Things that bug me about "stuff for parents and kids"

That's kinda intentional. When they were making Blue's Clues, at first the developers tried going with the paradigm of making it like a normal tv show with a story that moves and whatnot, but then they found that kids responded better to repetition. And after seeing what a massive hit Blue's Clues was, now most shows for young children do a ton of repetition. Maybe there's child psychology stuff out there that disagrees with this, but Steve is pretty much my only source on the matter.

The answer there is that in general people are more likely to enjoy something they are comfortable with than something they have to challenge themselves to understand. A generation of kids growing up on Dora the Explorer and Blue's Clues moves on to consume Micheal Bay movies as adults.

I blame the rum.

extarbags too.

Young children (preschool and younger) love repetition not because they'd rather that than something they have to challenge themselves to understand, but because repetition is a very import part of HOW they understand. Rather than making them dumber or whatever you're getting at, repetition is literally developing the physical aspects of the brain that aid in learning. So while every parent wants to choke the shit out of Steven Burns and the Dora people, the shows are specifically structured to meet the educational needs of their target audience based on actual, real research. Fortunately for them and unfortunately for everyone else, the same methods also build strong brand recognition, although I think the benefits outweigh the drawbacks when used in moderation.

So I would argue that children's programming isn't so much shitty as just mind-numbingly intolerable for anyone over the age of 4 or so. It's now being made with the needs of children in mind rather than just simplifying adult entertainment for children.

And dear God do I hate it.

Much as I hate 'Dora the Explorer' and 'Go, Diego! Go!', my boy loved them when he was two or three and I'd be lying if I said he got nothing out of them.

Kids shows aren't all bad though. 'Peppa Pig' and 'Ben & Holly's Little Kingdom' are both delightful, for example, particularly the latter.

My 8 year old fell off the school jungle gym last spring and split his elbow bone in 2. Literally pieces of the bone were on either side of his upper arm. He needed emergency surgery and had nerve damage that will never fully heal. Emergency room doc said it was one of the worst breaks she ever saw.

I'm not banning him from the jungle gym, but bad shit can happen. While he has permanent damage, I'm relieved he didn't break his neck or back.

Treasure Mountain was THE BEST. Also +1s to Rodent's Revenge, Where In the World is Carmen Sandiego and Chip's Challenge.

OH OH OH OH OH! For those of you who also loved Chip's Challenge, you can play it online! http://webccgame.com/?page=play