Like most of us I am not adverse to my six year old watching some tv, but recently he started watching the Cartoon Network. I dont really like a lot of the shows but let it ride for a little bit until I cant actually bear it. Now, one of his rewards of a morning used to be getting tv once he was totally ready of a morning. Ben 10 was on and it worked so I was fine with it. Today I noticed that the line up has changed to two shows that are just horrid. Adventure Time and The Regular show are offensive, unfunny and littered with adult humour that makes ren and stimpy (the equivalent from my generation) look like Something Special. Just to give you an example line from this mornings Adventure Time:
Lead Character trying to get a key: "You had better put out if you are going to flaunt it like that".
Cue TV going off. MASSIVE tantrum from unwitting son and me wondering how far cartoon makers can take this sort of humour for a childs channel. I love the subversive humour in some shows and think things like Family Guy can be very funny but in the right context and at the appropriate age - this is just too far.
Keep an eye ladies - yesterday my and two of his friends came out of their school shouting "yo mamma" which apparentlly means "you are fat" after one of them saw it on The Regular Show. YUCK, YUCK, YUCK. Worst of it is, I can turn it off for him but his little friends all watch it so the vile, violent and misodgynistic humour in them still gets shared around. Lovely.
P.S. Does anyone have a contact for the Cartoon Network so I can whinge make a helpful comment?