First of all, let me preface this post with we do NOT use television as a baby sitter to our children. If you have too, there is absolutely NO SHADE whatsoever, we are in an unprecedented time and what ever you have to do as a parent to keep the status quo I am a 100% with you. We are able to have two of us on board and be able to give our kids some semblance of normalcy. Plus, they are young and not in school so we can create our own learning dynamic for them. This includes and has been shown with all the workbooks, activities, spelling and letter games that we do with the kids in the morning. On days that we have to get things done, we have no problem putting on the ol' Sesame Street on HBOMax or we even use the Kindle for Khan Academy Kids which both the kids love. After lunch and as it is close to nap time (around 2pm) EV is allowed more "free television" take this what you will...
Anywhoo off of my soapbox and on to the point....
EV has always been pretty good when it comes to the "shows" (her words not mine) that she watches. It is always interesting to watch her connect to certain characters and form a relationship with them. Some with more adult concepts than others, such as: Clone Wars, any of the Star Wars films, Avator: The Last Airbender, Legends of Korra, etc. She has never really been affected by these particular shows in regards to displaying any violent tendencies (being rough with her brother or us) or being negatively vocal. If anything she has been perfecting her "force" and "water bending" maneuvers. if anything, shows like this have awarded us an opportunity for a lot of conversation with her.
Of course she loves anything Disney Junior related which has always had a positive affect on her, some favorites have been; Elena of Avalor (obviously), Sofia the First, Vampirina, the always favorite Mickey Clubhouse and Roadster Racers, and Doc McStuffins. We have tried to get her into Bluey, but to no avail and to the disappointment of myself and the Hubs (we love the Bluey). I take that back, she will endure one episode and then kindly ask for a "new show" when the credits roll.
Sometimes just so that we do not lose our sanity we will try to introduce new shows and some do better than others. With this process, there has been a learning curve namely watching the show with her and seeing how it progresses. When it comes to the types of characters that she seems to love and those that hold her attention, they can actually be grouped into categories; "warrior" women (Elena, Ahsoka, Captain Marvel, Mulan and of course now Raya, etc), Mermaids (if they have fins for feet, she is in), and Fairies. The husband and I had to have a heart to heart with one another about not just putting something on that looks like it would be interesting or hold her attention and walking away. Because of this, we tend not to put anything on the ol' Netflix, unless it is something we can sit down with her and watch all the way through with her. There have been several Mermaid and Fairy cartoons that although look age appropriate, they are not. The conversation is a little too adult, some of these cartoons have a little too much mean girl mentality, and honestly some just do not have good role-models or behaviors that I would want EV modeling. I recognize EV is only four and you may not be in agreement with any of this, but she has LOVED the Clone Wars and the Airbender shows since out of the womb and has always been fine.
Mulan Dress via: TaylorJoelleDesign
Anyone else's kid throw their fists in the air when Captain Marvel comes on scene?!
Which brings me to the show Winx...
Just to give you a rundown of the show via Wikipedia:
Winx Club is an Italian-American animated series set in a magical universe that is inhabited by fairies, witches, and other mythical creatures. The main character is a fairy warrior (see how EV got sucked in lol) named Bloom, who enrolls at Alfea College to train and hone her skills.
Do. Not. Come. For. Me. I realize that this show is wildly popular, has a fairly big following, and there are tons of different variations of it. I will preface the next bit with saying that there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with the show. However, it is the darndest thing and although EV became OBSESSED with it, she could not acclimate to it at all. The characters are sweet, it has a great storyline, all the characters have really fun superpowers and one would think this would be EV's jam, but there is something that EV is seeing that does not interact well with her personality. Honestly, it took a bit for us to connect the dots that it was this particular show.
EV became really obstinate after watching the first season of this, she was using the word "no" a lot...like as a comma a lot! I know this should not be a concern because of her age and testing the limits, but it was VERY excessive at least for EV. She began fighting everything and just had a difficult time listening in general. When we cut off the show (she did not take this well at all), she went right back to her old demeanor. It was almost odd to watch her personality completely flip like a lightswitch. Cutting her off from the show itself was the most difficult part as she had become quite attached to it (she begged for another opportunity to watch it), but we gave her plenty of space to be upset and provided lots of opportunity to replace it with Disney shows of her choosing (giving her the remote was like presenting her with her very own lightsaber). Because of how quickly she reacclimated, the question became, was it the show or was it a fluke?
Fast forward to her birthday in Orlando. She had such a turnaround that we honestly thought it was the latter and that it was simply a fluke. One night in our hotel room, she asked to watch it. There are not a lot of options late at night and she and the rest of us are not fans of Big City Green (#sorrynotsorry), which seemed to be the ONLY thing showing. If you do not know what I am talking about...see below (also I am kind of jealous of you if you have never heard of this).
what am I missing here?!
We ended up on YouTube and there was Winx as a "trending" option, so of course EV asked for it (the tv was a smart-tv and we didn't feel comfortable logging into any of our apps). Technically they had Elena of Avalor, but it had this really strange timer/commercial thing happening and it was really frustrating and also kind of fuzzy to watch. Hubs and I figured that we were with her and therefore where could the harm be? Again, just like previously, it was super cute, she enjoyed it, we enjoyed it and then just like before the very next morning she was a mess. Strangest. Thing. Ever. Complete Dr. Jekkyl and Mr. Hyde moment. It was uncanny. Even the husband could not believe it and basically admitted at that point that the common denominator was Winx. We made the decision right there that no matter it appearing to be a great show that she should be enjoying that some things were not going to resonate with her or her age. Hubs and I now make the consistent effort that unless it is something we can watch with her that we stick to the Disney cartoons and themes that will help make her a better person and not where we are having strict conversations with her every ten minutes chastising her for one thing or another because one, how is that fun, and two, who has time for that?!
By no means am I saying that this show is going to have this adverse reaction on every young toddler who watches it. In fact, I am kind of shocked that it happened with my toddler. It is just a reminder that when introducing new concepts or new shows on television that it is important to watch how your kids perceive the show and take in the information and relationships that are happening. What might be something you think is your child just being a "toddler" may actually have other influences that are being integrated. Now am I saying that EV would never say "no" or test her boundaries without that show?! Of course not! She tests her boundaries a lot, but there was a distinct difference between how she normally tested her boundaries versus how she tested them after watching this particular show. Even great concept shows with wonderful characters and excellent demonstrations of friendship, sharing, positive language can still be perceived differently. Luckily EV goes on a bender when she really loves a show and will binge-watch the crap out of it, so it was easier for us to fix the problem and know where it was coming from.
Not talking about Winx at all, but is it just me or does there seem to be some real mean girlie crap on kids cartoon series nowadays?! There were two mermaid shows after Winx that I cased out for EV on Netflix and honestly, the girls made me so uncomfortable that I couldn't even get through the first couple of episodes. It made ME uncomfortable....for the cartoon characters....let that sink in.
Has anyone experienced anything like this with their kiddos before? Just us?! Am I crazy?!
留言