I may have lost control over virtually everything else in my life, but the one thing I still hold onto is the remote control. Not necessarily what is on the TV, but the remote itself. Alaina can turn the TV on and off, but still hasn’t been able to figure out how to change the channel. Yes, she can get very grumpy when “her shows” aren’t on, but WHICH cartoons is still completely up to me.
Between PBS, Discovery JR, three Nickelodeon channels and four Disneys, I usually have plenty of options. I know most of the schedules and plan accordingly. Peppa Pig sometimes amuses me, Olivia the Pig does not. No Barney or Thomas the Train are tolerated, but Dinosaur Train and Chuggington are OK. Anything with even the smallest educational qualities is a top choice.
Sick of the silliness and emboldened by my recent successes moving towards toys that I want to play with, I’ve begun searching for cartoons with more “adult” sensibilities. The Star Wars Rebels cartoon is really good, as are the Spider-Man and Avengers shows. So far, so good. She doesn’t always understand what is going on, but with some tutoring is beginning to figure out which are the good and bad guys. The Emperors’ takeover of Parliament during the Clone Wars as an allegory for increased executive powers in the United States seems an easier concept for her that the idea that there are now both child AND teenage Doras, depending on the time of day.
I may be biased by nostalgia, but it seems like there were much better cartoons growing up in the 80s. There were the ones everybody knows, like GI Joe and the Transformers, memories ruined now by terrible live action movies. Superhero shows like Spider-Man and The Superfriends, space adventures with Voltron and Battle of the Planets, fantasies with Dragons Lair and Dungeons and Dragons. I’m not ashamed to admit that I recently ordered Thundarr the Barbarian, the Complete Series from Amazon. I probably should be, but I’m not.
Most of the time, Alaina isn’t even watching the TV, she just likes to prove she’s the boss. She spends a lot of her time playing and is great about helping out around the house. With NFL free agency starting, she’s been forced to endure a lot more Sports Center.
The Hulk is still difficult to explain, but she knows for sure that Darrelle Revis is one of the “bad guys.”
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Originally published on Musings of a Thirsty Daddy
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