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[skiwee1]

Originally posted by Disney Enthusiast
I love Lilo and Stitch myself. It really makes me laugh out loud. But I do believe it is inappropriate for my 3 yr old. In the past, before kids, I thought the same things as this poster....



But then I started to see my 3 yr old stack up his toys and then crash through them, kicking his toys in all directions. He did that right after watching Lilo and Stitch. And of course, the yelling between the sisters and the slamming of doors always made me cringe as inappropriate ways to handle frustration. I DON'T want him emulating that either. I don't know why it's different w/ my kid.... maybe because he's not mature enough yet to know inappropriate behavior. So it's Rolie Polie who is so dear to his sister for a couple more years for him.

I am the poster you quoted so I will respond. I too have kids ages ranging from 5 to 21. All of them watched shows that were named here and none emulated any voilence. My 5 y/o's favorite cartoon when she was 3 was Scooby Doo. My neighbors kid freaked out at Scooby Doo and couldn't sleep at night because of all the monsters on the show. None of my kids thought Scooby Doo was scary. It certainly depends on the child. I will say that having volunteered in my kids schools for the last 15 years there is much worse then any Lilo cartoon going on. My 5 y/o DD is in kindergarten. Yesterday she came home from school to ask my if bull was a bad word. I said of course not. She proceeded to ask me if it were bad if she put the word that sounds like hit on the end of it! Ack!! Some little punk on the bus must have enlightened the other kids on certain words yesterday. These kids are in grades K-5. Since we try not to curse around her, she honestly wanted to know if it was wrong. I think blaming bad habits or simply exploration playing as it sounds like your son was doing to watching cartoons is similar to saying violent video games make murderers out of our kids or just bad behavior. It is all about the upbringing.

 

[MUFFYCAT]

At your thinking every show is going to have something "wrong".
Are you going to keep your kids in the closet intil they are 21? What about all those costumes at Halloween that send "bad messages" I guess your kids should stay home and you shouldn't give out candy. What's going to happen when they start school, are you goint to take a seat next to them so they don't get any ideas from the other children who were exposed to the TV shows.
Although we should protect our children from what is right and wrong, you can't shelter them from life.

 

[poohandwendy]

I think parents underestimate their young children a great deal.

If you take the time to notice, bad behavior causes serious problems in Lilo and Stitch, loving and kind behavior makes the outcome positive. Do you really think this is lost on your young ones?

I can assure you, even as young as 2, they are absorbing the whole picture, not just the bad habits you are afraid they are picking up on. I think parents should embrace media that shows resolution especially through challenges and diversity, Disney movies always do.

If you surround your children with sunshine and daisies, you miss an opportunity for important discussion. Disney movies have consistently given me, in the past, an opportunity to show age appropriate moral comparisons. I applaud them for that. Even now, that my children are 10, 15 and 17, Disney movies often lead to discussion of morality and goodness.

Lilo and Stitch is no different, if parents take the time to realize the potential learning lessons for their children and take advantage of their natural curiosity and problem solving capabilities.

 

[Tinks]

Ugh! I don't know why people feel it is o.k. to assume that you are uptight and out of touch by monitoring your kids television. I, too, don't care for Lilo and Stitch. I stopped it at the movie where Stitch yells swear words in alien at the trial. No, my kids don't understand alien swear words, but they do understand attitude and behavior towards others. This is not something I want them to see as acceptable on television. They already know it's not acceptable at home.

 

[Lisa F]

Originally posted by Tinks
Ugh! I don't know why people feel it is o.k. to assume that you are uptight and out of touch by monitoring your kids television. I, too, don't care for Lilo and Stitch. I stopped it at the movie where Stitch yells swear words in alien at the trial. No, my kids don't understand alien swear words, but they do understand attitude and behavior towards others. This is not something I want them to see as acceptable on television. They already know it's not acceptable at home.

Did you read anything that poohandwendy said? Yes, Stitch may behave in socially unacceptable ways, but when he does, he gets into trouble. In the case of being disrespectful at the court, he gets into a LOT of trouble. It isn't until both he and Lilo start behaving admirably that good things happen. If you don't understand the storyline well enough to see that the behavior is NOT being shown as acceptable because of the consequences Stitch faces then how do you expect your children to?

 

[Snoopymom]

For my foster-to-adopt son who came to us angry, violent and defiant just like Stitch, the movie (we don't watch the series) has had such a sweet...impact is too strong...but it has been something that we can relate too, the whole family thing "broken, but still good", "no one gets left behind or forgotten", how that bad energy can be turned into unconditional love, loyalty and security. Now whenever DS sees a shelf of Stitches in the store, he gathers up as many as he can and begs to take them all home "so they'll have a family". Just wanted to post something positive about the blue little guy!

I've noticed that a lot of Disney and other kid's movies are based on "orphan themes" Not sure if that's good.

 

[pjlla]

I am leary of getting in on this debate, but I will say the following....


I had never seen Lilo & Stitch (the movie) and I rented it for my kids to watch one evening when my parents were babysitting. My mother was HORRIFIED that I let them watch it. So I, of course, watched it to see what she was talking about. And while I did feel that her reaction was a bit strong, I was not exactly thrilled with it either.

My kids are not allowed to watch/play/own anything Pokemon, Yugioh, or Harry Potter. They don't watch the Cartoon Network, except for Rescue Heroes. They are not allowed to watch PG-13 movies (they are 6 1/2 and 9). They are not allowed to watch PG movies without my prior approval.

They do, on occasion, watch the Lilo & Stitch tv series, but not on a regular basis. They watch mostly the Animal Planet channel, Arthur, Jimmy Neutron (not my favorite either), Clifford, Dora the Explorer, Hi-5, Magic School Bus, House of Mouse and DD likes to watch home improvement shows with me.

I'm sure that SOMEONE out there would disagree with what I allow my children to watch. But I can feel comfortable with my choices for them.

In the end it is YOUR child and you have to make the decisions that you feel are right for him/her. Is it really okay for us to ridicule the decisions that other have made for themselves and their families? I suppose the OP opened herself up for this when she asked for OPINIONS. But I don't think she was looking to be JUDGED. As parents we ALL know that we don't do everything right.... we just make the best, informed decisions we can at the time..........................P

EDITED TO ADD: You all might be interested to know that we didn't see the Disney movie "Hercules" until just this summer. I was opposed to my children seeing a movie that had an obvious "Satan" figure in it. I know that all movies/stories have some sort of 'bad guy' or evil figure, otherwise there would be no conflict and hence no story. But I disagreed with letting my children see a character who is obviously playing Satan.
But I previewed it and deemed it borderline-appropriate and we watched it together. Glad to say we've seen it, but probably won't watch it again.

 

[piglet too]

While I may not agree with everything the OP and others have to say, they are right for their family. I posted earlier this week about a phrase on America's Funniest Videos that offended me and my husband. There were a lot of people who disagreed with me and one even told me basically that if that bothered me to not let my kids watch TV and to have family playing time and reading. I was mildly hurt by that due to the fact that my kids do read a lot and we do have a lot of no tv time.

I have found that my kids seem to understand the differance between what is "right" and what is "wrong" on tv. My kids have never acted out from what they see on Lilo and Stitch. They did however start stuff from other cartoons and I no longer let them watch those cartoons.

It is up to each of us as parents to set what we feel is comfortable as for as tv/movie viewing. I hope we can all see that it is OK to disagree, and just play nice.

 

[eeyore kelly]

In the end it is YOUR child and you have to make the decisions that you feel are right for him/her.

ITA!! With that statement. I know I do things different than some parents, but it goes my house, my rules.

Is it really okay for us to ridicule the decisions that other have made for themselves and their families? I suppose the OP opened herself up for this when she asked for OPINIONS. But I don't think she was looking to be JUDGED.

I didn't find for the most part that the posters were ugly or judgemental. We all gave our opinions and reasons behind them. I was very interested to read everyone else's thoughts, reasons, and restrictions.

IMHO, the posters (me included) were nice and polite. We all just had different thoughts.

 

[Disney Princess 6]

I guess people can go ahead and "judge" me if they feel they must. I was just expressing my displeasure over the fact that Lilo & Stitch has so much airplay when a truly adorable show like Bear in the Big Blue House has been relegated to an early morning time slot.

My point of view is not that I want to "shelter" my kids indefinitely. But why allow them to watch something that shows questionable behavior (to me anyway) when there are better choices out there like Clifford, Dora or Arthur.

As for shows that were on when we were kids - I mentioned that I don't care for those either. I never watched Bugs Bunny or any of that stuff. I did like Scooby - but I do also know little kids who are scared of that show.

Every parent has to make the choices that they are comfortable with. These are mine - judge if you must.

 

[Disney Enthusiast]

Originally posted by Tinks
Ugh! I don't know why people feel it is o.k. to assume that you are uptight and out of touch by monitoring your kids television. I, too, don't care for Lilo and Stitch. I stopped it at the movie where Stitch yells swear words in alien at the trial. No, my kids don't understand alien swear words, but they do understand attitude and behavior towards others. This is not something I want them to see as acceptable on television. They already know it's not acceptable at home.

I agree w/ this. My DS recently started getting into Scooby Doo. The monsters don't scare him and he thinks the show is funny. He runs around the house and pretends he's catching monsters. I don't see anything wrong w/ that. But he begins to show destructive behavior and disrespect for his toys and parents when he watches Lilo and Stitch. I do have a problem w/ that. I am not raising him any differently than before, he is just emulating Stitch's "funny" behavior... which is not so funny in our household. It is probably because he is so young and he role plays everything he sees. I am sure other kids would do just fine w/ L&S. My child does not fair well and so I must limit him. I don't think limiting TV is being uptight either. I certainly wouldn't judge anyone for allowing their kids to watch L&S. I'm sure other kids handle the show differently. But I do understand the OP's concern for L&S seeing that my child had issues w/ it. My DS can watch George of the Jungle and Tarzan w/ no ill effects, but L&S he can't. No big deal. Different kids handle media in different ways. I bought the DVD and I am sure he will see it when he is mature enough... long before he's 21. But since there are so many great shows out there like the Wiggles and Sesame Street, there is no reason to push L&S until he's ready.

 

[piglet too]

Disney Princess 6 ~ I miss Bear so much! My five year old loved him so much that we got so many videos of it. They other day on Radio Disney, the Cha Cha Cha came on and it made me sad that my DD does not get to watch the show. I started playing some of the old tapes and she just loves Treelo.

 

[piratesmate]

Originally posted by piglet too
Disney Princess 6 ~ I miss Bear so much! My five year old loved him so much that we got so many videos of it. They other day on Radio Disney, the Cha Cha Cha came on and it made me sad that my DD does not get to watch the show. I started playing some of the old tapes and she just loves Treelo.

When Bear first came on, my teenage son thought he was "the greatest character ever!" He'd run to watch every time he knew DD was watching. On our first trip to WDW, Bear in the Big Blue House was the only show was saw at MGM - at the kids' request...ages 8 & 18.

I'm not crazy about L&S, but DD seems to like it. At 13 I'm not worried about it influencing her though. When the kids were little I always watched shows with them & talked about bad behaviors (Piggy on Muppet Babies) - or we just didn't watch.

 

[beattyfamily]

Originally posted by Disney Princess 6
why allow them to watch something that shows questionable behavior (to me anyway) when there are better choices out there like Clifford, Dora or Arthur.

I wanted to comment on Arthur. My two DDs love this show and they are 5 and 8. Arthur, although educational in some ways, also has questionable content. They use the word stupid in every single episode. Muffy and Francine can be very nasty, mean girls.

There was a whole episode about swearing/bleeping. The Tibble twins on that show are horrible.

I still let them watch it though, with me there saying things like "that's not nice to say". I make sure my DDs know that is inappropriate behavoir or words.

We do not watch the Cartoon Network either although I have let them watch Rugrats a couple of times but I'm always there telling them what a bad girl Angelica is. Luckily they don't really like it.

We watch Sesame Street, Dora, Arthur, Caihou (sp?), Bear, PB&J, Timon and Pumbaa, Dragon Tails, Lilo and Stitch, Little Mermaid show, Aladdin show, Little Bear, and House of Mouse which is probably their favorite show of all.

I do try and shelter my kids from inappropriate shows/movies but there are times (Rugrats/Arthur certain movies like Harry Potter) I let them watch questionable shows with my supervision and commentary. I just don't want them to be too sheltered and not ready for the reality of life.

 

[DisneyDmbNut]

Do any of you remember the old Bugs Bunny cartoons?? Dropping anvils on people and blowing them up?? I think Lilo and Stitch is pretty safe compared to what I have seen on Cartoon Network and Nick...I can't STAND all the new Anime stuff!

 

[Pembo]

Amen!

At your thinking every show is going to have something "wrong".Are you going to keep your kids in the closet intil they are 21? What about all those costumes at Halloween that send "bad messages" I guess your kids should stay home and you shouldn't give out candy. What's going to happen when they start school, are you goint to take a seat next to them so they don't get any ideas from the other children who were exposed to the TV shows.
Although we should protect our children from what is right and wrong, you can't shelter them from life.

 

[eeyore kelly]

edited:: Glad it was no longer needed

 

[Alice28]

We like it a lot. I like it than most of the stuff on Cartoon Network and half the stuff on Nick that's on in the afternoon.

 

[MosMom]

I bit my tongue quite a bit on this thread but here it goes...

I think you underestimate the intelligence of a kid. I think kids know that Stitch is an exaggerated character and REALLY BAD. Mine "gets the joke" so to speak and thinks he is funny because he is so naughty and that isn't how she behaves.

I loved Lilo & Stitch because nobody died and there were no real evil characters. Everyone was a bit of a goofball and everyone learned their lesson in the end. They were better people/creatures in the end. I can only think of a handful of other Disney/Kids movies that share that. Finding Nemo is beloved by many and had some pretty violent stuff happen.

Stitch is a pesky creature and quite harmless. I guess I don't get why it is so bad.

I fear for some of you who think Lilo & Stitch is the end of the world. Just wait a few years to see what they want to watch then. In the big picture, who really cares if Stitch picks his nose? At some point you have to teach your kids they can't do what they see on TV/Movie no matter how much you guard their viewing.

Emporer's New Groove was another where nobody died and everyone ended up being better (Well, Yzma has to learn to be a better squirrel). That is another favorite of mine too.

 

[Disney Princess 6]

Sounds like everyone has their own opinion and we need to let it go at that.