I'm Coming Out... As a TV Parent.

Inaugural post. I'm trying to think of something thoughtful, witty and timeless to say, but I have the theme to Wonder Pets running through my head.

For the un-initiated, Wonder Pets is a children's show that features 'photo-puppetry,' where animators use photographs of real animals to animate the show. The stars are Linny, a talking guinea pig, Tuck, a turtle that wears Aquasocks, and Ming-Ming, a duckling with a slight speech impediment that can inexplicably fly despite possessing two fuzzy stubs for wings.

Each episode is actually a sort of operetta, where most of the dialogue is sung with full orchestra backing. The trio typically gets a call in their brick schoolhouse about a baby animal in trouble, don colourful capes, and hop into their tinker-toy flying boat to race to the rescue. When I first saw the show, I was frankly horrified. Now I'm completely addicted to it.

I've often heard parents say they become hooked on the shows aimed at pre-schoolers, and subsequently mocked them roundly. Now, alas, I am one of them. Since I don't really watch TV (although I suppose DVDs of British mystery programs probably count), I'm surprised at this new-found addiction. I'm also surprised at how well my own childhood favourites have weathered over the decades.

The original Scooby Doo cartoons, from 1969 to 1971, are still a hoot to watch, particularly the ones with the groovy chase scene tunes courtesy of Austin Roberts. I'm a little embarrassed to say I bought the DVD set back when the decision to adopt a child was first made. It came in this trippy little plastic Mystery Machine van case (the wheels actually turn!), and I couldn't resist it. Now, four years later, Pre-Schooler N is absolutely entranced with the show. He's shown far better taste than I did, quickly eschewing the subsequent iterations of Scooby (with guest stars like the Harlem Globetrotters, Mama Cass, Don Knotts nd other 1970s icons).

Posting about Pre-Schooler N's television habits is a bit like coming out all over again. So many parents sniff at the very thought of allowing their precious spawn to be brain-numbed by the boob tube. I'm obviously not one of them. We don't have cable -- or even an antennae -- so it's nice to have total control over what the boy is exposed to. No commercials to worry about, no violence or guns or sass-talking animals for him to imitate or emulate. And I love sharing that time with him, revisiting the shows I loved as a kid, and watching him love them too. It's wonderful watching him act out his favourite scenes, and sing the songs and re-tell stories that he's seen onscreen.

Movies are a whole other matter, of course. Most of the Pixar stuff I've tried to show Pre-Schooler N has elicited a firm "this is for big kids!" refusal from him. He doesn't like scary stuff, or emotionally fraught moments, or sad/ominous music. We went to our first movie ever with him this month, Disney's Frozen.



I flat out loved this film. It was smart and witty, and the music was absolutely fantastic. Turns out the score was written by the same husband and wife team who composed the music for Wonder Pets. Pre-Schooler N was able to sit through the whole thing (with one bathroom break, handily taken during the one scary scene involving snarling wolves). I won't spoil the film for those who might see it, but the best line ever:  "you CANNOT marry a man you just met today."

Now the wee lad loves playing with the little Frozen figure set I picked up online, singing the characters' songs and even making them interact with the great love of his life: Thomas the Tank Engine.

But Thomas is a whole other story, and a whole different post.