Hi everyone,
Our daughter is 8 and our son is 6. She's kind of outgrown the tv shows he likes (Dinosaur Train, Wow Wow Wubbzy, etc.). We're looking for shows she likes better, but in the ones she likes, the kids have more attitude than we want: eye-rolling, insults, sarcasm, stuff like that. Anyone got any suggestions for shows that don't have this? Thanks!
Thanks for all the responses - lots of good ideas in here. We didn't find a lot of shows that we thought were good for her (that's got to be a million-dollar hole waiting to be plugged, right?). She ended up liking American Idol, so that didn't seem too bad. And one tween/teen show that also isn't too bad is Big Time Rush. I was surprised to find out there's not a lot of dating/flirting stuff on there - there's a little, but they spend most of their time being goofy. Thanks a lot for all your comments!
My girls (13 and 16) STILL watch reruns of Full House! I find it obnoxiously sugary sweet, but at least it doesn't have the attitude you're talking about :)
In the UK, Doctor Who is considered a children's show. It's available on Netflix instant play and is some of the best television writing I've encountered in my life. Good watching for the whole family. I think 8 is a great age to watch it and you can talk about some of the themes and lessons. (I can't wait till my kids are old enough to discuss the episodes with me. Until then, I have to settle for talking with my husband.) :-)
Home Improvement is popular in our house.
We went with some throw back tv like
Inspector Gadgit
Heathcliff (the cat)
You know, stuff we used to watch as a kid. I tell you if I can find Kids Incorporated I would be all over it again! LOVED that show as a kid.
The Cosby Show!
I always hated Full House - found it too corny and schmaltzy - but I have to admit, it's tame and wholesome. Even my stepsons when they were 13 and 14 were into it.
I will also vouch for some of "older" sitcoms, like Home Improvement, Family Ties, Who's the Boss.
We love Mythbusters and Phineas and Ferb too. Plus we have all the old Muppet Show episodes on DVD.
Have you seen Shaun the Sheep? We love it!
Gilligan's Island
We got it on DVD for our son to watch and he loved it even though it started in black and white.
Every kid should be able to sing the ballad.
My kids like DWTS, So You Think You Can Dance, etc...shows like that.
My daughter is also not a huge fan of the attitude shows, and she is 8. She really LOVES Full House...which I love too :).
She likes Dance Moms - which is probably not necessary for her to watch, but she lives that life, minus tons of drama.
My 9 year old likes Wipe Out!
He also likes Survivor.
And DWTS sometimes....
He also likes old re-runs of Combat! and Rat Patrol.
and ANY of the History/Discovery programs about aircraft, animals, etc.
TV land rules.
Not only do they have the likes of Leave it to Beaver and Brady Bunch, etc... but they have the old-school cartoons, like The Pink Panther and the Jetsons and stuff. My kids LOVE that channel. And so do I. I cannot stand the stuff that comes on channels like "The Disney Channel". Those shows are SO ridiculous and demonstrate a lot of unrealistic situations and terrible relationships for kids to model about how to treat their parents in the real world. Ugh.
LOVE Shaun the Sheep, very funny cartoon type show. I like the idea of Gilligan's Island on DVD. Netflix may have some great choices for you too. Or Hulu. My son, who is now 14, was obsessed with Time Tunnel when he was 10 and Lost in Space (the older one). Would she like Little House on the Prairie? My kids loved that show and it can be found on DVD as well. A lot of the Discovery Channel shows are good, documentaries, MythBusters is great. I don't care for Survivor, don't like the games they play, the pitting of one against another. I do like Wipeout, that's hilarious to watch.
Hope you find something suitable. In today's TV world it can be difficult.
I totally agree with you about those shows. My daughter was into them for a while and picked up so much stuff that I cut most of them out. I don't get what's so hilarious about kids giving attitude to their parents all day long. Really, the Disney channel is just over saturated with them. It's annoying for me to even listen to them.
Ok enough of my vent! Lol I like Phineas and Ferb too, and Spongebob, even though some people don't like him. My daughter is 11 and she still watches those sometimes. She also started watching a cartoon called Amazing world of Gumball on cartoon network which doesn't look bad.
Go for the older reruns like The Cosby Show, The Brady Bunch, etc. Record a bunch so you always have a selection. I am so glad you see that so many shows today send the wrong message, ever so subtly. Way to go!
My daughter is 8 and I am not interested in her watching the attitude TV shows either. She watches Strawberry Shortcake, My Little Pony, Full House, Say Good Bye Charlie, Phineas & Ferb. She also used to like Fetch with Ruff Ruffman, but I am not sure if that comes on anymore. There is also Family Game Night, Brain Drain which are kids game shows. From your post I am interested to see what Shaun the Sheep is about. My 6 yr. old loves How's It Made. They both love a new little show about kitten's and puppies called Too Cute!
Not sure if your daughter likes all the fantastic & dreamy girlie stuff like ours does, but that's where we are right now. (joy)
There are several kid/tween shows coming out of other countries that we are okay with (H2O - mermaids, Lockie Leonard, My Place, and others). We pull them from Netflix and Amazon online, then we review them ourselves before we let kids watch any of them.
H2O is a series about real girls who turn into mermaids and have magical things happen. The kids in these shows don't roll their eyes or show disrespect to their elders. There is no swearing or making out or violence, either.
Hope this is helpful. If not right now, then for perhaps when she gets to the tween stage.
My almost-7 yo is hooked on Goosebumps right now (it's on Hub here). She also loves Little House on the Prairie, an old childhood fav of mine. I think that's on Lifetime now? You may be able to find the Brady Bunch out there, too.
Phenas and Ferb
and My little pony ( found on the Hub)
We like to watch super hero shows , so my kids girl 10 and boy 7 , also watch things like Green Lantern, Avengers :earth's mightiest heroes, Star Wars :The Clone Wars, etc.
But then they also like the old Peanuts show from the 60s and 70s.
Veggie Tales.
and
Mythbusters !!! They are totally hooked on Mythbusters.
They also watch Ghost Hunters with me.
We like Phineas and Ferb, but NOT the Tween shows on Disney CHannel- too much attitude, like you said. My boys also like the Star Wars: the Clone Wars. That doesn't have too much attitude. NOTHING on cartoon network, except OLD Scooby Doo, Tom and Jerry and Looney Toons.
Its hard, I know.
@ LEigh R- you MUST be talking about the Weeping Angels! FREAK me out!!! I can't watch those Dr. Who episodes!!!!! But we LOVE it here :)
Shaun the Sheep gets another strong vote. My daughter is 11 and still loves it. All of the videos of "Wallace and Gromit" are wonderful as well (these are all on video -- not TV shows on US networks).
Someone recommended Doctor Who. We are all huge Doctor Who fans; however, although it is considered a children's show in the United Kingdom (where half our family is), I would consider it as much more a show for older kids and adults now and would definitely not recommend it for an 8-year-old coming off small-kid shows like the ones you describe; it is science fiction and can be very realistically frightening and has a lot of themes involving death and near-death. (And I am a very big fan saying this!) If you are interested, watch each episode yourself before letting her see it, to judge if she would be scared or, frankly, confused. There are some episodes our daughter still says she does not want to see because they are well known as particulary frightening with "the worst monster alien ever" etc. as the British fan magazines dub them.
I would recommend the old US TV PBS series "Wishbone" which you can find on DVD sometimes-- it is hard to get but really great and ties in with literature and reading (each story is based on a famous book). Perfect for her age.
She might also like the movie "Nim's Island" -- great girl heroine! -- and any or all of the American Girl films named for their characters: Samantha, Felicity, Kit, Molly, Chrissa. All have strong storylines and excellent girl characters who are not perfect but who are definitely not eye-rolling, sarcastic kids. And other than Chrissa, which is set today, the movies have historical settings that are really well done. (I recommend the books for age 8 too -- just the right age for them. You CAN do the books and films without the dolls, by the way!)
The easiest way to control the content is to ditch watching any TV and move just to videos. You can preview them yourself if you like, and you can control what she sees, for how long, and when. We don't have any cable or satellite so we don't have Nick or Disney or any of that stuff, and from what I read on Mamapedia, I'm glad we don't-- the "tween" shows sound nauseating.
