Bloody Mr Tumble

[gallifrey]

or Justin, could he be any more bloody patronising?

Nobody talks that that really do they? Over pronouncing every single word.

Surely he over pronounces his words to help with communication problems. I do the same thing with ds (hence why everyone looks at me as though I am an idiot).

He has taught the dds to sign to their little brother, so I will forgive him anything.

and actually his whole style/act is done to help

I'm op whats not to like , or at least understand?

yabu. some children do really benefit from slower and more clear simple speech, and signing. and yes, some people do have to speak a bit like that in real life because it helps their children to understand.
no, it's not patronising, it's just more aimed towards children with communication difficulties as people have already mentioned.

My SEN DS adores him. I, however, have to completely tune out or leave the room when he starts with the self satisfied grins and whiny voice, for health and safety reasons.

Seriously?? Even at school I remember teachers talking slowly, emphasising words etc, it's how toddlers learn!! Jesus, even now I have trouble understanding what my boss is saying, i would kill for emphasis on the important stuff!

YABU

The Tweenies are a bunch of twats. I am very, very pleased that ds never saw the attraction. Justin however is lovely. Gentle, funny and just absolutely perfectly pitched at little children.

What I don't understand regarding something special is how the voice over asks a question then Justin signs the answer, how are deaf children meant to know what the question is?

This is a genuine, I'm a bit confused by this and would like an end to my ignorance question btw.

Subtitles? That's a guess btw.

I did think that but then given it's on Cebeebies I would have thought the majority of the target audience wouldn't be able to read.

He over pronounces words for the same reason he uses Makaton; to help children with speech and language difficulties understand what's happening.

Why does this bother you so much?

My DD and I LOVE him!!!

We LOVE him. Especially my DS with SN. He has profound hearing impairment and severe language delay and 'gets' the show totally, unlike many others.

furry I'm not sure about the bit of the show you're wondering about - the only answer I can think of is there is a little picture that comes up in the top corner next to him. A simple black and white one with high contrast that is easy to see and understand. I'm not sure about subtitles as words because my preschoolers can't read! Perhaps those children in the show can though - they're often a bit older.

Or if he asks them the question to their face they might be able to lip read?

My child could read fluently at 18 months*

*lies

Umm, so not the subtitles then

Can you press the red button or something and have someone signing in the corner of the screen? Might that be how?

Floggingmolly thank you for your post. I did wonder why he did it and you explain it so well.
imo mr Tumble is brilliant.
we love something special as it has makaton in it and children with sn, one programe that dd can identify with.(although Mr sodding bloom is good too for inclusion)

YABU. I wasn't keen on him at first, but then I saw my DC1 start to copy the signing and...fell a little bit in love with Justin/MrT. Have met him a couple of times in the flesh and he's such a hard-working guy.

Here's the key with children's TV: try not to watch it yourself too much. Use the time to do something else, like Mumsnetting. Zone out the TV. My DC1 has now moved on to watching Disney Junior, and my DH keeps telling me how awful and repetitive it is (DC1 won't be persuaded otherwise). I have no idea if it's bad or not, I just zone it out and use the time for other stuff. [Lazy mummy emoticon]

I never zoned out Mr Tumble though.

I do think the op has missed the point of something special.

furry he's not using the sign language that deaf people use (British Sign Language, which is an entire language in itself) he's using a signed communication system called Makaton which was developed to help people with all sorts of communication difficulties.

So in BSL you can carry out complex sentences, as you can in any language. Makaton is much, much simpler. In the section you mean (from memory) the voiceover is used with a picture symbol (which is another communication system like Makaton except it uses pics).

So what I'm (very long windedly) saying is he is teaching the words to go with the pics, rather than using Makaton at that point. Makaton isn't 'for' deaf kids. (although very young deaf kids probably use it and deaf kids with additional needs will use it too)

Oh I see, so for deaf children watching the show? I'm not sure about equipment but DS is able to hear much better with good speaker systems that enrich sound and many modern TVs have these. Many deaf children will have aided hearing too so in a quiet environment and with the appropriate aids will be able to hear some sound. I'm not knowledgeable by any means; there are so many options for aiding hearing. I think the important thing is to give the child as many options for communication and understanding as possible as what works for some won't work for others. It's this diversity of communication in Mr Tumble that I think makes him so good.

@ JenaiMarr's little prodigy.

We use Makaton with my young DS Wilson as it's so simple and quick. He is partially hearing but needs the odd help to understand in busy environments.

Doesn't he repeat back most of the question in his answer?

Did you see a bridge Mr Tumble? Yes I did see a bridge

Maybe I have missed the point but I have worked with people with SN for many years and have never spoken to any of them like that, I would feel incredibly patronising.

I don't really understand how the way he speaks is patronising?

Gallifrey do you work with little children?

No I have never worked with little children with SN, only from age about 10 up to adults, maybe that's why I just don't get him.