Any mommys ever sat down and actually watched this cartoon? It comes on PBS. My 4 year old ds LOVES Caillou, but I think he is very whiny. And I also think his mommy lets him get away with way too much! I'm not too sure if this is a good cartoon for my ds or any kids to be watching. Am I overreacting? What do you think? I still let him watch it every now and then, but I try to avoid letting him see that its on.

By Colette on Wednesday, April 30, 2003 - 05:53 pm:

I HATE caillou! I totally agree about the whiny part. My dd loves it too, but she is losing interest since I've avoided having it on. I think a lot of people must think he's whiny because my aunt called me (she babysits her granddaughter) and wanted to know if I let Jessica watch that whiny cartoon on PBS.

I cannot figure out why the kids love him so much.

By Kate on Wednesday, April 30, 2003 - 10:26 pm:

I adore this show! I don't find him whiny at all! My daughters love it and they don't act any differently since having begun watching it. I love the 'themes' each day--winter, summer, trips and the different ways of traveling, etc.. In today's high tech, fast paced world, I find it sweet and comforting to spend half an hour watching a little boy discover the new things in the world. It's realistic, but not rude or obnoxious like Arthur is. I despise Arthur! The kid are SO rude and THEIR example is what I worry about, not Caillou's. I think Arthur is the worst thing on PBS for kids. I like Caillou, Barney, Dragon Tales, and Clifford.

By Semperspencer on Wednesday, April 30, 2003 - 11:23 pm:

Guess we have a huge difference of opinion!

By Nrwestcott on Thursday, May 1, 2003 - 09:47 am:

I am laughing now because I have thought the same thing. He does some things I would never let mine do. I would say to dd, "what is Caillou's mother thinking? I would never let you act that way." I think she gets the point.

By Truestori on Thursday, May 1, 2003 - 11:03 am:

Well,
Considering my son has watched many cartoons with his older sister on Nickjr and Nick, Caillou is very mild in my opinion! LOL

My kids know what they can and can't get away with so I don't worry so much about that!

He is whinny, though.

By Dana on Thursday, May 1, 2003 - 11:34 am:

I love Caillou, and so does DD. Yes he does whine a lot, but then so do most kids in real life. For me it reflects many of the things that DD experiences in her daily life.

They do need to give him more manners, more direction following skills, but that IS part of the lesson...well, the direction part, not the manners.

DD has mentioned several times that Caillou never uses good manners.

By Palmbchprincess on Thursday, May 1, 2003 - 12:15 pm:

I've only seen it a few times, and HATE his whiney little butt!!! I think he is the worst-mannered little brat in the cartoon world! LOL My kids will NOT be watching that!! Kate, you really think Arthur is obnoxious?? I don't at all. That's funny how we see those shows so differently!!!

By Dana on Thursday, May 1, 2003 - 12:32 pm:

I like Author too. I know many parents don't like them because of their "attitudes" but again, they seem pretty "real" to me, and again, it is their attitudes that causes the problem in the show w/ the consequence outcome. Learning right from wrong.

By Semperspencer on Thursday, May 1, 2003 - 12:54 pm:

Dana I like your perspective....

By Trina on Thursday, May 1, 2003 - 01:00 pm:

Ditto everything Dana said. My kids have lost interest in Caillou but enjoyed the show in the past. Now they like Arthur. LOL! Both shows depict "real" life kids, whining, attitudes and all. They've sparked good conversations and had a positive effect on my kiddos. Educational!

By Kate on Thursday, May 1, 2003 - 01:06 pm:

Oh dear. Well, I must admit, I went into this knowing I was in the minority, as I've seen this topic before and Caillou did NOT get favorable reviews, LOL!

I like him because he is basically kind. Yes, he can be mean to his sister, yes he can complain, but for the most part he is a nice little boy who is just trying to figure out how the world works and find his place in it. I find it endearing.

As for Arthur, the relationship he has with his sister bothers me. They are SO mean to each other! And they are old enough to be nice...at least with Caillou he is only four and Rosie is like 18 months and naturally getting into his stuff so Caillou's reaction is understandable. But third grader Arthur and his friends should be nicer. Francine is very rude and unkind. I don't mind Muffy so much because she is obviously over the top, but Arthur and DW and Francine are meant to be 'real' and I don't think it's a great idea for kids to see that that behavior is 'normal' or 'accepted'. Why not show them nicer kids on TV and let our kids strive to be like the nice kids? Yes, they learn lessons, but they never seem to get nice...

Even on Clifford, they use Jetta and her dog to teach lessons, and she is very stuck up and can be mean, but there just isn't the high level of meanness there that I see on Arthur. Everyone on Birdwell Island is basically kindhearted. The dragons on DragonLand can have selfish moments, too, but they are basically kind.

Okay, I'm done now. Yes, I think WAY too much about this stuff, LOL!

By Truestori on Thursday, May 1, 2003 - 05:19 pm:

LOL @ Kate...You have all the charachters names down...I think that is too cute.

By Mommyathome on Thursday, May 1, 2003 - 06:39 pm:

My DK's like most of the PBS shows. Now that it is springtime though, we hardly have the TV on at all anymore.

I don't mind letting my kids watch Caillou. They pick up on things he does "wrong" and point them out. So I think it is helping reinforce the things that I am teaching them about right and wrong.

My kids aren't allowed to watch some of the modern cartoons like powerpuff girls, the simpsons etc. Those are a little over the top for me. But I think that Caillou resembles a cute little kid with some little kid issues that he's working on.

By Melissa on Saturday, May 3, 2003 - 12:57 pm:

Arthur rules! I love him! DW is a bit hard to take but they always learn in the end. I can take or leave Caillou, I do think he whines.

By Babysitbarb on Saturday, May 3, 2003 - 04:28 pm:

As a daycare provider, I myself don't care for Caillou because he does whine about almost everything but, the kids love watching him. Even the ones who are just starting to talk yell Caillou when he comes on. They also love Barney which drives me nuts but, they learn good things from this show. Tellie tubes and simpson's are a no-no at my house because the tellie tubes don't even talk and simpson's need to not talk.

By Paulas on Saturday, May 3, 2003 - 04:55 pm:

Okay..what's up with a 4 year old not having hair! I think it's about time Caillou grew some, don't you???

On a more serious note...I agree that he is very whiny. My DH bought a book for ds one day when we unexpectedly stayed in a hotel and we didn't have a bedtime story to read. It was awful. The whole story he whined about going shopping for new shoes and when he found a pair he liked he whined and whined until he got them. My kids are whiny enough without any extra encouragement!

We don't watch channels with commericals but I think all kid shows have the occasional mean ness in them. My kids like Franklin and Beaver is very snotty. We like Kratt's Creatures and Zoobomafoo (animal nature shows).