Spongebob?

Spongebob is harmless. He teaches kids to be good friends to others, be helpful, take time to enjoy fun things, and to work hard. He's not a bad fellow for any kid to like. As for me? I'd rather not watch him so when he comes on I go find something grown up to do.

My husband and daughter loved Sponge Bob.
I think it is pretty harmless. Most of the adult humor goes way over the heads of the kids.

As my daughter said at the age of 4. "Mom, Cartoons are not real, they are just cartoons."

We love Spongebob here!

Those references go over their heads. However, the kids DO pay attention to the fact that he LOVES his job and will do his best EVERY TIME he is there. He makes a point to NEVER be late.

He is a dedicated friend to Patrick.
He is a VERY positive "person". He's definitely NOT a "negative nelly."
He LOVES his pet snail, Gary.
He loves to be clean too....

Believe it or not - I HATED Spongebob when it first came out - the high pitched "whine" - then my boys asked me to sit down and watch it. My husband was laughing at it...so I did - with an open mind - and saw that it was really a pretty good show! You can sit and watch it with your kids!!

I can also tell you - if you make it "taboo" - your son will want it even more. So allow it. Give it to him in doses and all will be good.

We love Spongebob. He actually teaches some important things. He's kind to everyone, a good friend, loves doing a good job even if people don't think it's an important job, he's good to his pet, and he is honest. One of my daughters is a social worker and she loves spongebob because he's always looking for the silver lining in situations and tries to overcome adversity. He's good for talking points with your son. I'd say to watch together and see what his take on it is.

we love spongebob (all adults in this family at this point) and it's only SINCE my boys have grown up that they've picked up on any adult references. they're mild, and very veiled.
cartoons (at least the good ones) have always had sly humor that is for the parents, not the kids.
but if spongebob annoys you, or if your family is SO sanitized that anything that could remotely be 'inappropriate' is off limits, then just don't watch it. just be aware that if you're hyper-focused on 'inappropriate references' you'll find them EVERYWHERE.
khairete
S.

I've disagreed with Marda, like, twice in 7 years.

I think Spongebob is awesome. I don't think some inappropriate references will hurt your 7 year old. They didn't harm my kids, anyway. Spongebob is hilarious.

Spongebob is also good-natured, optimistic, hard-working, a good friend, kind, etc. I think he's a good role model in many ways. See, even Gamma G. thinks he's a good guy. I, however, am immature, so I actually like watching the show.

It is so benign compared to other stuff kids are into.

I hated the show until I really tuned in and listened. It is hilarious! It is one of our family's favorite go to cartoons to watch together. We have so many inside jokes in our family due to the silly episodes.

When we are out and about in public and we quote or sing something from an episode and a stranger laughs and chimes in then we are instant pals. Spongebob lovers are a fun and quirky bunch...a gang I am proud to be a part of!!

And, as for the research done and the correlation between Spongebob and low intelligence. Ya, I read about that. I don't buy into. There is more behind statistics than just tv watching. I don't park our kids in front of endless Spongebob episodes and expect their learning to come from that. Our kids are inquisitive, outgoing, assertive, in sports and music as well as Honor's courses. Maybe we should give Spongebob credit FOR all those qualities and accomplishments. Just kidding...just poking fun at how much credence we give to the "statistics" streamed in front of us daily.

We never watched any of it because it's garbage. Not necessarily inappropriate, just of no value. It was not originally intended for children. I'd rather we all spend our time doing activities or reading together. We invest time rather than just spend it. We got rid of cable and only watch tv when we've specifically chosen a show on pbs or netflix.

I love SpongeBob and I'm fine with my children watching him. I don't see any inappropriateness.

I miss the OLD episodes of Spongebob. They were really brilliant - great writing! Adults got a real kick out of them because there were so many layers. Of course the adults got something totally different out of the episodes than the kids...

Those writers must have retired. Now it's nothing like it used to be...

My kids used to watch it. I thought it was silly, but I didn't see anything wrong with it. The inappropriate references are there for the adults. They go right over the kids heads but give something for the parents to enjoy. Even Looney Tunes used to do that back in the day.

There have been studies done saying that cartoons like spongebob because of their lack of teaching moments and the rapid frame movement actually reduces intelligence in children. It was all over the news a few months ago. Me? I am not a fan of that particular show and if my child was really obsessed might permit it, but maybe one episode on occasion.

IME, parents who don't get Spongebob? Don't watch Spongebob!
He's like part of the family!

Spongebob is mostly harmless.
Before that there was saccharine sweet Barney.
Though the kids loved him, parents secretly thought "Die, Barney, Die!".
For other parents - they can not stand the whiny Cailou.

There are plenty of shows that kids go gaga over but although they are perfectly fine shows - there's something about them that just gets under an adults skin and itches like itching powder.

Really - it's just a phase.
And as phases go - it's a whole lot less bothersome than what some kids get into as teens.

Yes to inappropriate content; mostly in characters ways of acting. I believe the show is for adults. My grandson's parents let him watch at that age. He has problems with misbehaving for a lot of reasons unrelated to Spongebob but I think it would be better if he didn't watch it. Children need to have positive reinforcement for good behavior and Spongebob does not provide that. Adults know how to act and see him as being funny. Young children do not know the difference between fantasy and reality.

Later, after reading other responses, I add to my list. I'll watch it again and see if I will change my mind. I agree with all the positive comments about what it teaches. I am having difficulty accepting many of the cartoons my grandson watches because he is having difficulty with acting out.

Now that I've thought about it, I can see the positives in the program. I do refuse to let him watch some cartoons but I've let him watch Spongebob and did buy DVDs for him. Consider my earlier comments an over reaction.

I hear people often say that they find Spongebob to be inappropriate but I just don't see it. Can anyone provide an example? I can't recall ANYTHING offensive or inappropriate about it. Spongebob is a sweet, if dense, hard-working character. I looove Squidward and his fun-hating ways- he reminds me to lighten up because sometimes I am a little too similar to his character.

I get it if some people find the show annoying, because some of the voices in it can be a but shrill, but I really would like if someone could be specific about what is inappropriate about this show- am I not noticing some fart jokes or something??

Honestly, I couldn't get past the annoying and shrill voices to hear any inappropriate references. That show is the perfect way to clear me out of any room in the house!

We will let Kiddo watch it from time to time if he asks (we'll rent the dvds) because as everyone suggested, the references go over his head. He'd rather "duh!!!" along with Patrick Star than ask "mom, what does such-and-such mean".... this is the only show I haven't co-watched with him, but the husband will. :)

I find it idiotic, and I'm glad my kid never got into it, but I don't think there's anything in it that is going to warp kids for life.

I love Spongebob, and so do my husband and girls!

I heard on the news once that a little boy (toddler) called 9-1-1 for his mom because he once saw Spongebob do it. :)

I've never been able to stand SpongeBob, just something about the cartoon. My son used to like that show. I remember this Burger King commercial featuring SpongeBob that came out a while back and it was sooo annoying, I had to change the channel right away. Funny thing though, my girls watched it a couple of times when we had hulu plus but haven't asked to find it on Netflix (that's all we have along with local channels), so we were at the curriculum night the other night and my 1st grader filled out a little info thing about herself and as her favorite TV show she put SpongeBob! I was like what?, she never even watches it, why would she list that as her favorite show? LOL