Some children’s programs can be appalling and just downright vulgar. They make me question the sanity of the creators, especially with them knowing these shows are being aired on channels that are targeted for children. Looking back, most of the inappropriate, adult-directed jokes flew right over my head and only realized it when I got older. Even the renowned ‘Frozen’ has a little hidden joke about ‘foot size’ that younger audiences most definitely could not have picked up on but left adults in a bundle of laughs. We’re not talking about cartoons that contain a few innocent hidden jokes that children will not notice; we’re addressing atrocious cartoons that can be harmful, and that’ll leave a negative impact on your children. Here’s a list of inappropriate children programs that are still being aired on Television, steer your children away from these horrendous, mind-contaminating shows.
Sanjay and Craig
Add a dash of gross humour, a pinch of racism, and a whole lot of stupidity into a show and poof! You got yourself Sanjay and Craig. The program follows an Indian-American boy, Sanjay Patel, and a snake named Craig Slithers, the comedic aspect of the show is based on toilet jokes; jokes of farts, butts and throwing up. A whole episode was about Sanjay giving birth to a ‘Fart’ baby and, another that entails Sanjay and Craig smelling each other’s pits after a workout session, and bottling up their friend’s sweat to be sold as a perfume as he emits ‘divine’ body odour. It’s as horrifying as it sounds. The show also sends forth racial stereotyping towards Indians, particularly Sanjay’s father. Viewers, children, and teenagers have reviewed the show to be both disturbing and disgusting. Snippets of the show are on Nickelodeon’s YouTube channel; parents can get a sense of the ridiculous show. All that is portrayed in Sanjay and Craig is everything you don’t want your children ever learning or being influenced by the immorality.
Regular Show
Initially, I thought that this show was for adults like The Simpsons or Family Guy, but it was being aired on Cartoon Network, a kid-friendly channel. This show takes many steps above Sanjay and Craig; it’s filled with violence, bad language, sexual innuendos, and the characters are even seen drinking beer! The show revolves around main characters, Mordecai and Rigby, who are always getting themselves in misadventures with the other supporting characters. They’re always getting in fights with each other and other side characters, throwing punches and kicking one another. Words like ‘screwed,’ ‘crap’ and ‘balls’ are thrown around a lot. The episode entitled TGI Tuesday features a dirty joke, Benson (manager of the parklands where Mordecai and Rigby work at) explains how the ballroom at the parklands used to host some of the most elegant balls and Rigby questions him with ‘Were they Big?’; Benson replies ‘They were huge!’, Rigby giggles and gets punched on his shoulder from Mordecai. The characters are also seen drinking canned beverages that make them woozy and sick; one can only assume what’s in that can. This show is a red flag disguised on a kid-friendly channel.
Caillou
A children program aimed for preschoolers and toddlers, it features a four-year-old boy named Caillou, and each segment highlights an adventurous day. Doesn’t Caillou sound like an excellent show for your little one? It’s actually amidst the most hated children programs among parents, and even children have critiqued the show to be annoying. Caillou is always whining and complaining; he throws tantrums when he doesn’t get what he wants. He is also awfully mean to his younger sister, Rosie; Caillou pinched Rosie when she was born, kicking her out of his room, and even grabbing toys away from her. In the episode entitled Caillou joins the circus, Caillou gets ready all by himself for a day at the circus; when Caillou’s father explains to him that Caillou was mistaken with the date, Caillou then throws an insane tantrum and completely disregards what he’s told to do. Caillou is also perceived as rude, selfish, and stubborn; in a nutshell, Caillou is a bratty little kid. Caillou being the main character and within the age range as the children watching the program, is likely to influence children to imitate his ill-mannered behaviour.
Spongebob Squarepants
Spongebob Squarepants is and always has been a favourite among children, but the show leaves an immediate negative effect. Fast-paced cartoons, cartoons that switch scenes every few seconds, are known to shorten and damage children’s attention span. Research has proven that children that tune into fast-paced cartoons perform significantly worse in simple tasks; it is also noticed that they have a hard time paying attention to the given task and quickly get distracted. The series also contains some hidden innuendos and potty-mouth language like ‘stupid,’ ‘idiot,’ and censored ‘dolphin noises’ words that most definitely piqued children’s curiosity. There is a hidden allusion in one of the episodes, Spongebob gets excited watching a dancing coral on Television, but when Gary the Snail walks (or slides) in on him, he immediately changes the channel and brushes it off by saying he was looking for the sport’s channel. I can’t even begin to fathom the idea of Spongebob watching porn. Let’s not forget how ridiculous some episodes can get, Spongebob Squarepants has no educational value to it and is just literally mind-numbing nautical nonsense.
The programs mentioned are all aired on supposedly kid-friendly channels, and it’s safe to say that these and many other shows are most definitely not kid-friendly. Keeping an eye on the programs your children watch can be painstaking, be vigilant, and ensure that the programs your children tune into are thoroughly kid-friendly with appropriate content. Even with parental controls, some of these programs that are harmful towards our children still get by and the best way to watch them beforehand before letting them watch the program. With all said, screen time should be kept to a minimum, and children should be engaged in educational, useful TV programs instead of mind-numbing nonsense.