Telly appropriate (or not) for Toddlers

[Uwila]

What tv programs do you think are good for toddlers (say age 18 - 36 months)? My nanny puts on Max and Ruby for my DD every morning. Maybe I'm just an extremist feminist (which I don't really think I am), but I HATE this program. Ruby cooks, has tea parties, like to do her friends hair/make-up, and looks after mischievous little Max who is always exibiting streotypical boy behaviour and always seems to get away with it in the end. A bit like grown ups that say "oh well, boys wil be boys..."

I think it's a horrible influence on DD. I only let her watch it because I figure she isn't old enough to catch onto these sexist lessons anyway. I would much rather she watch tweenies or Bob the Builder. Actually, Max and Ruby is the only show I don't like. Oh, and Dora the explorer, but that's just because she irritates me, and not because I think she's abad influence on DD.

Any thoughts? What other programs do you like / dislike?

I'm thinking about buying a bunch of DVDs and asking nanny to play them when Max and Ruby is on (which seems to be every bloody time I turn around).

they do nice china tea sets in ikea for a fiver

I was a bit precious about dollies, babies and pushchairs when dd was a bit younger. I purposely didn't give her any baby dolls and she was quite happy playing with teddies. However, someone gace her a toy buggy for christmas last year and she loved it and out all of her teddies in it. so far so good. and then i noticed when she went to play next door (who have 2 girls and it's Girly Central there) she was soooo happy to be playing with the babies in a very nurturing way - feeding them, putting them to bed and loving them, etc.
It gave her so much pleasure, that i was cross with myself for being such a dolly nazi. She now has about 3 baby dolls of different sizes and colours, 2 prams and loads of other things as well that suit either sex. i also have to say how much some of my friends' little boys love playing with dd's baby stuff and pushchairs when they come round, just as she plays with their garages and trains when she plays at their houses. I can't say i toss and turn at night that she'll become a)a mum at 14 b)a subservient slave to some sexist pig.
I think dh and i are the main role models in her life. dh is a nurse who also does all the washing in our house; it doens't stop her telling him he can't join in to some games 'because he's a boy'.

lockets - have you been having gin on your cornflakes again?

Lockets, your mil is a star! We love 64 Zoo Lane!! What idiot decided to replace it with the sexist and infuriating Andy Pandy???

My kids and I both LOVE Dora the Explorer. I think she's a great role model for girls and I also love the language aspect of it. With Dora as well as a Spanish CD Rom that we play, my 2 year old knows quite a few Spanish words. She's as comfortable counting to 10 in Spanish as in English.

They (and I) also love Blue's Clues.

I hate Barney. (Is he still on in the UK?) I don't think it's innapropriate in any way and he certainly teaches important lessons. He's just so annoying.

I love Sesame Street, but for some reason my 2 year old isn't bothered by it at all. Her sister used to love it (and learnt a lot of her letters etc. from it), but is too old now.

Besides that they like Max and Ruby (I never thought of it being sexist before now. I suppose it is really, I just thought it was about the difference between older and younger kids of either gender.). They also like Little Bear and Stanley.

I have a Bod DVD (remember this 1970s children?)which Bob and I sometimes have a look at on a rainy day. He loves shouting out the names of the characters and the colours etc. and more importantly he has time to do this. I think a lot of kids TV goes too fast for them to get involved.

i WISH I could get ds to watch tv. He isn't interested at all. FREE BABYSITTING!

He's too busy bathing his dollies. Honestly. He has quite a collection and loves giving them baths and pushing them around in his (bright pink) pushchair.

I've noticed that he will act out behaviour towards him on his dolls. Eg he hates being put into his pushchair but his dolls seem to get put in and out a lot. I think this is probably a good thing and something boys needs just as much as girls.

He also loves cooking (he has a "cooker" from IKEA and makes soup (using the blender, with sound effects) to share with us all, sweeping the floor and washing up.

His father is very involved. Because of the timings of our routines, he probably actually sees more housework and cooking done by his dad than me.

He does play with cars and like running around-are those "boy" things?

For the record, I like Pingu and Dora the Explorer.

DS (3) loves andy pandy and has done from about 20 months. something v soothing about tom conti's voice.

he also loves all the other stuff everyone'e mentioned - too much tv on sicne dd arrived - but ap is his favourite.

uwila, what's the problem with DD having a buggy and getting the idea the girls push buggies? at the end of the day, girls do push buggies! my ds has one and I've lost count of the times people have said that their dh wouldn't "allow" their DS to have a buggy "in case he turns out a bit, you know, gay"

my ds loves his buggy, and pushes all his teddies round in it. he also loves his swords and other "boy" toys. personally I couldn't care less which he prefers - they're only toys!