Max and Ruby and Toopy and Binou

[anisa]

The parents I recall offhand on Sesame Street were Gordon and his wife Susan, and Maria and Luis.

from what i recall whenever there are kids, i don't see the child's parents portrayed in the segment.

i understand there were/are other adults, as in max and ruby where there are other adults and the grandma.

and i love max, i love that even tho his bossy sister is always trying to make him stay out of her way, or play games the way she wants them played, max ends up contributing and/or participating in some funny way.

it's all about perception

[erin9mmm]

Most of these shows mentioned don't really bother me.

The absence of parents in Max and Ruby is not unheard of. Many great books, movies (The Wizard of Oz, The Narnia adventures etc) and other cartoons don't show the parents because it give the audience (the children) a sense of adventure and triumph as they see kids do the impossible or take on more responsible adult roles. The parents in Charlie Brown & the peanuts gang were never seen and just heard as a "wa wa wa" and often the older sibling was taking care of the younger one such as when Lucy went outside at night to bring in her brother Linus who was sleeping outside.

...I agree Anisa, it's about perception.

[00chy00]

I get worried that my kids watching Toopy and Binou would cause gender confusion. I mean... I've got nothing against a male mouse that wants to dress up in princess dresses and wear makeup, but I would rather my children not think that it is common for a male to do these things. If my son grows up and wants to do these things on his own, so be it.. But I do not want a cartoon show for young kids to be the cause of it.

[anisa]

I get worried that my kids watching Toopy and Binou would cause gender confusion. I mean... I've got nothing against a male mouse that wants to dress up in princess dresses and wear makeup, but I would rather my children not think that it is common for a male to do these things. If my son grows up and wants to do these things on his own, so be it.. But I do not want a cartoon show for young kids to be the cause of it.

i think kids are exposed to a lot and it doesn't make a lick of difference!

in the early eighties, my younger male cousin was dressed as a fairy for halloween. it was his mom's idea, and it was awesome. he went to school in it and everything. he was 9 yrs old. all grown up he was a tough guy, a bouncer, and the chicks all swooned over him.

i knew a kid many years ago who was probably about 2 yrs old, and loved to get a single cotton ball from the bathroom and just carry it around because it was soft. his family freraked the hell out over it constantly because they thought it would make him gay.

my son loves to walk around the house in his sister's cinderella heels that flash lights with each step.

there is an old move that i love, and it is called meet me in st louis from 1944. in the movie, on halloween you see a bunch of mischevious boys dressed as women for their costumes. big boobs and everything. it is a total family movie.

these things do not cause gender confusion, and do not make ppl gay.

[Darth Penguin]

Dressing up as a princess or a fairy is going to turn gay in the same way that dressing up as Scooby Doo or Snoopy is going to turn you into a dog.....

[Zonny]

In another generation, it was shocking for women to wear pants. Most of us do it now, I don't think this practice has had a serious effect on society as a whole. I think you're giving Toopy and Binou WAY too much credit.

[00chy00]

When I first saw the show I thought Toopy was a girl. I know my 4 year old daughter thinks the same. I've already had talks to her about it, she argues that only girls wear makeup, not boys.
I try to tell her that some boys do wear makeup, but she hasn't seen anyone around her actually doing so. 4 years old seems way to young to have cross dressing explained to her. I still let them watch it though! They enjoy it so I can't bring myself to take it away from them...

[Darth Penguin]

I wouldn't take her to a pantomine then....

[00chy00]

LOL Hopefully this phase wont last long and she will understand more. I do know though... if my husband catches her putting makeup or dressing up our son he'd be super angry.
It's Toopy and Binou's fault.

[Darth Penguin]

LOL Hopefully this phase wont last long and she will understand more. I do know though... if my husband catches her putting makeup or dressing up our son he'd be super angry.
It's Toopy and Binou's fault.

Isn't it sad I was looking for a j/k or smilie on this post....???

[shmeelady]

Wow...
I only let DS watch a few shows a day. The rest of the time I play with him, which apparently for some parent's is a hard thing to do. I know people with 3 kids and they park them all in front of the TV all day, IMO why continue to have kids if you don't want to do the work.

DS watches Thomas the train when he wakes up, it's good because I am still waking up and it gives me time to grab coffee and shake the tiredness off. He watches in the night garden right before his nap. He barely gets through that show and usually passes out half way through. Ds also likes 4 square, Yo Gabba Gabba and Bear in the big blue house.

I have no problem with those shows, in fact I LOVE 4 square. I only let him watch these shows because they are ones that I can actually stand.

I absolutely loathe Caillou, he is a whiney little bugger that gets on my last nerve.

[francine1985]

i let my son watch super why, sesame street, sid the science kid, word world, and the dinosaur train (although he doesn't seem to like dinosaur train anymore.)

ds is almost 3 and if hes gonna watch tv i prefer he watch something that will help him learn instead of just entertaining him. I do watch these shows with him too though.

[Jina]

I was watching a bit of Caillou with DS the other day. He doesn't really watch it, just like the opening song and then would play with his toys and look randomly at the tv when a sound/music would catch his attention. Anyway, Caillou was walking to his table with a plate full of food and slipped, dropping some on the floow. Then the mum said no to worry, that someone would pick it up.
I could not believe it. When my son drops food (be it at the restaurant or in the mall), I clean the mess and would teach my son to do so too as he grows up. It's basic good manners.
DS loves the Wiggles, Thomas the train and Diego.

[Darth Penguin]

I absolutely loathe Caillou, he is a whiney little bugger that gets on my last nerve.

I don't think I've ever met a parent who likes Caillou..When my 3 were younger , they thought he was out of control.

[Darth Penguin]

. Anyway, Caillou was walking to his table with a plate full of food and slipped, dropping some on the floow. Then the mum said no to worry, that someone would pick it up.
I could not believe it. When my son drops food (be it at the restaurant or in the mall), I clean the mess and would teach my son to do so too as he grows up. It's basic good manners.

I remember getting into trouble for tidying up the food DD1, then aged 15 months, had dropped on the carpet next to her high chair at a Red Lobster. I was surprised..especially as some of it was close to the servers door.