My child watches this show a lot and I was starting to notice a change in behavior and
now there is a study behind it.
So moms, what do you let your child watch while getting other kids ready for school in the morning?
Any suggestions?
Can you cite the study?
OK--read the article.
Considering that (according to Nickelodeon officials) "Spongebob" is targeted to kids 6-11, but the study focused on 4-year-olds.
This is right up there with some other Spongebob findings, such as the one in 2005, where James Dobson, head of the Christian Right group Focus on the Family, said the cartoon's tolerance themes were really code for gay-agenda promotion.
Code, I tell ya....CODE!!! For 6-11 year olds. Right.
I only have the one, but if we watch tv in the morning, like if she gets up before usual and I need something to keep her busy when I'm getting ready, I turn on Nick Jr. It's usually Little Bill, which is a great show for her. Occasionally I'll pull out a DVD of Max & Ruby.
If they are watching tv, can they get ready for school?
Why don't you put the think here, for the study you read?
How old are your kids?
I don't let kids watch anything in the morning. If they are ready first, they can sit and color or do puzzles or a long list of other things. It takes a couple weeks to transition, but I generally find that kids manage time better when a screen is not an option.
Well, maybe your own observations should tell you something right there.....
I only put on PBS for my kids if the tv is on.. thats when I am in the shower or cooking. Never was a fan of sponge bob, and somehow all the kids know who he is..
Maybe I am accustomed to reading to real scientific studies but this was all over the place: Spongebob, Charlie Sheen, Ashton Kucher, Christian rights groups and varying aged kids. I really don't give much merit to this at all and what four year old doesn't zone out after television. My daughter didn't watch televison when getting ready for school either.
My kids are not allowed to turn on the TV until they are both dressed and ready for school. They can watch while they eat and until they have to go to the bus stop but that is it.
I don't let my 3 year old watch it anymore b/c she started trying to "karate" everyone and she started calling people stupid. I'm fine with the show, I could actually watch it all day long, but sadly, it's impacting her actions, so we nixed it for now.
I have never let my kids watch that show. I didn't care for it to begin with. I dumped TV a long time ago and my kids seem so be better behaved when it isn't around. So to answer your question, I don't let my kids watch any TV while others are getting ready for school.
You know it's funny with Spongebob, there is nothing you can put your finger on really but the general attitude is just off for me. I don't mind if my son, who is 4, sees it sometimes but it is not a regular thing. He knows who spongebob is but he gets no steady diet of it. He might see it at a friend's house or something and I don't sweat it, we don't have cable so he never sees it at home, but when we did he saw it ocassionally. Funny thing is he isn't really all that interested in spongebob. My big thing with him is super heroes! I have to limit how much super heroe tv he sees bc he gets so rowdy if he watches too much of it. I have no problem with him loving spiderman etc but when he is re-enacting the Hulk with his baby brother, things get dicey!! I have definitely noticed a difference in his attitude in general when he gets too much TV so I try to make sure he has lots of other outlets for his brain. Of course we have our days where I am tired and trying to get stuff done and the tv is on a bit too much, but nobody's perfect and he is still a great kid ;)
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I have always disliked Spongebob, just the look of him creeps me out, plus I always thought it was strange for adults to have the obsessions they do over him. In the beginning, I thought he was an adult cartoon, like Ren and Stimpy, since adults were showing off their SB gear; even my old boss came to work (about 10 years ago) dressed in SB pajamas for Halloween, granted it was Halloween, but SB pajamas for adults?! Yikes..
Anyway, my daughter (she's almost 4) used to watch him at her old daycare over a year ago, and still likes him. It's a coincidence you post this, because just yesterday in the car, we saw something that reminded her of him, and she said she missed SB and wanted to get him from the library to watch at home. Well, we started our discussion about what SB's "special thing" was, like Spider Man rescues people, Tinker Bell fixes things and spreads fairy dust, those are their "special things". So I asked my daughter, "what is SB's special thing?" She just replied, "um, I don't know.. he talks a lot" Hahahaha, I cracked up, and then just said, "well, that's not very special is it?" She said "no". There you have it, from a 4 year old, Lol.....
I would also say PBS, if you have to do TV in the morning :)
My son is 9, and for the last 4 years he has watched 25 minutes of Disney Jr. every morning while eating breakfast. These shows are a bit young for him, but nothing objectionable. Handy Manny, Special Agent Oso, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Chuggington. I think Phineas and Ferb would be better, but it's not on at the right time. My son understands the rule of no Spongebob before school because it won't help him get ready to behave well. If he doesn't watch TV during breakfast, he will not sit still long enough to eat(wanders around the house, talks nonstop).
After school, he watches How It's Made, Mythbusters, or other science shows during breaks from homework. I don't want him watching these before school because they're too interesting to want to leave.
He does watch Spongebob, mostly on the weekends. I try to get him to talk to me about what's happening in the show, is he learning anything, why certain things are a bad idea, what the joke is if he doesn't understand it. Today it was one of the characters saying they were going to play a trick at the drive thru "because we're teenagers". So I talked to him about how they're showing that a stereotype of teenagers is that they're annoying- but he doesn't have to act that way when he's a teen!
I wish this study had used other kid's cartoons, especially the "educational" ones. I'd like to know whether the problem is the content of Spongebob or just the 2 stories per 30 minute format of almost all kid's cartoons.
I LOVE Spongeb..... What were we talking about again? Hey! Is that a dog over there?
Ok, so don't have your child watch it....
I love these quotes in this article.. "the cartoon's tolerance themes were really code for gay-agenda promotion."
"allegedly promoting global-warming science."
"People do studies all the time about the effects of media. This one will stress out parents unnecessarily," said an individual close to Nickelodeon.
Here is my deal.. Our daughter watched all sorts of TV (yes, sponge Bob) since she was a toddler. She is creative and extremely intelligent (National Merit Scholar and a dbl major in college).
When she was 2 and was watching Rugrats.. the kids on the show were were lost. I asked my daughter.. "Do you think they are scared?"
Her answer? "Mom it is a cartoon , it is not real.." Yes she was 2 years old.
When our daughter was 4, I was upset with some of the news that was on and was talking to the TV and she said "Mom, you know it is just TV? They cannot hear you."
So for parents that are worried.. Turn it off, or get rid of the TV.. You know your children the best.
either I have the news on.....or music.
& with my daycare, the kids watch 1 show a day....if that.
We simply don't rely on the tv.
I doubt sponge bob is the culprit, just because this show may be a common factor in lives of children like this it does not mean it causes it. I hate studies like this, i bet those same kids eat grape jelly, i hope grape jelly doesnt get a bad rap.
We used to watch curious george and cat in the hat. PBS, but now i watch the news, we have a neighbor girl over every morning and she keeps my daughter busy and i get to just veg.
This says that fast paced shows cause a temporary lasps, but it does not say that watching spongebob creates attention problems. I think people want to blame tv for everything, along with music and video games, but blame the parents!! All these things are just fine in moderation, just like all things in life, and if your child is using them excessively that is a problem of parenting. My kids will still be welcome to watch their favorite yellow sponge in the morning.