# Stuff you can watch with a 6-7 year old **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 14, 2010, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-can-watch-with-a-6-7-year-old/543199 "2010-06-14T21:13:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-can-watch-with-a-6-7-year-old/543199/21 "2010-06-16T03:47:46Z")
Much of the crap for kids is well described as “crap for kids” – but I need to include my now-early-teen grandsons’ recommendation, from when they were that age, of “The Fairly Odd Parents”. The writers are sheer genius – they provide what is at first glance a lighthearted kids’ fantasy that has layers of wit that appeal to every age level up to and including adult in the dialogue. Brandon first turned me on to it; we spent literally hours talking about the grown-up humor in various episodes, making it a good learning experience as well. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-can-watch-with-a-6-7-year-old/543199/22 "2010-06-16T06:37:54Z")
When I was growing up, the Disney Channel still showed _Return to Oz_, the Rankin-Bass Tolkien films, and _Unico_ on a regular basis, liberally interspersed with [Max Fleischer shorts](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUgyWhKlH78). Honestly, I think your options are more open than you imagine. Or would like to. 🙂 Fr’kkin Max Fleischer… ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-can-watch-with-a-6-7-year-old/543199/23 "2010-06-16T07:29:03Z")
> [@NicorGasMan](#): > > My 8 yo daughter likes watching Man vs. Wild aka the guy who drinks his own pee. 2nd cooking shows. Good Eats is entertaining. We also like Mexico - One Plate at a Time with Rick Bayless. I’m finding a surprising number of kids who enjoy cooking shows. That’s a great way to start teaching them to cook. Wish they were around when I was a tike. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-can-watch-with-a-6-7-year-old/543199/24 "2010-06-16T11:06:48Z")
I will also agree that both _Penguins of Madagascar_ and _The Fairly Oddparents_ are surprisingly witty and funny. Oh, _Back to the Barnyard_ has its moments, too. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-can-watch-with-a-6-7-year-old/543199/25 "2010-06-16T11:38:43Z")
Let me challenge an assumption, here. My girls are 5 and 10 right now. Both still have bedtimes of 8PM so, as you’ve noted, we can get some damn rest. But television watching has never been a real issue for us. Instead, in second grade (about age 7) for the older one we instituted a ‘you may stay up as long as you like provided you are in your room and **reading** ’ rule. It worked like a charm. She’s addicted to the printed page and is out of our hair. And the 5 year old is looking forward to being 7 so the same rules apply. From time to time we find her up past bedtime pretending to read. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-can-watch-with-a-6-7-year-old/543199/26 "2010-06-16T13:34:15Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > Let me challenge an assumption, here. > > My girls are 5 and 10 right now. Both still have bedtimes of 8PM so, as you’ve noted, we can get some damn rest. > > But television watching has never been a real issue for us. Instead, in second grade (about age 7) for the older one we instituted a ‘you may stay up as long as you like provided you are in your room and **reading** ’ rule. > > It worked like a charm. She’s addicted to the printed page and is out of our hair. And the 5 year old is looking forward to being 7 so the same rules apply. From time to time we find her up past bedtime pretending to read. You bring up a very good point. My kids had and still have (at 12 and 15) a no TV on school nights rule. They always spent quiet time reading in bed long before they were ready for light’s out instead. At 15, my son has more freedom to be on his laptop at night, but even that gets shut off at 10. Another good quiet, I need-to-veg evening activity that you can do together is listen to books on tape while she draws or does puzzles etc. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-can-watch-with-a-6-7-year-old/543199/27 "2010-06-16T13:52:46Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Get DVD collections of the classic cartoons we grew up. Road Runner, Yosemite Sam, Foghorn Leghorn, Bugs Bunny, Tom & Jerry, etc. I would strongly second this - in particular any Bugs Bunny or Daffy Duck cartoons. Also, any of the Pixar films should work. Maybe even some of the older classic sitcoms like Andy Griffith (my nieces and nephews love Don Knotts/Barney Fife) or even Dick Van Dyke. ---
**Author:** ![Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/bc8723/32.png) [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unauthorized_Cinnamon)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-can-watch-with-a-6-7-year-old/543199/28 "2010-06-16T14:21:49Z")
Thanks guys! Netflix queue has Wallace & Gromit, a Dr. Who cartoon (who knew?), Bugs Bunny, and Penguins of Madagascar. I also added some movies from my childhood: The Apple Dumpling Gang, Escape to Witch Mountain, Time Bandits, and Bedknobs & Broomsticks. Also Bye Bye Birdie (she liked Singing in the Rain pretty well) and Willow. **Hamlet** , I’m enjoying Avatar quite a bit. We just watched the one where the earthbender king sets three challenges for Aang. I loved how well the writers are versed in classic mythology, and yet combine it with some modern sensibilities - like what they find out at the end of that episode. I also like that Saka is the comic relief - it sends the message that even with all the fighting involved, that’s not the point of life. As for reading versus TV: I hear you. It’s a good point. This child is not very interested in reading, and I’ve been trying various approaches. Right now she has finally found a book she likes to read herself, which I think is the key. Being read to is not terribly her thing. Luckily this is about at her level, and she’s interested, AND it’s part of a big series (Magic Kitten). So what I’ll be doing is we have our TV veg time for 30 min or so, and then she can stay up and read if she likes. (A couple days ago, she was reading this book, and I talked to her, and she didn’t even hear me because she was absorbed - I was so happy!) ---
**Author:** ![Gundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Gundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gundy)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-can-watch-with-a-6-7-year-old/543199/29 "2010-06-16T14:58:41Z")
Are you a nerd? If so, you and your daughter will enjoy Phineas and Ferb on the Disney Channel. Full of meta-jokes and wry humor, but silly enough that kids’ll dig it. ---
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-can-watch-with-a-6-7-year-old/543199/30 "2010-06-16T15:30:34Z")
> [@Gundy](#): > > Are you a nerd? If so, you and your daughter will enjoy Phineas and Ferb on the Disney Channel. Full of meta-jokes and wry humor, but silly enough that kids’ll dig it. Curse you, Percy the Platypus! That’s what I was coming to post! My 7-year-old loves Phineas and Ferb, as does her 5-year-old brother. Fine. Yes, I really like it, too. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-can-watch-with-a-6-7-year-old/543199/31 "2010-06-16T15:34:16Z")
> [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](#): > > . > > As for reading versus TV: I hear you. It’s a good point. This child is not very interested in reading, and I’ve been trying various approaches. Right now she has finally found a book she likes to read herself, which I think is the key. Being read to is not terribly her thing. Luckily this is about at her level, and she’s interested, AND it’s part of a big series (Magic Kitten). So what I’ll be doing is we have our TV veg time for 30 min or so, and then she can stay up and read if she likes. > > (A couple days ago, she was reading this book, and I talked to her, and she didn’t even hear me because she was absorbed - I was so happy!) I meant to tell you earlier- yours is my absolutely favorite unsername on the boards. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-can-watch-with-a-6-7-year-old/543199/32 "2010-06-16T15:35:14Z")
No mention of Spirited Away or Howl’s Moving Castle, yet? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-can-watch-with-a-6-7-year-old/543199/33 "2010-06-16T15:35:41Z")
> [@](#): > > Wallace and Gromitt are very funny with humor aimed at both the kid’s and parent’s level. You might also check out _Creature Comforts_. It’s a series by the same animators. They did interviews with people on various subjects and then used the recordings to voice animated animals. And you should definitely check out Hayao Miyazaki’s movies: _Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind_, _Castle in the Sky_, _My Neighbor Totoro_, _Kiki’s Delivery Service_, _Porco Rosso_, _Princess Mononoke_, _Spirited Away_, _Howl’s Moving Castle_, and _Ponyo_. ---
**Author:** ![Gundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Gundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gundy)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-can-watch-with-a-6-7-year-old/543199/34 "2010-06-16T16:22:41Z")
Dur. Missed the P&F reference in the OP. Sorry! Also, I work for the local PBS outlet, so I would be remiss to not mention a couple of shows that I love, but my four-year-old is a couple of years away from really enjoying – \*Martha Speaks \*and _WordGirl_. I especially love _Martha Speaks_, based on the books about a chubby dog who eats alphabet soup and begins to talk. Very charming, and very girl-friendly – obviously Martha’s a girl dog, and her primary owner is a girl. _WordGirl_ is a good time too, and again, very girl-friendly. Both shows are funny and smart, in that precocious-kid way. The revamped and modernized \*Electric Company \*is tailored towards 8-10-year-olds so she might find that interesting as well. ---
**Author:** ![Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/bc8723/32.png) [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unauthorized_Cinnamon)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-can-watch-with-a-6-7-year-old/543199/35 "2010-06-16T16:34:50Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > I meant to tell you earlier- yours is my absolutely favorite unsername on the boards. Thanks! I will check out Kiki’s Delivery Service et. al. The mentions of Phineas and Ferb prompted me to check for DVDs at Netflix, and whattayaknow, they have them, so that’s on the list. (My favoritest quote: “It’s made of PURE EVIL! (And a blend of space-age polymers.)”) I do like Martha Speaks - they have a great way of teaching very cool vocabulary words. And come to think of it, she has enjoyed Fetch! with Ruff Ruffman as well. I might have to put that in the DVR lineup. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-can-watch-with-a-6-7-year-old/543199/36 "2010-06-16T16:39:24Z")
I find Spongebob (more the first four seasons than the more recent ones) and Powerpuff Girls to have plenty of adult appeal. I have a Powerpuff Girld DVD titled “Meet the Beat-Alls” which contains several very adult-clever episodes (the headliner being the best). ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-can-watch-with-a-6-7-year-old/543199/37 "2010-06-16T16:47:37Z")
> [@ivan\_astikov](#): > > No mention of Spirited Away or Howl’s Moving Castle, yet? After watching _Howl’s Moving Castle_, hand her the book. The movie is pretty good, but the book is SO much better. In fact, she might like most of Diana Wynne Jones’ books, though there are a few that shouldn’t be handed to a kid. Read them yourself first and decide what’s OK for her. Let me know if you want particular recommendations. I love Labyrinth, and The Last Unicorn. My daughter also loved both when she was about your daughter’s age, and when she grew up and rewatched them, she was amazed at what she’d missed. And of course, The Princess Bride is great for that age. ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-can-watch-with-a-6-7-year-old/543199/38 "2010-06-16T16:57:24Z")
as a fully grown and functioning adult, i love the last airbender. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-can-watch-with-a-6-7-year-old/543199/39 "2010-06-16T17:11:24Z")
Another vote for How It’s Made. Plus, my 9 year old just told me about another she like; How It Works or something like that. Planet Earth. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2010, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-can-watch-with-a-6-7-year-old/543199/40 "2010-06-16T19:38:28Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > Let me challenge an assumption, here. > > My girls are 5 and 10 right now. Both still have bedtimes of 8PM so, as you’ve noted, we can get some damn rest. > > But television watching has never been a real issue for us. Instead, in second grade (about age 7) for the older one we instituted a ‘you may stay up as long as you like provided you are in your room and **reading** ’ rule. > > It worked like a charm. She’s addicted to the printed page and is out of our hair. And the 5 year old is looking forward to being 7 so the same rules apply. From time to time we find her up past bedtime pretending to read. Robinson’s Rule? 🙂 I rather hope Terri is a lurker, and sends your little ones some of what appealed to her at that age (and of which she’s now an editor). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-can-watch-with-a-6-7-year-old/543199.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-you-can-watch-with-a-6-7-year-old/543199.md?page=3)