We watch more Spongebob before 9am than most people do all day
The first time I ever heard of Spongebob Squarepants was in November 2000 when I was in LA on business. Two of my co-workers and I went holiday shopping at the Universal Studios theme park, and Yvonne bought several Spongebob-themed items for her nephew.
I didn’t yet have children, and I barely gave Spongebob a passing glance. Just another syndicated cartoon character in the midst of his 15 minutes of fame. No staying power.
Fast-forward nearly six years to a scenario I never imagined back then: We’ve got two little girls (huh?), we left New York for Colorado (gasp!), and both kids are certified Spongebob addicts (clunk!).
(That clunk was the sound of my November 2000 self hitting her head on the parquet floor after collapsing in a dead faint.)
For those parents who are mere mortals like Kyle and me, TV is another means of entertaining and educating our children. We read to them, we play pretend with them, we take them to parks and to museums and to festivals, we chase each other around the house until we all need naps. And we watch TV and snuggle together too.
It’s not easy to find children’s shows that hold their attention but don’t grate on our nerves. Some shows are so high on that annoyance scale that they’re completely off-limits in our house. For example, we don’t watch Oobi (people’s hands engaging in baby talk), Caillou (whiny little brat who abuses his little sister), or Barney (no explanation necessary).
We’ve seen the rise and fall of the Wiggles, Dora and Diego, and Max and Ruby. But nothing has held the attention of three of the four members of our household like Spongebob.
Yes, even CJ loves Spongebob. She brings the remote to me and inquires, “Buh-bah?” I take it from her and ask, “Would you like to watch Spongebob?” She beams and nods enthusiastically. I prompt her, “How do you ask?” and she grins and swipes her hand across her chest (the sign for “please”) and hisses, “Peessssss!”
If I forget to fast-forward over the commercials between episodes, she locates the remote again and brings it to me as a reminder. Tacy will patiently sit through commercials unless a Bratz ad comes on, and then she shouts, “Mommy! I’m not supposed to watch this!”
We do what we can to make watching Spongebob a learning experience. Tacy once asked about Mr. Krabs’ shell, which led to a discussion about how some animals - like crabs - have an exoskeleton, and others - like us - have an endoskeleton. She has also asked why the characters wear clothes - aren’t they animals? That question sparked a discussion about personification. Most recently, I commented that one character was eavesdropping on another, and Tacy asked for a definition (and has now started using the term appropriately in context).
It makes me smile when CJ takes my hand and leads me over to the sofa. I sit down and she climbs into my lap, contentedly holding her lambie and a cup of milk while we watch together. Tacy invariably settles next to us, holding her lambie too as she leans against my shoulder. So while there are times that I reach my limit and turn off the TV while announcing, “No more Spongebob! Find something USEFUL to do!” I’m usually happy to take the opportunity to snuggle with my girls and laugh at the adult-themed jokes and answer Tacy’s questions.
I know my November 2000 self still isn’t quite convinced, but she’ll come around.
August 20th, 2006 at 8:49 am
Enjoy reading you, MGM, even if you are a mere mortal.
In addition to “entertaining and educating,” I’m not ashamed to say that I use the TV as a “babysitter” when I sleep too late and need a shower, when I’m trying to cook, and when I want to sit at my computer without constant interruptions!
Totally with you on your assessment of Caillou - I am even a little phobic about characters with speech disorders because I’m sure my daughter will mimic them and my well-meaning/meddling mother will whisk her off to the therapist. And how about those trivial Higglytown Heroes?
I have had occasion to regret my protective habit of fast forwarding through commercials, like when my son is sleeping and my daughter shouts, “Commercial” at top volume (Should have kept up with the signing, I guess - much quieter). Even so, I recognized the value of monitoring what they see when I was talking out loud to myself about my inability to get stains out of the laundry and my daughter said, “Get Oxy Clean! It works great!” and proceeded to quote the entire commercial to me. Could’ve been worse!
August 20th, 2006 at 11:56 am
“Mommy! I’m not supposed to watch this!”
I love it! clearly you’re doing something VERY right
August 20th, 2006 at 5:34 pm
I like Spongebob. But then I hail from an era of parenting in which Barney was the only thing for children to obsess over. There’s a lot of adult humor in there that is so cleverly disguised that the wee ones haven’t a clue. I also love that Spongebob infuriates Jerry Falwell or whomever the hell it was who decided he was gay, and therefore evil.
But my boys are growing and their tastes are evolving. Now it’s Drake and Josh (loves me some Josh) and Zoey 101. Jamie Lynn Spears is almost as annoying as her big sister.
I miss Spongebob.
August 20th, 2006 at 6:11 pm
Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?
I even get sucked in to Spongebob occasionally :o)
And I was going to say what Izzy said too. That rocks.
August 20th, 2006 at 6:46 pm
Ah yes, television. That necessary evil. Well it’s not entirely evil. I’m convinced that my daughter’s vocabulary is getting better because we watch Sesame Street together.
I’m personally not a Spongebob fan but I almost jabbed myself with a fork the first (and last) time I watched Oobie. WTF?! What genius television exec thought that was a good idea?
August 20th, 2006 at 9:01 pm
Yeah, that hand talking baby talk is plenty scary. My daughter is still on the Dora train but I’m afraid she’s slowly losing interest. I’m going to try Spongebob. Hey, why not? Anything to get her to have quiet time before 8 a.m. while mommy’s coffee’s brewing. Oh, my daughter brings me the remote too and she even knows which one makes it louder and which one changes the channel. Do ya love it? She’s not even 2!
August 20th, 2006 at 9:36 pm
We love Little Einsteins. The music is good, the adventures are fun, nothing untoward or weird…but still the girls are highly entertained.
I have been scared of SpongeBob - he seems a little wacky to me - but somehow my Little Big Girl knows bits and pieces anyway and is plenty intrigued. Maybe we’ll give him a try next time we’ve seen all the Tivo’d Eindeins, as Baby says.
August 21st, 2006 at 6:49 am
Your spongebob is my Pee-Wee’s Playhouse. Hailey cannot get enough of Pee-Wee. Sigh.
August 21st, 2006 at 7:30 am
I’m so there with you on Spongebob, my kids are transfixed when that show is on. I asked my hubbie the other day what the “educational value” of Spongebob and he just shrugged and shook his head. I do like your explanations on the show though.
And my 5 y/o is the same way, he would know what shows he’s allowed to watch and not. And he would tell me to turn it b/c “I can’t watch this mommy, I’m not old enough!”
August 21st, 2006 at 9:07 am
“It’s not easy to find children’s shows that hold their attention but don’t grate on our nerves.”
Amen to that! I’m so happy that neither of my girls has taken to Barney (gag) or the Doodlebops (barf) because ten minutes into either of those shows and I need a beer. And the benefit to Spongebob is he’s universally funny to both kids and adults. Bonus!
August 21st, 2006 at 9:25 am
I didn’t mind Spongebob either. Gary made me laugh.
August 21st, 2006 at 9:45 am
SpongeBob hasn’t really caught on around here yet, but I’m not above calling Opie a Krabby Patty anytime he gets fussy.
Jeff and I both love the theme song to Peep (Discovery Kids).
August 21st, 2006 at 10:17 am
I shied away from SpongeBob, mostly because of his clothing choices. White briefs? I mean really. But, he slowly won me over…oh, yeah, and my kids, too.
August 21st, 2006 at 10:24 am
I still say my kids are even worse with Sponge Bob. Holly needs to go to a support group to fight her addiction. But damn, you can sure get a lot done while it is on. I’m actually grateful that my kids sit through the commercials. That gives me the full half hour to start cooking dinner at Iron Chef speed.
Stacey
August 21st, 2006 at 11:15 am
Thank you for this post. We are a Spongebob family too. Our brand new dog Marty is sporting a Spongebob ID tag in fact. Girlie has been diggin’ the sponge for years now and I have to say, he makes me laugh too. We also have a couple of Playstation 2 Spongebob video games, as if watching television episodes weren’t enough.
August 21st, 2006 at 11:16 am
I’ve only seen one SpongeBob episode so far (Q is too young), but I must say that I’m quite fond of Gary the meowing snail. He seems to be the only smart one!
August 21st, 2006 at 12:03 pm
I’ve tried. Julia won’t watch Spongebob. She prefers that Little Fucker Caillou.
August 21st, 2006 at 12:07 pm
*gasp* You mean you let your children watch TV?
Just kidding.
We are TV junkies here as well. Although Spongebob is not on the radar yet, I’m sure he’ll have him time one of these days. Right now we’re focused on the Wiggles, Blue’s Clues, the Backyardigans, and Oobi. Yes, we watch Oobi - Cordy loves it.
August 21st, 2006 at 12:11 pm
We,too love SpongeBob…
But we are big movie nuts…
Sowe tend to rent a lot of movies..
And watch them as a family…
My daughter loves Danny Kaye and can say the whole speech from the Nestle in the pestle and to drink the brew that is true(From The Court Jester)
We just recently watched HELP! and she loved that…
Uncle Buck…
Cleopatra
West Side Story
Bringing Up Baby
Duck Soup(MarxBrothers)
Walter Minty
The Red Shoes
Fiddler on the Roof
Damn Yankees
Howl’s Moving Castle(Miyazaki is a brilliat animator…and his stories always seem to put girls as his heroines… We LOVE him)
That has been our summer watching list…
Or at least the ones I can remember.. and these days my memory is a thing of the past…
August 21st, 2006 at 3:08 pm
count us in, too.
and whoever mentioned pee wee’s playhouse, i am SO glad they’re showing re-runs of this. i loved it when it was originally on (when i was in high school) and now that i’m a parent, i’ve decided it is the BEST children’s programming EVER. think about it–there are no bad guys, there are no heroes, there are no epic battle sequences, no one fights, it’s just a grown man wearing make-up and acting like a hyperactive 4 year old in his house where everything has a face and talks. what about this ISN’T great???
my occasional evening babysitter looked considerably freaked when i told her bob could watch pee wee. but she’s only 21, so she’s only familiar with spankin-the-monkey-in-a-nudie-theater pee wee, not the one we all know and love…
August 21st, 2006 at 7:30 pm
NO ONE should be denied Spongebob. And yet, EVERYONE should be forbidden to watch Bratz commercials. You’re a together mommy in my book.
August 21st, 2006 at 7:32 pm
Thank God for Spongebob! One of the few cartoons I can enjoy as much as my kids.
That and Ren and Stimpy (just kidding)
August 21st, 2006 at 10:01 pm
I can quote big chunks of way more Spongebob episodes than I’d care to admit. My absolute favorite episode is the one where Spongebob and Patrick fight over who gets to be Squidward’s best friend, so he invites them both over and then gives them soda water to drink until they fill up with bubbles.
Or something like that
August 21st, 2006 at 10:09 pm
We love Charlie and Lola around here. They’re our favourite and our best.
August 21st, 2006 at 10:12 pm
We never have seen spongebob. However upon learning that the gay community and men in the Navy had made it an icon we sent silk spongebob boxer shorts to my brother while he was on sea duty…
August 22nd, 2006 at 12:20 am
I haven’t introduced my little guy to TV yet and I feel totally out of the loop on children’s programming. Me thinks a little Wiggles (thanks to Christina’s latest post) and a little Spongebob (thanks MGM) are in order!
August 22nd, 2006 at 5:15 am
I’m embarrased to admit that when my boys were younger I turned the channel when Sponge Bob was on. Then little miss priss came along and caught an episode and thus ended my self-righteous absurdity. Now we all watch it. My favorite is when Spongebob and Patrick decide to raise a clam or scallop or something together.
August 22nd, 2006 at 6:45 am
My kids love Spongebob…and Fairly OddParents, Jimmy Neutron…we even have video games based on the characters.
Unfortunately, Daughter (who’s almost three) still likes to watch Dora, Caillou, Diego…and those WonderPets! The duckling has that baby talk going on, and I hate having Daughter watch that.
August 22nd, 2006 at 10:27 am
I guess I should be ashamed to admit, I’ve never seen an episode. Something about the tones of their voices reminds me of college days spent zoning out to Ren & Stimpy in not the most sober state. (shudders)
We are (sadly) still huge fans of Elmo and more recently Maisy. As annoying as Elmo is, I’ll be happier to see Maisy pass out of my daughter’s consciousness.
August 22nd, 2006 at 12:56 pm
My granddaughter, Bella, has her whole line-up of shows that she watches. Sponge Bob is NOT one of them however. Little Einsteins, Seseme St., Dora The Explorer,….so many on the Noggin Network, etc. I can’t even remember them all. My eldest daughter…and a teacher mind you… LOVES Sponge Bob, and drives me nuts singing that crazy song. It NEVER ends Julie……Hugs to you and the little ones…..
August 22nd, 2006 at 2:19 pm
ooooh-spongebob. yes, we’re fans in this house for all the same reasons (I can take or leave it, but I *can* take it–and have a laugh).
totally with you on Caillou. that kid needs a bitch slap.
August 22nd, 2006 at 3:52 pm
I’ve never seen SpongeBob. Am I culturally unpopular?
August 22nd, 2006 at 8:30 pm
My husband and six-year-old LOVE Spongebob. I swear it was made for high 19-year-olds and not for kids, but it doesn’t seem to have damaged our son too much yet.
We have some of those Oobi eyes here at home. Much more fun in real life.
August 22nd, 2006 at 8:35 pm
And do you just get SO excited when there is actually a NEW SB episode? One that you, personally, do not have memorized? OH, the happy!
August 24th, 2006 at 9:12 pm
“Mommy! I’m not supposed to watch this!” — that’s hilarious.
I can’t believe how much children’s television I know the theme songs to, when my former, childless self would’ve scoffed. hell, even my pregnant self was scoffing.
now I scoff at how worried I was about a whole lotta nothin’.
January 28th, 2007 at 7:39 pm
[…] Saturday afternoons at our house usually aren’t very exciting, especially when we’ve had snow for the past six weeks straight and would prefer to lounge around with SpongeBob. But this past Saturday, we had big plans - thanks to The Parent Bloggers Network and the fantastic people behind Baby Loves Disco. […]
March 14th, 2007 at 7:28 am
[…] when we’ve had snow for the past six weeks straight and would prefer to lounge around with SpongeBob. But this past Saturday, we had big plans - thanks to The Parent Bloggers Network and the […]
February 5th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
I LOVE SPONGEBOB. No, I don’t have kids. Haha.