WIBU to not allow popular kids characters/music in the house?

[Elilanna]

No kids yet, but I'm hoping to have them in the near-ish future, work in the early childhood sector and have a young niece and nephew so I'm quite aware of what's popular with the little ones these days, but I'm personally not a fan and would rather not expose my own children to any of that media, at least not when they're very small - but I've heard a lot of criticism of this approach, that "only crunchy hippie mums do that!" and "it's part of our culture, you're depriving them of an important part of childhood!" Specifically I'd be avoiding Disney, Cocomelon, and the Wiggles, and even things I don't mind wouldn't be on baby's clothes & other belongings as I don't believe in turning your child into free advertising for a popular brand. I'm otherwise not very "hippie" or "crunchy", this is just the one thing where I'd like to limit their exposure.

So... tell me I'm not the only one who wants to do this?

You do what you think is best with your hypothetical children.

You do what you can with your actual children.

I quite like the Wiggles.

I’ll just say this - we all have big ambitions of our children never watching tv or eating bad food but when you realise certain things stop a 2 year old’s tantrum in its tracks it becomes very hard to maintain that stance.

Good luck.

I too was the greatest parent before I actually had children

Haha... no kids yet you say.....

So you don’t have children yet but you’re already planning what -if you do have them - they can watch and listen to?!

Ha Ha.
Good luck with that

It’s always interesting to hear views on parenting from non-parents.

As the military put it “no plan survives first contact with the enemy”

Yes of course you get major say in what comes in to the house, and what clothes the DC wears. But once out of the house, and especially once into nursery or school, you will not be the only influence.

so best not to be dogmatic

especially so far ahead of events

I too was the greatest parent before I actually had children

😃

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 come back to us when you have children and see if your stance is still holding true.

Do you watch TV?

Oh and Bluey is the best TV show ever! So you are depriving yourself as well as your future kids.

😆

me too

I don’t know why people feel the need to offend others when they disagree about something.
they could just say they disagree with your stance, politely mention why without criticising your potential parenting, and without calling you crunchy hippie etc.

just as @SleeplessInEngland has politely done

We're all perfect parents unti we have children.

The only thing I have slight issue with on your list is cocomelon cause of the studies they done about it being very addictive. The wiggles are great and I love any excuse to sit and watch Disney with the kids lol.

Yes some branded clothes can be a bit tacky but kids love them and it helps them build their own personality and style, allowing them to choose clothes that they like helps them build a sense of self and body autonomy. So yes YABU.

Yeah I said all that. No character clothing yada yada. Then when I actually had children I realised a) pick your battles and b and most importantly) they are actual people with preferences and letting them have Peppa Pig on their T shirts made them so happy. Youngest is 10 now and over it so it doesn't last forever.

When you have children it's no longer all about you and it doesn't take much to put a smile on their little faces. And that smile means a lot. There endeth my slushy little sermon!

You can try but it won't work. The more you avoid it, the more tantalising it becomes to the little ones.

I know someone who felt the same about guns. She was determined that her son would not grow up playing with toy guns. She gave up when she caught him 'shooting' at his baby sister using a daffodil 😂

Sometimes you have to go with the flow !

I was going to do this as well...before I had children.

Now my 3 year old twins are obsessed with Spiderman and Peppa Pig respectively and are still thriving despite it.

You cannot keep your children away from these influences in the modern world. They are everywhere. Personally I think it would have done more damage not letting my children have these things as they would have just wondered why their nursery mates were allowed it and they weren't.

My daughter never wanted to eat before she heard on the radio a song from spanish soap opera. It lasted six months and then song lost its charm. Lucky for me, we discovered Cocomelon. Now she is three we finally eat at table, without tablets and song and rhymes. But I'll always be grateful to Cocomelon and Fiera Inquieta for those first two years. They saved my sanity.

mine never wore clothes with characters until about 4 and that was only their pjs because dd1 saw a Tinkerbell night dress in the supermarket. It wasn’t a deliberate choice for me, the shops I bought their clothes in didn’t have characters on them. Essentially they’re going to poop and puke on them initially anyway.

with dd1 she went to the school disco in reception and as we came out the year 6 dc were going in. In my head, I was like “my dc would never ever dress like that - denim tight shorts and a crop top”… come 3dc later and dd3 is a dancer so tight shorts and crop tops is what they all wear. I’ve realised it actually doesn’t matter and the important part is to nurture and respond to your individual dc’s own style as they grow to enable them to express themselves. You can guide this but it comes to a point you have to chill. A baby you can dress however you like.

i have learned that by not giving access to popular music/tv shows, it can impact on a dc ability to join conversations when in school. We have music on all the time, different styles, and one dc loves it for dance and the other is inspired to play music - plays violin.

live how you want - whatever you do is you trying to do the best for your dc. Just be willing to flex as they get older.

Classic!!!

Please do update us on how things are going, once you have kids

I was so upset when my son grew out of The Wiggles.

You do you. The best laid plans and all that…

😧The Wiggles are like Gods! Each to their own, but honestly, you’d be missing out.

To be honest though, I think a lot of first time parents have ‘my child is only going to each sugar free organic and never watch a screen’ visions. After a while you realise it’s a bit wanky and that most stuff is fine in moderation and they’re still going to turn out as well rounded, happy little people.

What has Disney done to upset you 😂my daughter loved frozen when she was younger, everything had a bloody picture of Elsa or Anna on it....she's a perfectly normal 12 year old now.
You do run the risk of 'othering' your children from their peers if you are too strict about these things I think.

It's totally up to you what you do with your own kids when you have them.

But, parenting is hard, and for me I quickly discarded a lot of the ideals I had that were just making my life harder for no good reason. Basically the lower your standards, the easier it is.

So I think it's a nice idea, but if/when you have kids only stick with it if you find it's actually working for you.

Brilliant reply!