Need help!!! Offensive language in kids shows!

[Not so Dumbo]

I also don't like the kids watching the previous mentioned show b/c of the language, but I guess I'm with the other poster that said actions are louder than words and I won't let them watch fairly odd parents or jimmy neutron either. I don't like the way the parents are portrayed in either of the shows. I don't want my kids thinking that all parents are bumbling idiots that can't be respected.

 

[TheLittleRoo]

...If you blocked Nick, Nick Jr, & Disney Channel...exactly what are your kids going to watch? Now they're probably watching adult shows which say much worse things than OMG...sounds like cutting off your nose to spite your face to me. Not trying to be snarky....just sayin...

Exactly. Which is why I'm thinking seriously about cancelling cable in my home. If I could block certain shows, that would work better but I have to block by channel.

I know I can't keep them in a bubble, but wait until you have two or three kids and that wonderful spell you kept over your first isn't there anymore because they are influencing the little ones. I know my friend takes it for granted that her little girl (an only child) is still more sheltered than my DD, same age. I want that same innocence my first had to be preserved for my two youngest. I'm not blaming him, but it does make it harder to keep those influences that are unavoidable for a middleschooler away from pre-K and grade schoolers.

 

[mrsmiller]

As a mother of two growing boys I will have to say that is not what they WATCH is what I TEACH THEM...I allow my boys to watch tv (disney and Nick and Cartoon Network) they play videos some with mild violence...but we always talk about what is right and what is wrong and we set and follow rules. My boys are well behave and honor students and they are my pride and joy and makes me proud when I have people telling me what great kids they are Once again I do believe is what you teach your child what is important , in every day life they will be exposed to so much ...then what? you need to give your child the tools and teach them to recognize rights and wrongs

 

[PrincessBride010103]

As a mother of two growing boys I will have to say that is not what they WATCH is what I TEACH THEM...I allow my boys to watch tv (disney and Nick and Cartoon Network) they play videos some with mild violence...but we always talk about what is right and what is wrong and we set and follow rules. My boys are well behave and honor students and they are my pride and joy and makes me proud when I have people telling me what great kids they are Once again I do believe is what you teach your child what is important , in every day life they will expose to so much ...then what? you need to give your child the tools and teach them to recognize rights and wrongs

I completely agree .

 

[_queenie_]

I'm lenient on this subject, took my DD13, four at the time, with us to see Austin Powers (which she didn't understand anyway, just liked the dancing and stuff) and got lots of stares, but I'm confident in what I've taught her, such as not to use bad language. Still, I think that for children's programming they should keep even the "OMGs" out of there. I understand it being offensive to some, any word could be offensive, you could find "carrot" offensive if you wanted too, but again, I understand why it would be with that statement. I don't know what's so wrong with saying "Oh my gosh" instead.

It's your choice whether or not you want to expose you're children to "adult" programming, and children's programming, what these shows are, should not fall into that category where you should have to worry about them hearing certain language. Children's programming is intended to be appropriate for children to watch with a storyline they find entertaining and language that would not likely be considered offensive. I have my personal opinion on the matter as we all do and I think everyone's should be respected. It would be nice to see kid's shows be completely "clean", it's not like asking that for Family Guy.

 

[bumbershoot]

I want that same innocence my first had to be preserved for my two youngest. I'm not blaming him, but it does make it harder to keep those influences that are unavoidable for a middleschooler away from pre-K and grade schoolers.

I understand that urge, but speaking as the oldest of 5, unless you wait to have another kid until your first is off in college, they ARE going to influence the youngers.

I have a close in age full brother, then our half brothers are 13 and 15 years younger than me. Then they have a full sister 10 years younger than the older one. The brothers weren't all that influenced by me b/c I didn't live with them, but the sister only ate breastmilk (mom and stepmom and the rest of the family are extended/biological nursers), candy, and rice, b/c bmilk is what was offered by mom, and candy and rice were the ONLY things the boys ate! The boys watched her quite a bit, since their mom was in nursing school and my dad worked nights, and candy is the only thing the boys gave her. Ever.

She also grew up with a really big vocabulary, and she's smarter than all but my full brother, b/c she learned the GOOD stuff, too, from her siblings both full and half.

There's good and bad with older sibs, and I understand WANTING to be able to keep it all away (until my son was 3, he really believed that the cable company simply turned off the TV after Little Bear, b/c it was time for a nap) but unless you want to take everything away from the older, it's going to be an uphill battle.


I think it's super-cute that the 3 year old TRIES and apologizes. He's getting it!


As for those substitutes like OMPoodle and OMGoodness...friend of mine has a mom who charges for swears, though her kids are all in their 30s and 40s. And those substitutes COUNT. Gosh, goodness, even poodle, if said in that context are all just substitutes for what they are meaning, and you gotta put that quarter in the jar if you say them around their mom.

 

[HappyDznyCamper]

As a mother of two growing boys I will have to say that is not what they WATCH is what I TEACH THEM...I allow my boys to watch tv (disney and Nick and Cartoon Network) they play videos some with mild violence...but we always talk about what is right and what is wrong and we set and follow rules. My boys are well behave and honor students and they are my pride and joy and makes me proud when I have people telling me what great kids they are Once again I do believe is what you teach your child what is important , in every day life they will expose to so much ...then what? you need to give your child the tools and teach them to recognize rights and wrongs

Very well said!!
As a mom of a wonderful DD15 and ds12 and a preschool teacher for 10 years, I think you hit the nail on the head. And yes those tool can be taught to young kids too.

 

[livndisney]

...If you blocked Nick, Nick Jr, & Disney Channel...exactly what are your kids going to watch? Now they're probably watching adult shows which say much worse things than OMG...sounds like cutting off your nose to spite your face to me. Not trying to be snarky....just sayin...

Watching adult TV? Not even close! We watch PBS and DVD's. But truth be told my DD doesn't watch a lot of TV. She reads and draws and plays.

 

[noahdove]

I forgot that I used to charge the church youth group kids a quarter for everytime they said OMG---they learned and they were amazed to see how often they took the Lord's name in vain, and yes,they stopped and they also told their friends...

 

[Mouse House Mama]

As a mother of two growing boys I will have to say that is not what they WATCH is what I TEACH THEM...I allow my boys to watch tv (disney and Nick and Cartoon Network) they play videos some with mild violence...but we always talk about what is right and what is wrong and we set and follow rules. My boys are well behave and honor students and they are my pride and joy and makes me proud when I have people telling me what great kids they are Once again I do believe is what you teach your child what is important , in every day life they will expose to so much ...then what? you need to give your child the tools and teach them to recognize rights and wrongs

Thank you!!!! I agree 100%.

 

[prettyprincessbelle]

Once again I do believe is what you teach your child what is important , in every day life they will expose to so much ...then what? you need to give your child the tools and teach them to recognize rights and wrongs

I also very much agree. I'm not a parent yet, but I'm learning from mine and other parents on what I want/do not want for my children when the time is right and I think this is a wonderful statement.

My parents had a hard time "letting go" and letting me fall and mess up and figure it out on my own. They needed to realize that they gave me the tools and they taught me well and I could figure things out. I am the only child, but I think this TV thing is a perfect example.

As for them saying OMG on children's show.. Ehh.. I still get told something by my Mom if I say anything that has the word God or Lord in it. But if your children do watch it, I think you should tell them that it's not acceptable and even though it is said on TV it doesn't make it okay..

And I know for sure that the Disney Channel (Hannah Montana, Raven, Suite Life) doesn't say OMG..

 

[Narnia]

We don't have cable for that reason. We have a ton of movies and I think they too are bad but atleast if they are really bad I can pull them. Have you really watched any given disney movie? Take lelo and stich. The movie has stich basically bullying Lelo and Lelo taking his abuse( not to mention cps and her sister screaming horrible threats). I teach my children what is right and wrong so I find the movies don't really hurt. Heck pinoccio(sp) even smokes, clowns on dumdo drink(he does but he didn't know) A bugs life there was a lie of omission and even beauty and the beast there was kidnapping,the hunchback was an outcast because of the way he looked....... Kids at school will say bad things and do bad things I just hope I gave them what they need to see past these behavors.

 

[mamaLori05]

As a mother of two growing boys I will have to say that is not what they WATCH is what I TEACH THEM...I allow my boys to watch tv (disney and Nick and Cartoon Network) they play videos some with mild violence...but we always talk about what is right and what is wrong and we set and follow rules. My boys are well behave and honor students and they are my pride and joy and makes me proud when I have people telling me what great kids they are Once again I do believe is what you teach your child what is important , in every day life they will expose to so much ...then what? you need to give your child the tools and teach them to recognize rights and wrongs

I also agree!! Overprotecting your children can be just as harmful. If you try to "hide" or ignore things you don't like, then how are your children going to learn how to handle situations they don't like when they are adults? They are learning from you that if you simply don't see it, it just goes away......not something succesful people often do. Yes, they are young, but it's better to teach them young then wait until they are older. No matter what you try to do, they are going to eventually hear those words.....and worse for that matter. If you teach them now that those words are not acceptable for your family (without making a huge deal of it), you most likely won't have a problem.
Trust me.....as a former teacher, I've seen the result of overprotective parents.........and it's not pretty.

 

[trivial]

"Oh my God" used to be taboo, but it's now mainstream and socially acceptable. Although my kids aren't quite talking yet, my stance is that kids will hear and see many things during their lifetime that I disagree with, and the best thing to do is teach them how to handle it rather than shelter them from it. That is, to a point of course. In the case of offensive words, I would focus strictly on your son, and tell him when he says something objectionable and enforce a punishment (if he offends after being made aware). But if my kids were watching a movie rife with expletives, that wouldn't be acceptable; there are limits. That's me though, and I realize it's somewhat of a surprisingly unpopular stance... but after reading more of this thread, I'm happy to see that I'm in good company.

 

[SharpMomOfTwo]

I haven't read everything, so excuse me if I repeat, but...

I know on Hannah we have heard Lillie call someone an idiot - that didn't go over well in our house.
On Spongebob, Squidward tells SP & Patrick that he hates them - DD turns to me and always tells me that Squidward is BAD at that point.
Its funny that you mention the OMG thing, because, eventhough I don't have any religions views for or against that, I don't really want my 3 year old saying it, and she did just yesterday. I simply told her not to say it, and that was the end of it. If she says it again (shes 3, she forgets stuff sometimes), I'll just tell her again. I guess previewing all the shows is the only fool-proof way for you to make sure there is nothing offencive to you in the show, but darn, that would be really boring, and take up a lot of time!!!!

 

[luvmy3]

I don't worry about what they hear on those TV shows, I worry more about what they are exposed to at school or on the bus.
An example, yesterday I took ds 7 out early for an appointment. We went to lunch at the mall food court just outside of Dick's Sporting Goods. He looked at the sign and told me that the name of that store was a bad word. He didn't learn that from watching Nick or Disney.

I do let my kids watch Disney channel more than Nick. Icarly is not allowed because the very first episode the 2 girls were making fun of their teacher's breasts. I though that was extremely inappropriate considering they were targeting tweens.
OMG does not offend me but I do correct my kids and make them say gosh. They know it can offend others especially in our very large Catholic family. I totally agree, its what you teach them, if you do it right they will know whats right and wrong.

 

[rebecca314]

I am glad you brought this up because I struggled with this in my high school classes this year. Kids kept saying "BUZZKILL" and I told them it is not acceptable. (Sounds like a drug reference to me.) One girl always argues that they say it on the Disney channel, so it must be OK. I said absolutely not ... and I've tried to see if that phrase if ever used on Disney, but I doubt if Handy Manny or Mickey Mouse will talk like that. Maybe one of the older shows?

 

[Louisianafive]

We have had this very same issue in our home. I have 3 DD's - 15, 9 and 7. Needless to say I am constantly telling DD15 to watch what she says - It is usually only Oh my God, and Jees........ I even had her Youth Minister explain why not to say these!( I thought she would listen better).
I have noticed that most Disney shows are ok with not using these phrases, however we jumped over to Nick a few days ago and I jumped it quickly back!

We are also big fans of PBS!!!

My DD7 is always pointing out "bad" phrases on TV or when anyone around us at anytime uses them!!!

 

[tmarquez]

Isn't it our job as parents to teach our kids what's right and what's wrong?

If a TV show that DD watches says something that I find offensive, I don't just ban it. I tell her why we don't say that or do that. Is she does it anyway...well the punishment for not listening applies. She is 5 now, and I know the OP's child is 3, but 3 is old enough to listen!

With OMG, I also had to explain that although I don't really care if she says it, it is very offensive to some people and why. She does say it at home. At school she will say "oh my gosh". The funny thing is that they told her that was a bad word too. Now at school she has to say "oh my goodness". I think that's totally ridiculous...but whatever. One of the things we all need to learn is to adjust to our surroundings.

People that don't expose their kids to the real world are setting themselves up for trouble in the future or at the very least are doing their children a disservice. Just my opinion!

 

[Mouse House Mama]

I am glad you brought this up because I struggled with this in my high school classes this year. Kids kept saying "BUZZKILL" and I told them it is not acceptable. (Sounds like a drug reference to me.) One girl always argues that they say it on the Disney channel, so it must be OK. I said absolutely not ... and I've tried to see if that phrase if ever used on Disney, but I doubt if Handy Manny or Mickey Mouse will talk like that. Maybe one of the older shows?

I guess then that dh and I are unacceptable since we use the word Buzzkill. As in- you had really good news and were super excited, you shared it and the person acted like Debbie Downer so it was a buzzkill. Our kids are young and don't use that word currently but I would not have problem with a high schooler using it and I never felt it was a drug reference. Of course we are high on life here.