Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids were watching it this morning and I really dislike this show (and, to a lesser extent, a lot of the PBS lineup these days).

They have very positive toddler-focused messages. Their representation is just so, sometimes a bit too much so (e.g. it's Daniel's mom who always fixes things with the tools, and never his dad? I get it, it's important to normalize women and girls as being able to do masculine work, but I guess now we can never depict a man doing that kind of work anymore?) But what really gets me is the thought doesn't go deeper than this thin veneer of sense/morality for toddlers.

Here are some examples:
Today, King Friday tells Daniel, "being a king is about helping others." No, it's not. I mean that's part of it, but it's about leadership, wisdom, honor, responsibility for those under your care. I get that getting into heavy detail is maybe too much for toddlers, but it feels like beyond the egalitarianism (reinforced by Prince Tuesday doing all the odd jobs around town), they didn't really think any deeper than that, how to render the idea of a "king" in a modern story and make it work (because for the modern morality it's not, I guess, but there was a King Friday in the original Mr. Roger's neighborhood!).

Or the other day, Miss Elaina was drawing pictures of leaves, insects, etc. - in particular, a snail - in her little sketch book and said, "I'm a scientist, which means I'm curious about the world!" Sure, we got representation of an African American Girl as Scientist, but that's not what the quintessence of a scientist is. Curiosity and recording are part of it, but a scientist tries to understand the *truth* about the natural world, dispassionately based on evidence and observation. It's about finding out how the world works. And if a scientist was writing that script I have a feeling they'd include that bit.

Or I remember one episode from a long time ago where the kids go to see a crayon factory. I was excited - in the old Mr. Roger's Neighborhood, they'd show a video of how things are made in almost every episode. In this one, they don't really give you an understanding how crayons are made. The color is added (great) but they don't pour hot wax into molds, or let them cool, or show the inner workings of any machines. The crayons just kind of materialize out of a closed machine. And maybe toddlers don't need anymore, but the better-done shows HAVE more, just like well-illustrated picture books, and good children's media (including books) in general.

I find this lack of thought, things that carelessly make no sense, in a lot of children's media and toys and it annoys me. (E.g., a polar bear in a puzzle with otherwise African Savannah animals, predatory animals being friends with their prey, tropical fruits growing along with non-tropical ones in the same forest....)

"Tell me you are a white conservative religious woman without telling me exactly that."

I'd say you pulled that one off.
Let's see...

Not into the following, are you? :
feminism

racial diversity

anything that looks like socialism to you

science as a process, (which it is, actually..and that's why it changes....)

Anonymous wrote:It annoys me too. Too moralistic and perfect and pat

Anonymous wrote:OP switch over to Amazon Prime, where last time I checked, all of the original Mister Rogers' Neighborhood were available. Daniel Tiger is fine but Mister Rogers' is a gem. The child development and cultural elements folded into it are done with mastery.

Once your child has already watched too much current children's TV, they won't likely have the patience for the original show. So sooner is better to try it out on them.

Anonymous wrote:My kids were watching it this morning and I really dislike this show (and, to a lesser extent, a lot of the PBS lineup these days).

They have very positive toddler-focused messages. Their representation is just so, sometimes a bit too much so (e.g. it's Daniel's mom who always fixes things with the tools, and never his dad? I get it, it's important to normalize women and girls as being able to do masculine work, but I guess now we can never depict a man doing that kind of work anymore?) But what really gets me is the thought doesn't go deeper than this thin veneer of sense/morality for toddlers.

Here are some examples:
Today, King Friday tells Daniel, "being a king is about helping others." No, it's not. I mean that's part of it, but it's about leadership, wisdom, honor, responsibility for those under your care. I get that getting into heavy detail is maybe too much for toddlers, but it feels like beyond the egalitarianism (reinforced by Prince Tuesday doing all the odd jobs around town), they didn't really think any deeper than that, how to render the idea of a "king" in a modern story and make it work (because for the modern morality it's not, I guess, but there was a King Friday in the original Mr. Roger's neighborhood!).

Or the other day, Miss Elaina was drawing pictures of leaves, insects, etc. - in particular, a snail - in her little sketch book and said, "I'm a scientist, which means I'm curious about the world!" Sure, we got representation of an African American Girl as Scientist, but that's not what the quintessence of a scientist is. Curiosity and recording are part of it, but a scientist tries to understand the *truth* about the natural world, dispassionately based on evidence and observation. It's about finding out how the world works. And if a scientist was writing that script I have a feeling they'd include that bit.

Or I remember one episode from a long time ago where the kids go to see a crayon factory. I was excited - in the old Mr. Roger's Neighborhood, they'd show a video of how things are made in almost every episode. In this one, they don't really give you an understanding how crayons are made. The color is added (great) but they don't pour hot wax into molds, or let them cool, or show the inner workings of any machines. The crayons just kind of materialize out of a closed machine. And maybe toddlers don't need anymore, but the better-done shows HAVE more, just like well-illustrated picture books, and good children's media (including books) in general.

I find this lack of thought, things that carelessly make no sense, in a lot of children's media and toys and it annoys me. (E.g., a polar bear in a puzzle with otherwise African Savannah animals, predatory animals being friends with their prey, tropical fruits growing along with non-tropical ones in the same forest....)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP: it’s ok to feel mad sometimes. Little by little, it gets better ….

I think OP needs to take a deep breath and count to four

Anonymous wrote:I've literally asked myself in tough situations, what would Daniel Tiger's mom do?

Anonymous wrote:OP: it’s ok to feel mad sometimes. Little by little, it gets better ….