Kids Cartoons Make Me Cranky

So clearly based on the headline of today’s post, I let my kids watch TV. Sometimes I wonder if I let them watch too much TV – especially in the morning – but what can you do. A gal needs to survive and I don’t subscribe to mommy guilt. So while I’m confessing to letting my kids watch TV, I feel compelled to confess that I DESPISE some of the cartoons my eldest daughter LOVES.

And sometimes her top favorite show choices concern me.

Why does she love, for example, Max & Ruby? Why, God, why? Is it to punish me for regularly forgetting to go to Church? Is it because she wants to live in a parent-less house and boss around her sibling around the clock? Is it because she feels her grandmother is the only adult presence in her life? Is it because she thinks Ruby is likeable? Because Ruby is not likeable. She’s not even tolerable.

Truth be told: I can’t stand Ruby. She is bossy, preachy, annoying and bratty.

Wait.

Maybe I am like Ruby?

Could it be? Could I be successfully  making my child’s TV watching habits about ME?

I might be.  But writing this post actually prompted me to do a little online digging about the whereabouts of Max & Ruby’s parents and much to my amusement, I learned that there used to be an internet rumor that Max & Ruby’s parents were killed by Farmer McGregor. Have I mentioned how much I love internet rumors??

Anyhow, apparently their parents are deliberately absent because kids are meant to learn the lesson that they can work things out themselves.

Really show creators? Cause that lesson escapes me entirely, so my kid is meant to pick up on this very subtle lesson? We are all too busy being suffocated by Ruby and her attitude….

And then there’s the Berenstain Bears. A classic. A decades-long beloved classic.

I HATE THIS CARTOON.

I don’t mind the books. Really, I don’t. I get that there are valuable lessons woven through these books. But the cartoon – can’t stand it and my daughter actively seeks the cartoons out regularly. Why is Mama Bear the only one with a moral compass? Why is Papa Bear a useless thug of a man-cub? Is this family supposed to be reflective of a real family? Are sister bear’s and brother bear’s names as stupid as some of the latest and worst celebrity baby names? (Bing Bellamy – Kate Hudson’s new son?  Kase – Jewel’s new son?)

Why don’t they have names? I secretly snickered as I read one of the books where one of the kids made fun of Sister’s name – cause why wouldn’t they make fun of it? And why does Mama Bear incessantly need to be teaching each of them how to do the right thing, starting with her idiotic husband? Again, like Ruby, Mama Bear is so preachy and self-righteous. Why can’t she live a little?

So imagine my surprise and delight when I stumbled upon the Facebook Page “Is Mama Bear Bipolar?” I felt a true kindred spirit with the page’s founder upon reading the first sentence of the group description:

“For over six decades, Mama Bear has been killing all the joy within the Bear family in the Berenstain Bears books with her stuck-up, PMSy shenanigans.”
HILARIOUS.  And excellent use of one of my all-time fav words: shenanigans.
So, what kid shows do I like?
 
  • Word Girl. She’s cool and smart.
  • Any celebrity sighting in Sesame Street, especially Will.I.Am’s empowering and sweet song “What I Am” 
  • Phineas and Ferb, of course, because they’re creative, up to no good, and there’s a random platypus (but again, enter a moderately annoying and preachy older sister – what is that about, people?)

Could there be something wrong with me that I loathe shows woven with positive moral lessons and that encourage independence? For more talk of being bossy and offing preachy bunnies, be sure to “Like” the Wired Momma Facebook page.

7 Responses to Kids Cartoons Make Me Cranky
  1. Amy
    July 18, 2011 | 11:53 am

    Two more:
    Adventure Time – totally weird and hysterically funny
    Caillou – that kid is a simp. Thank god my kids are too old to watch this one any more.

  2. pqmom
    July 18, 2011 | 12:40 pm

    Try these:
    Kick Buttowski and Penguins of Madagascar. Highlarious and saucy!

  3. Gayle
    July 18, 2011 | 12:49 pm

    And what is wrong with Max? He looks like an older kid, but why oh why can he only say one word at a time?

  4. Emma
    July 18, 2011 | 1:22 pm

    I can’t stand Ruby. Berenstain Bears – I’ll take them any day over that freak show Caillou or Bubble Guppies. I do like Sid the Science Kid (but not his voice) and Zaboomafoo. :)

  5. May
    July 18, 2011 | 7:45 pm

    The one I do not enjoy is OSO? The unique stuffed bear? unique? I just can’t stand OSO!! And do the Fresh Beats have to be so cheesy? And I agree, Ruby is bossy and preachy and she just can’t let Max be Max.

  6. Monica Sakala
    July 18, 2011 | 7:49 pm

    Wired Momma here: Everyone’s comments are cracking me up! So basically Ruby seems to be universally hated. I must admit, I’ve wondered so many times what the hell is wrong with Max – why can’t he speak up and defend himself. And seriously – Oso – who thought that was a good idea? I can’t stand the theme song either. Thanks for so many comments, everyone. Keep ’em coming!

  7. mjg
    July 19, 2011 | 6:01 pm

    Sesame Street is about the best in children’s cartoons. It continues over the years to be a real learning experience for kids in many languages. IT is also a great place to learn a foreign language. My children watched it in French while we were living in Tunisia. You don’t realize how carefully and distinctly they speak on the show unless you watch it in another language. As for most of the rest of children’s programs they have alot of work to do to come up to the quality of Sesame Street. And yes,I really dislike Max and Ruby . It is an annoying cartoon.

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