Dora the Explorer

[Mirrormonkey]

Not sure if this is the right place to post this but:

I really truly HATE Dora the Explorer and my 3 yr old loves her! I cannot stand listening to her high pitched yowling voice in the horrible videos it is like nails on a chalkboard. Why does everyone have to yell in the video's? I think I will jump out a window if I have to listen to that show one more time! Of course we live in a bungalow so the window jumping will be more for the dramatic effect than anything.

Our Dora vids are having an extended nap, they are very tired.

The dilemma is, I realize my son is at a very impressionable age and I don't want him to think he has to feel the same way I do, but would it be really awful to tell him that Dora is not a good show to watch??? That she is loud and abrasive etc.

[lonegirl]

LOL my son also loves Dora...fortunately he likes other shows even better. For shows I don't, personally, like I label them as Tyr's show...then we get to watch mommy's shows...we all take turns. Dora isn't that long and we have no dvds only on Treehouse so I don't have to sit through it for long.
I make sure with all things...including shows, books, food....that he knows that people may not like things that you do and you make like something they don't.

[BellinghamCrunchie]

We call her Dora the Annoyer in our house.

Anyway, I think the best thing to do is respect your son's appreciation for Dora by not saying how much you hate it (not saying anything at all, really), and replace those Dora videos with something you can tolerate - I like the Backyardigans okay. I really like Kipper the Dog. Little Bear is okay, too. At that age, my DD could not separate my feelings from others' feelings... she was accidently crushed when DH mentioned that he thought Barbie Diamond Castle was cheap plastic crap. Its been over a year and she still remembers that horrible criticism of her beloved Barbie. I don't think they can take criticism of their favorite things non-personally.

[shayinme]

It passes. Seriously at 3, my dd who is 4 luved Dora and it drove me crazy. Now at 4 she rarely watches her, so hang in there.

[Drummer's Wife]

yes, it will pass! My oldest used to LOVE Dora. She's 8 now and I can't see her sitting through an episode or a Dora book at this point. I think it was about 2 yrs, if that, that she adored her. Like from ages 3-5, I think. My boys don't really care for Dora, but one likes Diego related stuff - not the show.

[Mirrormonkey]

Thanks guys! I am hoping we can slow the Dora love affair down. We don't have cable only video's so he knows that he can watch it anytime. We gave up cable in an attempt to limit tv for all of us and the constant barrage of advertising. I am not sure which is the lesser of two evils at this point!

[cappuccinosmom]

What is it about that show? I know so many mothers who hate it. Including me.

Somehow we avoided it (helps not having TV, I can veto videos from the library ), but still my kids have been drawn in when they've seen it elsewhere, or seen the books.

[Mirrormonkey]

The Manga eyes?

[Mama~Love]

She's Dorky Dora in our house. I can't stand it, but the kids LOVE that show!

[Stephenie]

Dora drives me batty too, but thankfully, we don't get any TV channels and I really limit which dvds he watches.

Her voice, the repetition, the over excitement, the THEME SONG... it's all too much for me.

[SpiderMum]

We just avoided it. She's never seen it so I don't foresee a problem. If mommy doesn't like a show, it just isn't turned on.

[Tjej]

For me it is totally the yelling (well, and she yells and is thus impolite about a lot of stuff just yelling at people, not saying please and thank you). I actually pre-emptively knew (from doing childcare before kids) that I did not like Dora, so I was able to keep her videos/tv out of the house. We haven't been given any, and what TV the kids do watch is either videos or I make sure the show is acceptable (and it's never been Dora).

Even with a no Dora house, my DD (3 3/4) knows who she is and likes her. That girl is EVERYWHERE.

Have you considered Kai Lan as an easy alternative? She's very similar, but she doesn't yell.

Tjej

[meemee]

wow really you think the show is bad?

i thought it was a pretty good show.

there is a pretty good plot, easy to follow, with beginning and end.

its actually a mystery - an adventure without being overtly moralistic. can you imagine how rare that is for 3 year olds (or should i say they used to be 4 years ago) even story book wise.

the idea that you can just stand up and talk to the bad guy and not beat him up AND he listens.

its interactive. yes yelling but not really.

its got some spanish in it - just imagine the concept of a second language.

its NOT overtly 'academic' like sesame street or blues clues.

heck yeah!!!!! her voice and expressionless eyes irritate the life out of me.

but i let her watch for the reasons above. plus it was the only one dd really liked too. she hated any academic ones like blues clues or sesame street. she was a big adventure fan and it wasnt that easy finding books with adventure/mystery themes that werent moralistic or human relationship.

[LROM]

Yup we're another household where we all like Dora, although our DD is younger than your kids so even though she really likes her (and Go Diego Go), she doesn't notice at all if we don't watch her.

And maybe by the time she's your kids' ages, she will be sick of Dora!

But what I wanted to say to the original poster is, I totally understand Dora annoys the heck out of you, but there's a difference between a show you don't like because it annoys you and a show you actually think is bad/negative/damaging programming. If I thought Dora was damaging, obviously I wouldn't let my kid watch it in the first place and I'd explain why.

But if mainly I just thought it was annoying, I'd do what another poster said - explain that there are shows mommy likes and shows DD likes and we have to share our limited t.v. time (mommy shows would still be kiddie shows in this conversation). I wouldn't tell her Dora is "bad" just because it annoys me. Instead I'd be honest about that.

[JessicaS]

Hello!

I am moving this over to Television.

[Amys1st]

DD1 was not as into Dora. She loved Elmo though and he drove me nutzo!

DD2 was not into Elmo but loves Dora. DH and I both cannot stand Dora and how she yells in her show.....Thankfully Dora is on its way out as she is approaching age 4.

Its sort of like the Disney princess stage. It comes in and out so quickly, so I am not alarmed. Just like the Hanna Montana stage last year that is replaced by Taylor Swift this year whose music I actaully like better!

[Mirrormonkey]

Oh no! Please no Hannah Montana!!!! Taylor Swift at least has some talent.

Almost two full days and he has not asked to watch Dora... Yippee!!!!

[NYCVeg]

I don't mind Dora at all (it's the only show my dd watches, on the computer as we don't have a TV). It's got a strong, female lead character. Dora is active and she solves mysteries; she has strong family relationships and cares for her best friend. I think the bilingualism is a plus, but, as a pp said, it's not overly didactic. It encourages interaction and movement rather than just passive staring (dd always gets up to do the motions, etc., and she always "replies" to the requests).

I think the jingles are catchy, too. : Come on, vamanos...

[meemee]

Originally Posted by Mirrormonkey

Oh no! Please no Hannah Montana!!!! Taylor Swift at least has some talent.

yeah me three. i was sooo grateful the hannah montana phase is now replaced by taylor swift.

however at 7 my dd is a BIIIIIIIIIIIG fan of The Electric Company.

[~Leonor~]

I actually like Dora , I think it's one of the better cartoons out there. More emphasis on fun and only a subtle morale, overly educational shows really annoy me. I recommend the new Christmas movie to everyone, it's hilarious and I had no problem watching it with her because the story was so entertaining.