After more than a decade of watching children’s programming with my five children at various stages I have come to the conclusion that the main problem with it is there is too much of it.  It is an incredible smorgasbord of programming, waters that must be navigated by the children with the help of parents. 

Now, I know there is a lot of bad programming out there for children.  So much of it is mindless drivel that has been recycled ad nauseam  when I watch children’s TV it is hard to swallow some of the world citizen drivel and all the humanistic preaching that it and other shows like it contain.  These kinds of shows sometimes appear to do little more than preach to our kid a values system that may or may not agree with your own; so you better be paying attention.  Other programming may have a good message but the packaging is terrible.  You as a parent must sift the wheat from the chaff.

Older cartooning was great, of that there is little doubt.  Popeye, Wile E. Coyote and the Roadrunner, Rocky and Bullwinkle to name a few.  But we had our share of duds as well, just not as much of it.  We had 3 channels on Saturday morning and that was the extent of my cartoon watching anyway.  But recently I learned that a law is in effect that every cable channel must run at least 5 hours a week of children’s programming.  Now, that is a stupid law and waste of taxpayer money when you have channels in existence like Nick and Disney feeding programming 24/7.  And that is my point, there are already too many avenues for children’s programming and many are rushing to continually fill the gap, many times with whatever drivel they can jam into the timeslot.

Having said that, I must say there is some outstanding programming on as well.  At the top of this list would have to be SpongeBob Squarepants.  If you don’t know anything about this cartoon you must correct that deficiency in your life.  This cartoon has it all for children and with its constant innuendo keeps the adults entertained as well.  I have often said that SpongeBob is the smartest program on TV. Set in Bikini Bottoms which is at the bottom of the sea with a supporting cast that is second to none, the nerdiness of SpongeBob is offset by some outstanding characters.  In the interest of brevity I will list them:

·         Plankton: Would be evil tin pot dictator bent on world domination but hampered by the fact that he is one inch high.  He is also owner of the Chumbucket, Crab’s competition.

·         Mr. Crabs: Penny pinching owner of the Krusty  Krab where SpongeBob works.  This guy is so tight he would, and has, sold his soul and his Mother.

·         Sandy Cheeks:  She is as close to sane as they get on this show but has her PMS times and is easily the toughest chick in the sea.

·         Squidward Tentacles: He is the cashier at the Krusty Krab and is SpongeBob’s neighbor.  He is narcissistic and negative and very funny.  The straight guy in most situations

·         Patrick Starfish:  Easily the Dumbest Starfish in the Sea and SpongeBob’s best friend.  Voiced by Bill Faggerbakke who played Dauber on the old TV show “Coach” and is the voice for many children’s shows today.

·         Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy voiced by Ernest Borgnine and Tim Conway respectively.  These are SpongeBob’s Favorite superheroes that have now retired and live in a nursing home.

There is also Fairly Odd Parents which is a show that puts me in mind of the segment of Rocky and Bullwinkle known as Fractured Fairy Tales.  This program is full of adult humor through the use of innuendo and double meanings.  This will keep you entertained while telling a great story to your children.  Timmy is the child of two yuppie kind of parents who happens to have a married couple of fairies for Godparents.  They live in a fish bowl in his room and help him get into and out of all kinds of trouble.  Special note here, the head fairy is a commando type with a Schwarzenegger voice, a must see and hear.

Dora the Explorer is outstanding programming for the toddler set.  My 3 year old is fascinated with this show.  I must say it brings a smile to my face to watch her watch it.

There are many more such as Back to the Barnyard and Jimmy Neutron.  But shows like this are many times lost in the plethora of bad programming that is out there today.  But the examples I’ve given show that good programming can be found, and here is the important part, it is also consistently good programming.  So, steer your children’s watching and it will still pay dividends even in today’s TV environment.