Wanna watch parents get really defensive? Ask them how much television their child watches.
The subject of television watching can cause more hostility than just about any other -- except maybe breastfeeding. Like many other subjects in parenting, it's an individual choice that seems all too easy to judge. You don't let your kid watch TV at all? Good God, you haven't showered since the Clinton administration, have you? Loosen up. You let them watch TV all day? You know that you're limiting their intelligence, right?
DJ and I have had several conversations over the years on the subject. He falls in the "I watched Tom & Jerry beat the living shit out of each other and I turned out all right," where I'm more along the lines of "You know what? I think kids have too much access to violent images on TV and in video games."
Which is why I love Noggin. (Caution -- turn off your sound if you're at work)
Noggin advertises itself as preschool on TV. While I wouldn't necessarily go that far, this is, in my opinion (NOTE: I said MY OPINION. MY BANDWIDTH.) the best channel for kids. Recently DJ started watching some Boomerang with her in the evenings and I found myself actually asking that he NOT watch it in front of her anymore. He, of course, thought it was going to be another round of liberal/conservative ping-pong, but it was only about Sweet Pea. After a day of gentle images and upbeat music, of conflict resolution and imagination, I couldn't stand the barrage of explosions, chase scenes, sound effects and fury that took place during Tom & Jerry, Daffy Duck, etc. Sweet Pea already has an anger management problem. I know we can't protect her forever, I know we can't control what she watches forever, but I can protect and control right now. And so I shall.
There are things I don't like about Noggin, to be sure. If they never showed Oobi or Connie the Cow (what the FUCK?) or even 64 Zoo Lane again, I'd be fine. And I'm perturbed by the new 'Why it's okay you're letting your kid watch this show' explanatory thingy (that's a very technical term) at the beginning of each show. See, most people either know what is good about any given show or they just don't care. For the most part, though, the programming is stellar.
Here at the top ten reasons I love Noggin:
10. What it doesn't have: the Wiggles or the Doodlebops. Or Spongebob or Fairly Oddparents (although I LOVE Fairly Oddparents, I don't want my four-year-old to make them a habit).
9. What else it doesn't have: Commercials. To be fair, there are other stations that don't have them, either. But the other day when Sweet Pea mentioned that she needed some teeny tiny dolls to fit in her Matchbox Porsche, I told her that even Polly Pockets wouldn't fit in there and she whipped her head around and said, "Polly what?" and I had to offer her a two-pound bag of M&M's to distract her. She's primed to pick up on new fads and obsessions, being an American -- I don't want to make it worse by feeding her a steady diet of commercials that will tell her that her life will be complete if she has the latest doll. We're already drowning under the Groovy Girls.
8. Dekko Boko Friends. I have no idea what they are. They're one of the "shorts" between shows and sometimes it's a linear story and others it's just little characters jumping up and down on tiny walnuts. I think it's a subversive way to introduce surrealism and frankly, I think Noggin has some real stones to show something different. They might be the bastard stepchildren of Pee Wee's Playhouse. Curiously enough, Sweet Pea has never asked what they are doing. Only the adults don't get it.
7. Franklin and Little Bear. Both these little boys are living in a world populated by talking animals. Their parents are married and the kids play outside all day long with their friends. Franklin regularly gets grumpy and causes conflict within his own group of friends, and although his parents are always there to help, Franklin usually figures out the problem on his own and takes the initiative to apologize and make things right. I like that.
6. The-N. After 6pm, Noggin becomes a tween/pre-teen network called The-N. This is the home of the famous Degrassi show, as well as reruns of Fresh Prince of Bel Air which is, hysterically, Sweet Pea's favorite television show. And as I watch it, I realize that it's fundamentally very much like Noggin in some ways... Will gets himself in trouble and has to dig his way back out.
5. Max & Ruby, the emancipated bunnies. Although I find myself getting frustrated sometimes (JESUS, why is Ruby having to bathe Max seven times? Is their mother a crack whore?) this is one of Sweet Pea's all-time faves. Ruby can be bossy and controlling, but she's the sole caretaker of three-year-old Max, so who can blame her?
4. Pinky Dinky Doo. This is a new offering from Noggin and they have mini-interviews with the creator during the day. The music is so infectious that we were singing them in the car after the first show. In direct contrast to Franklin and Little Bear, who live in the bucolic countryside, and Max & Ruby, who live in the Canadian suburbs, Pinky Dinky Doo lives in the Great Big City. She lives in an apartment building and shares a room with her baby brother. This has GOT to resonate with city kids. Now, DJ is already getting tired of Sweet Pea and I making a trumpeting noise before we throw out a big word into casual conversation, but we're totally into it.
3. Cooking with Luis. This is one of the shorts between shows and it's a fucking riot. I hope Luis ends up with his own show on the food network. Whatever he makes, he obviously loves preparing food. He emphasizes sharing the food with family and friends, cooking safely, etc. The best part of this is Luis himself. He's just an adorable kid -- my favorite parts are when he obviously goes off-script and starts to crack himself up.
2. Music videos. Considering that I can't even watch videos on MTV or VH1 anymore, I'm really glad I at least get some on Noggin. If you're a kids' music novice, the mainstay on Noggin is Laurie Berkner, whose DVD is the next best thing to a 30-minute babysitter. However, they've also got other groups, including the occasional one from 'They Might Be Giants'. During Jack's Big Music Show there's usually an artist who comes in to jam with Jack and his friends. The adults take performing seriously -- they're not condescending -- and yet they allow themselves to get completely silly with their dancing, too. They take their music seriously but not TOO seriously. Considering the dearth of arts and music education that Sweet Pea will be getting once she enters school, I like that they're sneaking this in early.
1. The Backyardigans. Frankly, I could do an entire Top Ten list about the things I love about this show. The Backyardigans are a multiracial group of kids whose houses share back yards. Every day they go out back and play with... their imaginations. They have relatively few props or toys and are completely dependent on each other and their own brains. After playing some game involving a beach or the jungle or a museum, somebody's stomach growls (usually Pablo's) and one of the kids offers to host snacktime at his house. The scenery is magically turned back into their backyards (and at this point I've usually forgotten that this is all make believe) and off they go. The very best part of this show? The music. The kids sing and dance to every form of music that exists. As I watched today, I realized that the song and dance was actually a gavotte. A fucking gavotte, people. When is the last time you saw kids doing that on television?
So if you've got a young one, give this a chance. Or, for that matter, if you don't have any kids but find yourself laying on the couch some morning completely hung over, try it out.