DORA? Nai Hai? Barney? Wiggles etc???

I don't think the bilingual aspect of these shows are really meant to teach children the language. My daughter has said a few of the Spanish/Chinese words, but I believe it is just a great way to teach children that not everyone is the same and some people do speak different languages. My daughter was into Dora so much this year that we used it as the theme for her 2nd birthday party and she really enjoyed it!! I let her watch different things to see what she likes.

She likes Dora, Diego, and Kai-lan a lot. Those are interactive and she likes to repeat the words when they ask you to! She will watch the Backyardigans and Wonder Pets, but kind of mindlessly lol so I don't put them on too often. She would never sit down and get into the Wiggles, so we don't see that one too much around here either. My nieces and nephews all loved them, but my girl has decided to be different there! She is into Blues Clues, but not as much as the first few I mentioned!!

She doesn't sit and watch TV all day. The TV is on all day, but it's more for background noise. Sometimes something will catch her eye and she will stop to watch for a few minutes, just to run out of the room and become preoccupied with her toys!!

I run a home daycare. Dora and Diego are the kids favorite shows! They love that they are involved in helping Dora find her way to wherever she is going. I think that the little bit of Spanish is good for the kids. When they get older, they have to take Spanish to graduate, so why not get a little bit of it now.

My favorite thing to do during their down time is to get out an old Barney video. They love the songs and there is always a good lesson involved with Barney.

I agree with you. There are so many educational shows these days that it is easy for adults to be intrigued.

I can understand what you're saying about Dora. If my kids are learning to say different words I need them to learn them in English first, not Spanish. That can come later. It can be very confusing to them.

Nai Hai is another show that cracks me up. It's a cute show but how many languages does my four year old need to learn? Can't they just concentrate on one language for now?

My kids always liked the Wiggles - although it drove me nuts. They both really like Backyardigans. Lots of fun with that show.

The problem I have now is my 7 year old watching shows like Sponge Bob and others on Nick that constantly say things like "stupid" and "idiot". Since my 4 year old is usually in the room when those shows are on, now he says those words. It can be very frustrating. Why can't some of the kid shows be more kid friendly?

I also get interested to what my son watches nowadays. Even if he is 4 years old, I still make sure to check on what he watches because I ddo not find the other cartoons educational. You are correct where Backyardigans is a fun show to watch. It teaches my son to be imaginative. Fun! And also the songs are great. I myself enjoy watching that.

Dora in the otherhand is also a good show. My son gets to learn a lot of things when Dora goes her way in completing her tasks. I think it shows a lot of good moral even if it she talks at times in Spanish.

Children's television shows have changed a lot over the years. it's more than Sesame Street and Captain kangaroo! Shows are not only educational. They are also entertaining and fun for kids of all ages. When my 18 year old son was 2, his favorite program was Barney. He had everything Barney in his bedroom. My 13 year old daughter was more into Teletubbies. I do have to agree about language confusing children. When Sesame Street started added Spanish along with the English words, my children didn't know which word they were supposed to be learning. Educational programming for children has advanced so much since i was a kid. My favorite will always be Captain Kangaroo! I loved Dancing Bear! Do you remember this show?