Do You Let Kids Watch

[Willow]

I stated why, SB is a hard worker and is kind to others. He loves to laugh and play and work. I believe kids can learn valuable lif lessons from a show like this. I believe this was in my first response.

Except I never asked or questioned the reasoning behind your choice.

No one did.



The same courtesy was not extended to those who felt differently. Instead they were not only expected to explain themselves but also to cite specific scientific studies only some of which were deemed acceptable.

Was an icky double standard I didn't appreciate.

[Familycare71]

No, no, no... So rude, and the touch hard things????? Do not know what to say about that. Have never liked SBob!
I do allow tv tho. Disney for 1/2 hour 7:30-8:00 and maybe 15 min. Before lunch. I must be the only one that allows a little tv!!

I do too- about an hour in the am (half hour for SA and half hour for younger) and then 15 min - 30 min before lunch. Sometimes a half hour after school... I don't personally think its horrible and I monitor what's on.

[Willow]

I stated why, SB is a hard worker and is kind to others. He loves to laugh and play and work. I believe kids can learn valuable lif lessons from a show like this. I believe this was in my first response.

Except I never asked or questioned the reasoning behind your choice.

No one did.



The same courtesy was not extended to those who felt differently. Instead they were not only expected to explain themselves but also to cite specific scientific studies only some of which were deemed acceptable.

Was an icky double standard imo.

[Familycare71]

Except I never asked or questioned the reasoning behind your choice.

No one did.



The same courtesy was not extended to those who felt differently. Instead they were not only expected to explain themselves but also to cite specific scientific studies only some of which were deemed acceptable.

Was an icky double standard I didn't appreciate.

While reading through the thread- I believe you were asked for examples when you took it to the next level... It didnt happen until there were certain opinions (that could be seen as questioning a parents judgement and priorities for their child's health and well being) were brought up. Just my view-
And I like spongebob... Because he is funny! .
I also have not noticed half the innuendos that ya all did! Feel like I'm watching the video about how Disney hides dirty stuff in the film! ::

[Unregistered]

While reading through the thread- I believe you were asked for examples when you took it to the next level... It didnt happen until there were certain opinions (that could be seen as questioning a parents judgement and priorities for their child's health and well being) were brought up. Just my view-
And I like spongebob... Because he is funny! .
I also have not noticed half the innuendos that ya all did! Feel like I'm watching the video about how Disney hides dirty stuff in the film! ::

There is a video of Disney hiding stuff in the films? I know of a few things Disney has done, like in Lion King. Do you know where I could find it?

[craftymissbeth]

While reading through the thread- I believe you were asked for examples when you took it to the next level... It didnt happen until there were certain opinions (that could be seen as questioning a parents judgement and priorities for their child's health and well being) were brought up. Just my view-
And I like spongebob... Because he is funny! .
I also have not noticed half the innuendos that ya all did! Feel like I'm watching the video about how Disney hides dirty stuff in the film! ::

Exactly. When a person says there have been studies that show extremely negative effects on children's brains after watching the show... and it is said after some of us say we allow our children to watch it... then of course we would like proof of that.

Willow, no one here is attacking you in any way. How is that when you have something to say its healthy discussion, but if anyone has a different view or asks you to back up what you're saying with facts then it's not ok?

[Scout]

Lets just all put this in perspective. Some of you like Spongebob, some of you don't. Its entertainment. I don't think its a big deal. My kids didn't watch it til they were older (maybe around 8 or 9). They didn't watch a lot of it, but it is funny. Even the little side jokes for adults? I'm sorry, I laughed. I don't purposely watch the show, but I have seen it and it's pretty funny. I love Family Guy too. I don't let my kids watch Family Guy because it's for adults. The good news is that there is something different for everyone and everyone can make choices for their families.

I don't take things like this that seriously, there are more things to concentrate on like kindness and love.

To the one that said something about their son at Berkeley, that is where my daughter wants to go as well. Go Cal!

Life is so short ladies. Laugh, don't take things to seriously. I mean, who really lives in a pineapple under a sea? HAHA! JK :hug:

I agree with you, it is a freaking tv show and that is why I find it so funny that people actually spent money on doing a study as to how it effects a child's brain after watching it. That is what I find funny. This thread though is highly entertaining to me, which is why I keep replying but, in all honesty, I could care less who likes this show or not because it will not change my opinion of it, neither will a study of (oh my gosh, 60 kids) because I am smart enough to know that 60 kids do not equal the millions that do watch this show and have no bad side effects from it! It is for entertainment and for me, so is this thread! I prefer to base my own opinions on things and not follow the results of a study when it is a study on something as silly as a child's tv show. I like it, my kids like it and we are your average american family.

[Scout]

Except I never asked or questioned the reasoning behind your choice.

No one did.



The same courtesy was not extended to those who felt differently. Instead they were not only expected to explain themselves but also to cite specific scientific studies only some of which were deemed acceptable.

Was an icky double standard imo.

Reread through this, neither did I. I was just pointing out the positive that I personally find in this show because it does not seem as though more than 4 of us actually ever took the time to really watch it. And by really watch it I mean more than one episode because there is a lot more to this show than 9 minutes can bring. I do watch it and the experience of that is worth more to me than the experience of 60 kids in a study about the after effects. I live the after effects every day and so far, nothing wrong has come of 30 minutes of this cartoon for my son.

[Leanna]

Spongebob is a sponge. An animated sponge. He lives in a pineapple.

[Play Care]

I hate SpongeBob, I walked by the other day and he said "lets touch hard things softly". WTF is that about. No way my kids would be watching that.

We don't really watch any tv, but as Spongebob is rated TV 7 and up it's not something I would feel comfortable allowing for dck's who are all under 5.

For me, it would be like finding out my 8 year old watched a PG-13 movie at school.

[Willow]

Exactly. When a person says there have been studies that show extremely negative effects on children's brains after watching the show... and it is said after some of us say we allow our children to watch it... then of course we would like proof of that.

Willow, no one here is attacking you in any way. How is that when you have something to say its healthy discussion, but if anyone has a different view or asks you to back up what you're saying with facts then it's not ok?

Never said I felt attacked

And I have no problem answering questions about my personal parenting choices, as long as I am afforded the same courtesy

The logic some of you are attempting to use here is where I'm getting stuck. One man theorized vaccines cause autism, and look how many people won't vaccinate their children even though it was proven bunk....also consider how many still do. The anti-tobacco movement started with one man theorizing tobacco causes cancer, now look at how many people quit, quit while pregnant, and those who continue to smoke and dip denying or ignoring the risk.. That people theorized the amount of television children watch can affect neurological development, and proved it true, and are taking that a step further by investigating popular cartoons specifically.....all of that will continue to be open to interpretation just the same. People are ultimately going to do what they're going to do regardless of what science has proven and thats their prerogative.


My kids are awesome smart little people just like I'm sure there are plenty of awesome smart little people who watch hours and hours of tv and spongebob a day. I personally think it's trash, and believe in filling my kids lives with things (tv included) that have far better content. I would be DEVISTATED if as young adults they came up with Spongebob as their hero when there is Ghandi, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, Oskar Schindler etc.

I don't care if others don't agree, and it's no more a dig on them than it is on me that they believe otherwise.

I love watching Family Guy and American Dad, it's what I fall asleep to most nights and as an adult I do see the entertainment value in it. As a parent however, I think there are enough alternatives available that I can skip that one that has been studied (on however small a scale) and proven detrimental.

Just like I don't take it personally when parents choose not to vaccinate based on the conclusions of one man who has since been proven wrong, I don't think anyone else should take it personally when I choose not to expose my own children to a specific form of media for similar reasons. The implications here that I am prudish or over reacting for considering what I believe science has proven is over kill. Read - not an attack - but certainly not respectful of my personal choice.

Choose what you want for your own, I was only defending my position which is exactly what was asked in the original post.

[Familycare71]

There is a video of Disney hiding stuff in the films? I know of a few things Disney has done, like in Lion King. Do you know where I could find it?

I don't- it made its way around years ago... I'm sure if you google it you can find something on it. I just remember being being baffled that someone spent so much time and energy looking for inappropriateness in children's movies...

[My3cents]

It's not the modeling, sexual innuendos or sheer stupidity of the story lines that bothers me so much as what the (small) study concluded about the show specifically. It's the same concern other studies have concluded as far as how the ridiculously fast paced (near seizure inducing) sequences are shown. It overloads the immature brain. They rarely have a seconds length before switching to the next, and the next, and the next, and the next....you could compare it to watching real life while pushing a fast forward button.

It's simply too much to comprehend. And I do think it's reasonable to conclude that it can and does influence cognitive function (particularly a child's neurological ability to process what it takes in not only while watching but also for sometime afterward).

One can argue its ability to cause permanent damage but for me it wouldn't be a stretch if a child watched enough of it.

I am no saint-

but I just feel with all the other good programming out there for kids,why stoop to SB, if your going to allow TV at all? I also agree with not every moment has to be chalk full of learning it can be filled with enjoyment. It's a personal preference for myself that I just don't like SB. There is enough of that smack dab rude adult oriented comedy in real life to have to sit down and watch more of it, esp for a developing mind that is trying to figure out right from wrong and so willing to absorb.

[My3cents]

"Just 9 minutes of viewing a fast-paced television cartoon had immediate negative effects on 4-year-olds' executive function. Parents should be aware that fast-paced television shows could at least temporarily impair young children's executive function."

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2011/09/08/peds.2010-1919

Other articles specifically mentioning Sponge Bob:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/11/idUS403526533420110911

http://www.forbes.com/sites/dorothypomerantz/2011/09/12/are-shows-like-spongebob-squarepants-hurting-kids/

http://www.pahomepage.com/story/sponge-bob-and-attention/d/story/ZM_duN-luEen3kIvRkAIqA

http://articles.latimes.com/2011/sep/12/news/la-heb-spongebob-squarepants-children-brain-20110912

http://www.empoweringparents.com/blog/younger-children/is-spongebob-bad-for-kids/#

http://annedachel.com/2011/09/12/pediatrics-goes-after-spongebob

http://articles.latimes.com/2011/sep/12/news/la-heb-spongebob-squarepants-children-brain-20110912

http://www.examiner.com/article/sponge-bob-really-irks-pediatrician-s-group

I am sure there are hundreds of other articles.

FWIW~ I don't allow TV programming in my child care and when my own kids were little, they didn't watch Sponge Bob. NOT because I didn't allow them too but neither of them cared.

I have NO opinion on this particular subject.....I am just passing along articles that I was/am aware of supporting the negativity associated with Sponge Bob.

I think the fact that you have no tv in your daycare shows that you do have an opinion on this subject and its all good-

[Blackcat31]

I think the fact that you have no tv in your daycare shows that you do have an opinion on this subject and its all good-

LOL! You are right...I DO have an opinion about child care and TV watching but I don't have an opinion on what people allow their own children to watch on their own time.

I am personally responsible for what the daycare kids are exposed to media-wise while at daycare but that is as far as my responsibility goes.

Personally, I think there are so many other shows out there that offer entertainment and can teach good values that Sponge Bob would probably be on the bottom of my list of choices if I had young kids of my own at home still that wanted to watch TV.

I can't get past the fact that he is wears his underwear all day....

Get dressed already