I hazily remember seeing some Caillou episodes when my nephew was a baby. Though it was low budget, I don’t remember it being that bad in IMO.
Max and Ruby was a fun show.
If I have to think of bad kids shows, they are the ones that can be easily be made fun of. They are great shows, but easy comedy bait based on the plot and story advices :).
There is my great little kids/educational shows during the 80s and 90s.
PBS
Sesame Street
Barney (Barney is chessy but I was really into it)
Where in the World is Carmen SanDiego.
Bill Nye the Science Guy
Nick Shows
Grimm Fairy Tales
Little Bits
Noozles
Eureka’s Castle
David the Gnome
Adventures of the Little Koala (Australia love screams 1980s trends :eek:)
Mr. Wizard
Alot of the Saturday special/movies
Your wife has it, I would throat punch that little whiner and not even hesitate.
While being tortured when watching it, I do like to make note of when it gets especially Canadian, like when they play ringette, or the auto mechanic sporting the extreme mullet.
If you wait long enough, your kids may realize just what an annoying whiny little fucker Caillou is, too. There’s some vindication in that. My 8 year old was channel surfing the other day and watched a few moments, then turned to me with a horrified look on her face and said, “Wow…Caillou is really…annoying! Did I really like to watch this show when I was little?”
Yes, yes you did. You also liked to pick your nose and eat it. 3 year olds are not the most discerning creatures.
Okay, I’ll admit it. My youngest kids, now 9 and 13, and I watch Caillou on purpose, MST3K style. It’s disturbing, comforting, and hilarious for us, all at once.
I haven’t had to see it in years (my son is too old for it now), but I did hate it.
That doesn’t make it a bad show, however. Look, I hated Barney and Dora too, but that’s not a reflection on the shows, it’s a reflection on me. I’m not a toddler.
SOME cartoons and kiddie shows have subtext that adults can appreciate and enjoy. SOME of them have sly humor that will crack up adults but that toddlers won’t get at all.
But then there are cartoons and kiddie shows that really are just for little kids. Barney and Dora and Caillou really are just for little kids. Caillou and Barney and Dora have no subtext for adults. An adult who tries to sit through them is likely to be bored. But if they keep 3 year olds quiet and occupied for a while, they’re doing their job.
I definitely agree with this to some extent. Barney and Dora are boring to me. I sit there while they are on, and am bored and think my own thoughts.
Something about Caillou, though, puts me in nearly a rage if I focus on it for too long. My reaction to that show is so strong that I put it in its own category (and I am also laughing at myself for letting a TV show get me so worked up).
Max & Ruby should have been put in protective care long ago. Who is raising those kids?
I can’t agree with you on the Doodlebops. Mostly because DeeDee Doodle is f’in hot. And my inner 12 year old snickers every time I hear the name Moe.
I always hated Little Bear. That show is seriously creepy. Put some damn pants on.
Thankfully, my four year old has outgrown Caillou, but a year ago, she couldn’t get enough of him. Now she mostly wants to watch superhero cartoons, which is awesome.
My two year old is more of a Barney fan. I cope by imagining him snapping and eating all the children, because he’s a freakin’ T-Rex.
Dora sucks. I could handle the show if Dora didn’t SCREAM ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING. “HEY…LOOK OVER THERE…DO YOU SEE SWIPER?” Yes, already, but can you ratchet the volume down about 30 notches?
So I have a 2 year old, and I haven’t seen this Caillou show yet. I’ve seen Doodlebops, Busytown Mysteries, Thomas & Friends, Yo Gabba Gabba! and Sesame street plenty, and none of them really bug me very much.
What is it about Caillou that’s so horrible exactly? I don’t really want to watch it, lest my son discover it’s existence and decide that it’s cool.
Caillou was bullshit and so were his parents, I don’t like him or his family, his sister rosie was annoying as hell, the dad would get abusive sometimes (refer to that episode where he tried to make caillou brush his teeth) but then again caillou was acting like a brat which he always is! The kid has no hair which probably would make people think he has cancer and on top of that gilbert is probably the only normal one in the family Lol I could go on and on why I hate caillou.
The tone is weird because it’s very “toddler calm”, everyone has that vocal inflection that is supposed to be soothing to kids, but sounds psychotic to adults. There’s a narrator who frames the story throughout the episodes, and that actor takes this to an extreme. She sounds like a SNL skit spoofing a children’s show, it’s like a parody of itself.
Cailllou is a whiner who bitches about everything, and is usually indulged in some stupid way by his parents and other adults. From a child development view, I totally see where they are going - Caillou experiences toddler frustrations, and the adults are sympathetic and helpful in finding age-appropriate solutions. But from the view of the parent watching the show for the umpteenth time (that would be me), he’s a whiny brat who needs a kick in the pants.
And the whining is both in what the kid is saying – he’s complaining about all sorts of things – and the querulous tone of voice used by the actor, so it’s especially grating.
That’s not actually ALL he does, there are plenty of examples of good behavior, but it’s the whining that overshadows everything else.
This is one show that I wish I had never allowed. When asked to pick a show, my 2 yo will pick Caillou nearly every time.
I always hated Calliou too, but thankfully my little one doesn’t watch that. Instead, we get to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse a billion times in a row. The show doesn’t really get to me because I love to watch the way he interacts with it, dancing and doing all the actions along with the characters.
