Week 6: Response to Prof M

I went through the Nick Jr. vegetative state with my older daughter Lauren. She was born in 1992 so I caught Barney, Sesame Street, as well as the Disney repertoire of princess videos. Now with my daughter Kai (2 1/2 yrs. old) we are slaves to Nick, Nick Jr., Sprout, PBS, and the timeless Disney movies are back. My husband thought I was demented when I could recall every line of Mary Poppins the first time I watched it with Kai. It was poetic justice the day I caught him humming "Supercalifragiliciousexpialidocious" while grilling. As for gender roles--there's definitely been some progress. It isn't all about princesses being saved by previously unknown princes with a single magical kiss. (Yeah, like that works, huh girls?!) Dora & Kai-lan (my daughter is starting to realize her name is the same as Kai-lan, she says "she Kai name too") and the Wonderpets (my husband's favorite) all make things happen. Once has to consider though, how Dora and Boots consult "the map" when there's a place they need to go. Big red flag here-- Diego, Dora's boy cousin with own 30 min gig--does not have a singing map in his show. Hmmmmm...perhaps he has a navigation system in his "rescue pack". So maybe they're still somewhat biased, but not as bad as "the old days" of cartoons. The Wonderpets (my husband's favorite)on Nick Jr. are non-gendered (I think) & they stress rescuing baby animals via teamwork. My Kai wanted to help me water our flowers outside, and when she got the hose in her hands she actually started singing the "What's gonna work? Teamwork" song. I almost cried. Tomorrow's lesson: sock-sorting, the ultimate familial teamwork challenge.