SpongeBob SquarePants, leave my son alone
My son is barely 3, but somehow I thought it would be OK to let him watch cartoons for slightly older kids, namely SpongeBob.
He was mesmerized. SpongeBob is funny, clever and a whole lot more violent and adult than Elmo, Go Diego Go!, the Backyardigans and the other cartoons my son typically likes to watch.
The first couple of times he saw a SpongeBob show, he sat still and didn't make a peep. His eyes got pretty big though. For a while there, I thought one might actually pop out.
But then he started acting out scenes. He wanted to bop things. Punch'em. Punch me.
And he began to look forward to seeing Mr. SquarePants. "Watch SpongeBob," he'd say as soon as we got back from pre-school. I knew it was wrong; that's why I didn't tell my wife.
And, of course, she found out. I mean, my son's behavior changed that much.
So, no more SpongeBob. He still asks, but I don't think we're going to go there until he's 10, or 20.
(And if you want further evidence that these shows aren't for young kids, see my wife's recent post about a study released this week that ties these kinds of shows with future attention problems.)
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