Caillou.... your thoughts?? - Page 3

[mouthcave]

I've never really thought of him as whiny (but I'm probably considered a little whiny? haha), though it is kind of boring. We definitely overdid it with the episodes on Netflix, so we haven't watched it in ages. I kind of liked that it was boring and calm, but I think my son wasn't into it as much.
My husband and I like to make up words to the theme song (except we mostly just say "hey everybody it's caaiiillooouu") and sing it really obnoxiously when it gets stuck in our heads. Which definitely just happened to me.

[Mbella]

My 3 year old dd LOVES Caillou! She watches him everyday before she takes a nap (I record it on the DVR for the weekend too). I really don't find him any more whiny than most 4 year olds. I think it is just his voice. I love Caillou too. He is just a normal little boy, he doesn't have an attitude like some other cartoon characters, and the parents are gentle and patient. I think is a very sweet show.

This explains why Caillou is bald -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caillou

[Marlet]

DD1 watches it on Netflix every now and then. I find him to be annoying but only because he sounds so unbelievably "babyish". Not as in, he's a baby/young but as in "stop acting like a baby." Oddly enough I find his parents to be more whiney sounding then he is.

[RunnerDuck]

Originally Posted by Mbella

This explains why Caillou is bald -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caillou

I find that explanation deeply unsatisfying.

[BnInTheOvn]

wow, hot topic!! Thanks for all the responses!! I do sit and watch it with her at times (although I usually take this time to shower since I also now have a newborn!!) so I know the whining isnt ALL the time. And usually his parents do redirect him in the same ways that I do with my daughter... But I've been told by other parents "I dont let my kids watch that because..... etc etc" so I was wondering what other people thought of it.

I do like that she discusses the episodes with me after she's watched one... and she often gets her baby dolls in the stroller, gets her purse and my keys, and tells me she's going to play school... ha And when we say soemthing that reminds her of any episode (ex, her cousin was sick last week) she tells me "Caillou and Rosie sick!! Have the FLU!!!" from one of the episodes.

And she does seem to learn from it. And I think PP's are right, sometimes he just sounds like he's whining, when really it's just his voice....

But as someone else said -- WHERE IS HIS HAIR???????

[Karamom]

My ds loves the show and I have never thought of him as whinny before.

[LynneAndLynn]

Originally Posted by RunnerDuck

I find that explanation deeply unsatisfying.

here here

[BnInTheOvn]

Originally Posted by janerose

In general he's OK. I don't go out of my way to encourage our girls to watch him, but they both love the show. I agree that his parents are SO gentle & patient. Almost too much so. Sometimes I wish they'd tell Caillou to put a sock in it.

TOTALLY AGREE. In one episode Mommy is making jelly sandwhiches, and Caillou wants to help. So he grabs the knife from Mommy and says "I want to do it!" End scene.
sorry, but wtf?? 4? a KNIFE? and if my kid wripped anything out of my hands I would address it.

[BnInTheOvn]

Originally Posted by RunnerDuck

I find that explanation deeply unsatisfying.

yeah, if it is just because in the books he was younger, then why not make him younger in the show? And if he grew older, they why couldnt he grow some hair????

[super mamabug]

We used to really like Caillou. Recently they have changed the format and a lot of the show is his imagination. So he imagines being with dinosaurs and they show him riding a T-Rex and such. But it is done in a show that is very reality based. I think it is confusing and we don't like it anymore.

ETA I always thought the bald hair and appearance made him kind of uniracial if you kwim?

[Whistler]

Originally Posted by janerose

In general he's OK. I don't go out of my way to encourage our girls to watch him, but they both love the show. I agree that his parents are SO gentle & patient. Almost too much so. Sometimes I wish they'd tell Caillou to put a sock in it.

Bwahahaha!

The mom is so perfectly patient that sometimes the show irritates me just for that reason. Doesn't that woman EVER have a bad day?

[Ruthla]

I'm just a kid who's four
My show is such a bore
Watch me and soon you'll snore
Caillou!

Seriously, that show is incredibly boring for grownups and big kids, but I don't see anything wrong with letting a 2yo watch it. Most shows that are good for preschoolers are boring for everybody else.

[Whistler]

I thought the bald head was kind of just going for the "Charlie Brown" look. And possibly because it's easy to draw...

[lachingona1]

I dislike Caillou. I can't stand the whining or his voice. I also don't like all the reference to school. When I used to let my older dd watch it, I think she was 2 1/2 or 3, she could imitate him perfectly. It drove DH and I nuts. I don't like very many kids shows at all, I can't think of any on tv that I like and nothing by Disney.

[~pi]

We're a bilingual family and DS attends a French daycare. We haven't watched Caillou at home (no TV) but I know he has seen it on 'movie day' at daycare, they play the songs there a lot, we've seen a few YouTube clips, and have a few books. Caillou is huge in the French-speaking community here.

I find the books kind of oddly plotless, but otherwise it doesn't bother me. DS loves him, and he doesn't sound whiny to me. (I've only heard the French version, though.)

DS adores the Caillou Storytime game, too. We had been doing a similar concept with magazine cutouts, but my mom gave him this for Christmas last year and he seems to be much more into the game with the Caillou scenes. So this colours my opinion of Caillou in a positive way.

[Breeder]

If I can't stand to watch something, my kid doesn't watch it. Of course since he only watches about a half hour of tv anyway (all commercial free on demand) I don't have to deal with it to much.

[greenmansions]

We like it at our house, tho DS who is now 5 is starting to get bored with it. DD, 3, still loves it. I like it less with the new format though, and I get annoyed with the shows that have the dancing in the middle. My kids find a lot of shows scary, and Caillou is not one that has bothered them. I like it just because of that - it's gentle and slow paced.

I don't find him particularly whiney. He doesn't sound all that different from the preschoolers I know.

[One_Girl]

I HATE Calliou and stopped renting the dvd's for my dd because she did start whining a lot like Calliou. It was also extremely annoying and I couldn't stand watching it to begin with.

[lolar2]

Hi, this is Becky's DH Rob delurking to say that I think Caillou is bald only because Charlie Brown is bald. It's a visual homage, nothing else. Charles Schulz always insisted that Charlie Brown wasn't bald, anyway, but rather had extremely light, short blond hair that he never bothered to depict visually. Perhaps it is the same with Caillou.

I have to admit I get a chuckle when DS tries to sing the infectious theme song and yells at the end "THAT'S ME!"

[TinkerBelle]

I have watched a lot of episodes and I think he is really whiny.