fred Savage...gotta love that. The Peppa Pig shorts are very funny. Owen also loves Wow Wow Wubbzy, though that's more of a crazy, goofy show. Peep and the Big Wide World is wonderful for small kids, low-key and simple but still very engaging, and it's narrated by Joan Cusack. Finally, Owen enjoys Little Bear very much, which is nice because it's been on quite a while and my older kids watched it, as well.