Which CBBC Programmes do you consider unsuitabale for an 8 yr old girl?

[FuntoLearn]

My DD tries an every opportunity to watch CBBC. Obviously she does this after homework and dinner :)

Some of the programmes do seem a little bit old for her though.
I am very happy for her to watch things like:
Horrible Histories,
Arthur
Deadly 60
Blast Lab
Scooby Doo
(and we do this as a family as often as possible)

But other programmes just seem a bit too grown-up. For example:
Tracey Beaker
Merlin
Leonardo
Mi High
Raven
Sarah Jane Adventures
Young Dracula

Has anyone else thought this? I would be interested to see which ones you think are so it can help me to monitor her when she is left to watch on her own?

Many thanks

This is a MN-tastic thread if ever I have seen one.

I actually find Tracey Beaker very useful from a discussion POV and dont find it that grim at all really - when I was 8 (ds' age) I was occasionally in foster care and it is good for ds to have a realisation about how other people live. On asking DS he has just said that Tracey Beaker is 'a bit shouty and rude'.

We are talking mostly about BBC programming that is designed to be slightly educational - Sarah Jane Adventures isnt really scary at all - nothing compared to Doctor Who. Raven is fab.

Horrible Histories (along with TB) is probably the 'oldest' one out of all of them in both tone and level of understanding and yet people seem ok with that. Ho hum.

And dont think I am that lax either - ds who is coming up for 9 has only in the last 2 weeks been allowed to watch LOTR. Am very strict about parental ratings.

I thought CBBC was to cater for 6-12 year olds? Am I wrong? Therefore there will be some programmes which are unsuitable for my 8 year old dd IMO. Maybe the bbc could put some sort of advisory age range for their CBBC programmes in the Radio Times or something?

I actually find Tracey Beaker very useful from a discussion POV and dont find it that grim at all really

Agreed. I think it's quite positive to have a flawed heroine who makes mistakes and is naughty sometimes. I used to watch Grange Hill when I was 6 and loved the "naughty" characters. It didn't make me badly behaved.

I don't think any programme CBBC puts out will be "unsuitable" for anyone aged 6 - 12, just that they may prefer some programmes more than others.

The only CBBC programme I've had real doubts about was Prank Patrol. The episode I saw over the DDs' shoulders was just unkind and cruel, with a little boy really panicking because he genuinely thought he was about to be arrested. Not my idea of a fun practical joke.

I probably still wouldn't ban it, though. (Just take every opportunity to bore the DDs to tears by moralising about how unpleasant it is, until they decide it's not worth putting on!)

I totally agree with the above post, I think I saw that episode and felt very uncomfortable for the poor child!! Its an Aussie programme though and wonder if they are more relaxed about lying to and tricking kids than us brits

DS (9) has little interest in anything on CBBC and positively hates Tracey Beaker. I wouldn't mind him watching it but he doesn't want to. What he wants to watch is sport - cricket, rugby, tennis, athletics, running, football. As he's getting older he wants to watch whole days worth of cricket and other sports and the matches are very long. I don't mind him watching them except it can take all day, which is too much screen time. Mind you run doesn't exactly sit still while watching, runs around and dives about the room, and working out cricket statistics and the likelihood of who will win complex competitions and scoring all the different sports is really improving his maths so not all bad. anyone else with this problem?

Brilliant responses so far. Thank you. Some really intesersting points.

Im still not keen on the more gritty style of CBBC programming and i will keep an eye on what is being watched.
I have had occasions where after she watched Tracey Beaker (for example) she was rude and answered back. It was quite bizzare! Didnt last long though. :)

Agree with the OP. Can't bear Tracey Beaker or Danni's house in particular.

DD8 is a fan of Blue Peter but have been a bit alarmed by the dumbing down. We could barely understand guest presenter Stacey Solomon and Cher Lloyd was unwatchable. I'm for strong female role models on the TV for girls not the posturing simpering kind. Give us more Helen Skelton! Might start a thread on that .

P.S. Sorry if I have posted twice here. Problems with PC.

I let my 6yo DD watch anything on CBBC.

I know some people disapprove of Tracey Beaker, but my DD understands that there may be a reason children behave badly at times (not just that they are horrid). I think she's gathered this from programs like TB.

Pretty much all of them are allowed in our house, DD censored herself from Horrible Histories for a while following a scene involving cheese too close to tea time but has since braved it again, and i'm not keen on Sarah Jane, it goes off if DS (4) is about, I think its too scary. Tracey Beaker is annoying but I think it can develop an empathy for others in different situations, DD reads Jacqueline Wilson avidly and this was sparked from watching TB.

DS is 5.6 and everything from your first list is fine for him (and me). We watch Horrible Histories together as I need to explain things to him, the gory stuff doesn't freak him out.

SJ Adventures scares me a bit. I daren't watch Dr Who .

We don't do CITV here. I wasn't really allowed to watch ITV as a kid.

My dd doesn't watch childrens programmes as it has never really been part of her culture. However my ds's did. They have/ had few interests and I also think their behaviour suffered because of this in addition to game consoles. I feel guilty giving in to peer pressure when ds's were young but have been determined not to do this again. I think children learn far more about real life by interacting with people rather than tv. Also, there are many opportunities to learn about real life from the family orientated documentaries which dd watches.

I like Tracey Beaker -- far more than my kids in fact. Compared to what life in care is actually like it is rose tinted spectacles all the way. There's someone in DS1's class who lives with a foster carer. Tracey Beaker helped us to talk about that, and because (while she is often out of order) Tracey is also brave and resourceful, we were able to do so in a non-pitying way.

OP at what point will you feel able to trust your child to choose what she wants to watch?

I don't ban dd from watching certain programmes but she is very sensitive and easily upset so I tend to suggest something else instead.She enjoys Horrible Histories even though it can be gruesome but anything that might suggest possible peril frightens her. It's not an issue here she watches next to no TV anyway not because I limit her but more because she prefers to do other stuff.
So this week the only TV she has watched is Britain's Got Talent that she watched because I was watching, she never switches the TV on herself tbh.

I echo the idea that a pick-and-mix channel would be wonderful. Yes, you can watch stuff on I-player, but you can't queue-up an hour's viewing.

DS2 loves SJA, Shaun, Horrible Histories... but the older children's drama not so much. We watch Young Dracula as a family with Merlin and Leonardo.

Tracey Beaker is not his cup of tea anyway.

Cbeebies is becoming less desirable, Mike the Knight and Mr Bloom still hold some interest, but MilkShake seems to have more programmes for that awkward middle group. (But I loathe the adverts).

You see I think BGT much worse than children's programs.. all that buzzing and humiliation!!

My 8yo DD watches all the CBBC programmes, if she doesn't enjoy something then she turns it off.
This means my 4yo DS gets to see a fair range of CBBC stuff too - as they have too share TV time after school. I've been having some very interesting discussions with him recently about the Ancient Egyptian concepts of heaven and the afterlife . He's very keen on pulling brains out of noses.

TBH I'm more concerned about how I can get my eldest to transition into watching 'proper' programmes instead of kids programmes. When I was young I loved watching wildlife documentaries and news (Nationwide on a school day, Sunday tea time watching Antiques Roadshow and Songs of Praise) but there were so few children's programmes that I had little choice. I want DD to be able to sit and concentrate on a bit of David Attenborough or Time Team or something - but why would she when there are kids programmes available 24x7 on iPlayer?

piprabbit - my 8yo is beginning to watch adult tv - we have found cooking programmes to be good - he loves the Hairy Bikers, he also has a fondness for Gardeners World. also anything with harry hill attached is a big hit.

Those science orientated ones are good too - so that James May one and Bang Goes the Theory.

My DD (6) loves MI High and Horrible Histories - but she does watch with her 10 yr old DB who explains stuff and cuddles her if scared ( she is a bit of a wuss!) she loves Scooby Doo and luckily neither of them like Tracey Beaker . DS 10 watches Top Gear as car mad ( think the numerous you are gay stuff goes over the top of his head ) and Match of the Day - you can find me most Eve's at 7.15 watching MOTD with him - he also gets the mag on subscription .

DS also loves Grand Designs - begs to stay up to watch it - also liked Junior Doctors so allowed him to watch that if he agreed to be a doc when he grows up

My dc watch everything on CBBC.

However, their favourite programme at the moment is Supernanny

piprabbit same problem here DH, DD1 and me suggest flopping down for a TV supper with something grown up and she picks up her dinner and leaves.

Science she'll mutter and stick on bloody iplayer.

More fool me for forgetting that laptops mean they have TVs in their rooms. I hate iplayer. It really is antisocial. DD1 watches things I'd loved to watch with her, but only know about after she's seen them.

My dd is 5 and she now flits between CBeebies and CBBC. She does still love Justin though but she has loved Tracey Beaker for years and now watches Dani's House, Roy, School of Silence, MI High, Sam & Mark Big Friday Wind up, Copycats, 4 o clock Club, Arthur, Chucklevision and Hotel Trubble.

my DS(7) has not really got into CBBC. He likes Shaun the Sheep and Scooby Doo and has watched Blue Peter a couple of times, but that is about it. He is quite a sensitive little boy so if something comes on like Sarah Jane he will ask if we can turn the tv off.

He has gone straight into adult tv. He loves quiz and cookery programmes and he has just shown an interest in antique programmes . His evening viewing usually includes Pointless, Eggheads and The Chase! He also likes The Cube and Family Fortunes. Will also watch sport and loves Total Wipeout