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?

I’m not a fan of character clothing but I want them to be independent. Their clothes, their choice.

I agree with selective TV. I’m unimpressed that ceebies now have cocomelon.

First reply said it all really. Hypothetical children are a lot easier to parent then the real kind. You're not depriving them but may end up depriving yourself of a few precious moments of sanity preserving peace.

Coco Melon and Peppa Pig are "broken" on our TV. Peppa is a wee boot and the other one just plain annoying. DD does have a couple of PP branded items which actually came from nursery as gifts at Christmas but we wouldn't buy it ourselves.

Not read the whole thread but wanted to say I have a 6 and 3 year old and do limit what+ how much they watch( 30mins- an hour a day unless it's film day). I use it when I need to cook/ make a phone call mainly.

My 6 year old reacts in a hyperactive/ aggressive/ destructive way to too much TV or "fast paced" stuff. E.g the new Peter rabbit series made him hyper but the older Peter rabbits/ Thomas the tank etc don't. He's better now but still a noticeable effect. Apparently it's to do with the refresh rate/ colours and lights.TV now is different to the 80s so it can have an impact on susceptible children.

I think you are right to want to put in boundaries but it's not a decision you can make before you know your child imo. I had no intention of limiting screens to this extent until I saw the impact on my kids.

I also agree with a previous poster who said not to make it forbidden. I get round that by saying certain programmes don't work on our TV rather than just saying no lol. Children imitate so I'm not going to encourage viewing of stuff which I wouldn't want them to copy.....

@Antsinmypantsneedtodance yeah, I'm specifically against Cocomelon and Disney for the reasons you mentioned - too American for my liking. Certainly no Mickey or Minnie. My dad said the same when I was born, but was overruled by Mum. Dad preferred I watch anything that didn't have American accents in, but Mum had grown up with Disney so...

@Newmummy9 - yeah, I wouldn't do a blanket ban on all TV shows/cartoons - it'd just be the specific stuff that would drive me insane.

@Coffeaddict - totally fine with books. It's just those specific TV programmes I'd rather avoid.

My husband was raised without a TV in the house until he was 16. We don't have the TV on in front of our one year old and never go on our devices when she's awake. She has almost all second hand clothes so the odd Peppa Pig romper is in a bundle but otherwise your stance is basically how we live yes. In terms of restricting access to Disney, as she grows up, we will choose which films perpetuate limiting gender stereotypes and which ones promote the values we hold and want her exposed to rather than a blanket ban.

We're not hippies but follow the WHO guidelines for most things.

Joining this club 🙋‍♀️

Please come back and update us after you have endured endless 3yo’s tantrums while walking through department stores when they see Peppa pig tops everywhere and desperately want one because it’s what their little friends have on their tops/drink bottles etc. Good luck with it all.

It used to be perfectly possible to avoid plastic tat and Disney crap with your DC. Mine were born 30 years ago, pre home internet, and I bought them lots of brilliant kids books by funny and good authors, showed them videos of classic excellent children’s films and tv programmes, bought educational toys, and knitted their jumpers myself with pictures of animals on, rather than getting commercialised merchandise.
As a feminist, I wanted to avoid the pink, sparkly, indoctrination of little girls to be vacuous princesses, too.
Nowadays I imagine it’s more difficult, as you would need to restrict access to internet and smartphones during the early formative years, but you can only try your best to show your child the better
alternatives and hope their tastes develop accordingly.
The current environmental backlash against plastic will help in fending off the tide of crappy toys - your DC when older will probably be v green/eco/pro environment!
Good luck, OP.

What's wrong with Americans and American accents?

Hilarious!

I had all kinds of plans when I had DD...most of which went south within the first month.

If I had another now (not a snowballs!) I'd do things totally differently again.

As for kids TV, she's 18 in a few weeks and still climbs into bed with me for a cuddle and a few episodes of Peppa Pig if she's feeling anxious or unwell!

This!! with bells on. The hypothetical mum I thought I would be would definitely look down on the parent that I am to my 3 year old twins. But you have to do what you can to get through some days

Also...so many Disney films are absolute classics...don't go in for all the merch by all means, but the films (and some of the TV programmes) are brilliant.

Ok, dear.

Please, please come back when you have real, not hypothetical children, and join us in hating that whingey fucker, Bing.

✌️

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

LOL exactly. My gender neutral, no character clothes toddler is currently wearing a lilac Daisy Duck t-shirt, dragging her beloved Minnie Mouse toy round with her and wearing pink Nikes (which I loathe but they make her tacky little heart happy).

We don't watch Cocomelon, Peppa Pig or anything else I deem unbearably annoying. For me, old Disney films don't fall into that category as they're slow-paced, especially compared to recent cartoons.

Do what you want though. It's your (imaginary) child. Noone cares if you let them watch Cocomelon or not.

You're getting a hard time OP but it is possible! Mine never had character stuff until they were old enough to request it themselves (when they went to pre-school). None of them watched TV before they were 2, and now (at 8, 6 and 3) only watch the odd episode of Bluey or the occasional film (including Disney, which isn't banned but isn't my first choice!)

I'm not a hippy/crunchy mum and I work full-time with 3 kids so it's not inevitable you'll shove them in front of the TV. We just do different things 🤷🏻‍♀️

Good luck with that is all I’ll say.
im not keen on characters emblazoned everywhere on clothing so we mainly reserved that for pyjamas, slippers, toys, dvds/streaming.

you are sooo not being unreasonable

You are being hilarious.

There will be times when you want to poo in peace or have a cup of tea. “In the Nightgarden, Peppa and Bluey” may very well become your very favourite times of the day.
**Tbf, I think all of the characters on Peppa are horrible and their dialogue makes me stabby even now my kids are in their late teens, only two year olds and adults taking acid appreciate In the Nightgarden and if I were ever forced to listen to “Hot Potato, Hot Potato” again, I would poke out my eardrums with a skewer.

Crikey it's early in the day for a first time poster with a goady post.

Haven't rtft, but I think you can take a more gentle approach.

We only watch cbeebies, but plenty of it. They can choose what they want on iPlayer - funnily enough, Cocomelon never works on our TV.

DD1 is 4 and loves Peppa and Paw Patrol toys and jigsaws etc, can sing the theme and knows all the characters' names from her friends at nursery. There is a very very occasional bit of TV now at nursery at the end of the day and that's often Peppa or similar.

Basically, your DC will encounter popular culture unless you lock them away. It's possible to gently restrict what's available at home while they're little. The more you make it an issue the more others will push back, don't overthink it.

And there's nothing wrong with things being American.

Ahhh the mum you are before your children arrive...

Great stuff.

Mine was only organic food and wooden toys.

You'll now find my toddler walking around with a bag of wotsits, a plastic truck AND A DUMMY!

Hah! I too was a brilliant hypothetical parent......until I became a parent.
It doesn't end there either, oh no.....you have to suffer whatever the flavour of the month is with the grandchildren too.

I have now banned CoCo Melon because it was rotting my brain, let alone DC's. I also don't like characters on clothes.

However, I'm not sure what I have allowed is much better. My 21 month old LOVES trainspotting videos. Not Thomas the Tank, actual stand-on-a-platform-videoing-trains-go-by videos. My child is Roy Cropper.

I found myself suddenly parenting a child who came from a background of Disney obsession. I’m not a fan so that was fun! I found the programmes weren’t too bad - although Sofia The First irritated the crap out of me and still sets my teeth on edge to this day - but the moralising laid on with a trowel in every show and the amount of adverts was fairly horrendous. Luckily I managed to migrate them onto CBeebies and I discovered Sarah and Duck, so we all lived happily ever after!