I don’t want DD watching The Magic Schoolbus anymore. Well, I don’t know …

[Anonymous]

DD 7 is really into The Magic Schoolbus. She sees it at school and sometimes with friends. I understand that it has educational value and is not mean-spirited, but the characters have certain “catchphrases” that she’s started to use a lot. It bugs me.
For instance she will often say, if a situation doesn’t seem good, “What are we gonna do, what are we gonna do, what are we gonna DO?” She’ll often interrupt conversations to announce “according to my reSEARCH.” When someone makes a silly joke she’ll groan “CARLOS”. And once in a fight with her five year old sister she called her a “Weasley womp.”
I’m scared this is harming her social skills and making it harder for other kids to relate to her. As she would say, what are we gonna do, what are we gonna do, what are we gonna DO?

[Anonymous]

She might use echolalia to communicate.

[Anonymous]

She will move on to other catchphrases.

My kids bring them home all the time.

[Anonymous]

You’re overthinking.

A lot.

If she has social struggles, watching magic school bus isn’t going to change that. Let her enjoy the things that she likes.

[Anonymous]

I don’t see the problem. Who cares what others think? Why on earth would you not want to raise a kid that is courageous enough to be true to themselves and not cave to social pressure? What else would a parent want?

[Anonymous]

Do you have ASD OP?

[Anonymous]

I agree with PPs that you’re overthinking this. Kids pick up all sorts of things from TV, each other, their families, etc. Of all the things for a kid to pick up, recognizing the value of research (or reSEARCH) is an optimal outcome. Moreover, if she’s watching it with friends, it’s not completely inhibiting her socially, and those kids are great friends for her to have. Not only do they share a common interest with her, but their common interest is a positive influence.

Instead of discouraging Magic School Bus, I’d encourage it. Introduce her to Youtube videos of Mr. Wizard and Bill Nye. Do simple household experiments with her and maybe buy her a science kit. Take her to museums and science centers, nature centers, zoos and aquariums, gardens, and to a variety of natural settings (the beach, woods, caverns, lakes, etc.), or even just spend time in your backyard or the local park paying attention to the nature around you.

If she likes Magic School Bus, she might also enjoy many other PBS Kids shows, as well as these book series:
Magic Treehouse
American Girl
Einstein Anderson
Encyclopedia Brown

[Anonymous]

Whether or not she has communication issues, you will need to work on your sensitivity to social opprobrium, because you cannot let your feelings of social shame contaminate your child.

She will grow out of this if she's neurotypical. Every kid has their favorite show and their favorite catchphrases. But if she's on the spectrum... then you need much more than just discouraging her from echolalia. There will be an evaluation, a diagnosis, specialized therapy, social skills groups, etc. BTDT that with my son.

[Anonymous]

Wait for a real problem will ya. Good grief.

[Anonymous]

Nah, if she's watching it with friends they know what she's quoting. The kids at school get into little trends. my son and his friends keep.quoting KPop Demon Hunters and those Dog Man books to each other. It's not uncommon at that age at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wait for a real problem will ya. Good grief.

+1. My kids used to love watching it. OP, when things are good, just enjoy the ride.

[Anonymous]

I tell them they are picking these phrases up from a tv show/book and if they can't stop saying it or behaving that way, they won't be able to watch/read that anymore. Then we wait and see if they can control it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you have ASD OP?

You might want to throw n ADHD in there. Just kidding but seriously too many people jump to autism or adhd for just about everything.

She’s using the phrases correctly, she’s not just randomly parroting the phrases back. It’s not that deep. She thinks the show is cool and is using some phrases from the show. Annoying but normal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you have ASD OP?

DP. This is why I love DCUM so much. I'm serious. I don't have elementary aged kids anymore, but I just KNEW this thread would make me giggle.

[Anonymous]

Doing this with your friends IS a sign of good social skills. Don’t you and your family/spouse/old friends have a bunch of silly movie quotes and whatnot? It’s how you know you belong to a group.