I hate Sid the Science Kid

[Ellen Griswold]

There, I have said it.

I don't care if it is "educational" or not. And why is it always on when I need a break and let them turn the tv on?

[mags]

I complained about Sid the Science Kid on another msg board and everyone else thought I was weird and told me that kids shows are meant for kids, not for adults. I CANNOT stand that show, it ranks up there with Lazytown, which I think is a VERY freaky show (and one which made my oldest son freak out and cry every time he saw it). I don't know what it is. I think that the characters are extremely annoying and over-acted if that makes any sense. Like an adult was trying too hard to make the kids act very kid-like from an adult's perception, so I think that the characters are not realisitic but, to the point of where they are just plain obnoxious. I do like that material they present, and was excited there as a new show regarding science geared toward preschoolers, but bah, I can't stand the way they present it.

[MayBaby2007]

ITA! I'm glad I'm not the only one.

I've only seen the previews, but there's something about that kid that makes me cringe. I think it's his eyes...the way he blinks. Spooky.

[Liquesce]

I love that show. I've been known to watch it when my kids are asleep.

[hopefulfaith]

My kids were TV-free for the past few years (until they were 3 and 2, respectively), and now they're kind of excited to watch Curious George in the mornings.

Sid comes on after George, and they always request that the TV be turned off after George. I think they think he's creepy, too. I don't mind the premise, but the overstuffed-puppet-animation drives me INSANE.

[The4OfUs]

The over enthusiasm over goofiness bugs me too (and I'm pretty enthusiastic and goofy myself ), the too good to be true school, the way too good dance moves they all have, the annoying adult-pretending-to-be-a-kid voiceovers....the one little girl always sounding like she's on the verge of a nervous breakdown...

[H & J's Mom]

Yup ... just plain creepy!

[Juvysen]

Originally Posted by The4OfUs

.the one little girl always sounding like she's on the verge of a nervous breakdown...

YES!

It's like they took all the different possible kinds of "weird" kids and stuck them together with a rock-singing, rhyming teacher... I still let the kids watch it though

[Marylizah]

Aw, man, I love Sid.

We aren't in the States anymore, so we can't watch it, but DS and I always liked it. In fact, I credit Sid with the fact that every 2 minutes DS tells his dad, "Baba, you're the BEST". (Something Sid tells his grandmother/parents.)

[Sasharna]

I am so glad to have found this thread. This show totally creeps out my son (as well as DP and me), for all the reasons listed.

And gosh, isn't science amazing enough all on its own? Why do people think kids need adults to make it all hip-hoppy cool? My three year old would happily watch a documentary-style show on any of the subjects brought up on Sid, but he's bored by the condescending, you-are-too-childish-to-understand approach of this show.

We love Curious George though. : We planted our first vegetable garden this year at DS1's request after seeing the episode with the Italian restaurant owner and his obsession with fresh produce.

[mimid]

ITA! My girls never got into it too much and I can't even put my finger on why the show creeps me out. They love Curious George, too, but lately have been in a Little Einsteins kick.

[CheapPearls]

My boys like it. They get the topic of each show and we can take it farther on our own if they want. My oldest even asked to have a journal like Sid and to do little experiments. I really like science and I'm happy with anything that introduces it to my boys in a way that they enjoy it.

But the other little boy (Jarrold?)'s voice makes me want to hit something. I just can't handle listening to that kid. I feel sorry for his "parents".

[zebu]

It took some time for me to realize it, but for the most part, I think this show is soooo cool! I love the science lessons, the different friends, the teacher uses Spanish sometimes (I think?) and aren't Sid's parents an inter-racial couple?

But the voices drive me batty! Gerald, May and the grandma are so irritating. They are like nails on a chalkboard. It makes me think that only a few actors are doing many voices and they have to make each one super over the top, so that they sound different. Just me over-analyzing.

[Livviesmom0207]

I have a love/hate relationship with the show.

I defnitely think that Sid's parents are in an interracial relationship. His mom is clearly African American, his dad is clearly Caucasian. Sid, however doesn't seem to be biracial, I can't tell what he is.

His grandma is totally Jewish (she reminds me of my Jewish grandma, haha) and teacher Suzie appears Hispanic. I also think May is Asian.

My point is, they are a very diverse bunch and it's noticeable but they don't call attention to it and I kind of like that.

The show is a little too over enthusiastic and weird for me though. DD loves it.

[sapphire_chan]

From 5 seconds of youtubing, the problem's that you've got the bright bright colors combined with all the movement made by real people. It's a really common problem with computer animation to want to motion capture every tiny thing. Nice when the art's also realistic, distracting and disconcerting when you've got dayglo colored cartoon people doing things in front of dayglo colored backgrounds.


Didn't have the sound on. But the characters *look* like they'll have grating voices.

[felix23]

I never noticed them being interacial, I just thought they were aliens. I hate their voices and Lilly won't watch them.

[The4OfUs]

Oh, I totally noticed all of the racial diversity....it's just...the characters are SO grating, it kind of works against it IMO.

And uh, as a PP said, just cause I hate it doesn't mean the kids don't watch it sometimes anyway... : there are some cool concepts, and I don't think it's *harmful*, I just think it's totally irritating and grating.

[rockycrop]

Awww, I love Sid. It's my favorite PBS morning show. But then again, I tend to like weird, creepy things.

[Ellen Griswold]

It's the so-called joking that bothers me. It is not funny, at least not to a child. Yeah, the science is great but I don't find any of it to be that unique - my ds has done most of these experiments in his preschool class. And Gerald...well, that kid has issues.

[MrsMike]

Add me to the love/hate list. I REALLY like the premise of the show. I love science. But, yeah, those kids are really annoying. And I don't like the animation. I cannot stand May's voice. Sometimes ds loves to watch it, other times he shuts it off on his own. We try to go tv-free as much as possible, but I do let him watch it every now and then.