Yes Dora the Explorer, possibly and arguably the WORST show on television. Well last night I had the wonderful experience of watching my neighbor's daughter who just insisted on watching the show...and coxing me into interacting with my television like I was 5 years old. Well as the show was on all I could think about was how ridiculous the show was and here are my reasons.
5.)
The whole "Spanish thing" Now the whole teaching kids to speak Spanish is a pretty well thought out idea.....But for those who have seen the show...she speaks Spanish at all the most random times, and most of the time that I was watching it I didn't even know what she was talking about...how is a young child supposed to understand.
4.)
It's unrealistic. Just about everything on the show talks...and she is going everywhere with a monkey? umm I dont know about you but I mean I am all for imagination but I would like my child to learn something useful...not how to become a princess in fairy tale land (yes that was the plot of the show i got the pleasure of watching) Oh and another thing...where are her parents? Because she is always alone...yes that's great Nick teach kids to run off alone.
3.)
The songs & actionsI mean yes it's great to teach our kids some songs, but somehow no matter what child I see watching this show. They always get up and dance (and scream) out the songs. Like there is some kind of adult proof sound that I cannot hear telling kids to be as obnoxious as they can while they dance to the songs...just to make us crazy. Oh and same goes for when they are answering the stupid interactive part of the show.
2.)
Her voice is annoying Omg I never heard a voice that was so high pitched and annoying in my entire life.....point blank
1.)
SHES'S EVERYWHERE Is it not bad enough that I hate watching her show....she is on just about every toy commercial out there, in every store I go to, and just about every girl has at least 5 things with her face on it. This is getting to be one toy overload I am not liking.
Comments (156)
the whole she is everywhere annoys me just like how winnie the pooh is everywhere.
i havent watched any of it but i've seen her adverts and clips and i just find it confusing.
It's a KID'S show, you're an adult, it's not supposed to be appealing to you. It's supposed to be appealing to kids, and kids love it, that's why that show is so popular, and it's on dvds, and everything else. Many adults might not like the show, but as a caregiver, if the kid is enjoying the show, you're supposed to just play along, not dread the experience.
I can see why you might dislike the show, but i think the points you've chosen are really weak. Everything you mentioned, can apply to any other cartoon or kids show, it can apply to disney movies.
@Joanna_said_SO@xanga - I actually agree with that! I was gonna say something about how all cartoons are unrealistic. lol.
That's why it's a childs show. I don't agree with the whole let's teach my kid another language because Americans shouldn't have to learn another language.. but since we're not talking about that -
it's cute, makes good use of imagination, song and dance.
every popular character gets its face on everything for a few years, thats just how it works to make those mexicans (and I honestly dont mean that in a negative way, should have been italians, all i'm sayin') even more money. kinda like barney, spongebob and yo gabba gabba.
don't watch it and it'll grow off you and your kid. my kids dont watch it anymore, now they're into iCarly!
Based on those reasons, my advice would be not to have kids. Every show out there for children encompasses at least some of those traits.
@Fairywife@xanga - yes thank you! Dora is on my tv quite alot... you get used to it, and you shouldn't not let a child not watch it cause it doesn't appeal to you.
that show is a huge success for many reasons. it's appealing to kids!
@Joanna_said_SO@xanga - I agree. I watched an episode of Care Bears the other day because I was feeling nostalgic. I made it through about 15 minutes before my eye started twitching. It was that bad, but as a child I loved it. If you're watching a show with a kid, try just being goofy and playing along. It's not that bad, plus it's cute to watch them get so into it.
Though I do agree that Dora is the most annoying show ever. They revamped it from the old episodes though. It used to be extremely repetitive when it first came out.
I always thought the Rugrats had horrible parents. Geez.
Kai Lan rocks. She's the Mandarin Chinese version of Dora.
The reasons you listed for why you hate Dora are probably the reasons my daughter loves her. Cartoons should be unrealistic, who wouldn't want to be friends with a monkey, being happy enough to break out in a random dance is so cool, and the Spanish my daughter totally understands.
I only watch it because I babysit my 3 year old niece. I think Diego is way better & more educational. Dora (to me) sings the same song for 25 minutes...
@filtered_sunlight - haha - good response.
@Btrfly_Wngs@xanga - ya, I grew up with Rugrats too! I used to love that show. But yes, now when you think of it, horrible parents haha.. the kids are always up to trouble, and left in a playpen gate/fence.
If I have time, I'll play along with my girl when she's watching Dora, if I'm cleaning or whatever, and shes' watching Dora, I'm glad she's standing up and participating and dancing and singing along...
but the author of this post, made it sound like its a horrible thing for kids.
i would let my child watch it, but seriously can someone get her a bigger shirt...
If you're bothered by how unrealistic Dora the Explorer is, Spongebob must seriously piss you off.
I do agree with you, though. She is pretty annoying. Thankfully I don't babysit, so I am never forced to watch the horror that is children's television.
@Joanna_said_SO@xanga - My favorite thing was how everyone did everything according to Dr. Lipshitz (which is totally not how that name is normally spelled) and he had never even spent time with children in his life. Haha.
I don't think Dora is bad for kids. I think there are better things out there, but it's pretty good. Especially when you consider that Sesame Street is actually aimed at 6-9 year olds and the average child watching the show is about 3. They do what they can to encompass a larger age range, and I think that's pretty awesome. You know it's bad though that I saw one episode of Dora about 7 or 8 years ago, and I still get the phrase "River, Forest, Blueberry Hill!" stuck in my head from time to time. Lol.
@belle_figlie@xanga - why? It's funny to learn other languages and it's ... well it allows to understand each other. Why do you think "americans" does not have to learn other languages? i'm really interested, I study linguistic, no offense. and i'm french so english is not my native language.
I agree with what everyone else has said, but I will also say this. A lot of shows on nick jr. dont feature parents a lot. I think these days the majority of children, unfortunately, do not actually live with both sets of parents. So they dont feature the parents since they probably want to try and relate more to the children. Max and Ruby, Kai Lan, Blues clues, Diego, Backyardigans, etc.... none of them have parents on the show.
It may be hard for you to relate, but I dont think the show is stupid.
I don't like Dora at all, and my daughter never watches her. We both watch Handy Manny, we've both learned some Spanish from him and the show is entertaining for both of us. Though I like Kai-Lan, she seems to treat the audience with a little more intelligence. I just don't like Dora's repeating the words while staring out at you with thank creepy blank expression.
For the most part my daughter and I just watch the Playhouse Disney shows, she has two shows that I record from the morning lineups on other channels, Kai-Lan and Magic School Bus (yes it's still on). I like that we can both watch her shows together and I really like that she's starting to interact with a lot of the shows.
In france Dora speaks english :)
@august_has_fallen@xanga - i've never thought of that! how the parents are absent in most of the shows, cool that you point that out!
@Joanna_said_SO@xanga - @filtered_sunlight - Y'all beat me to it.
@soyeahthatswhathappened@xanga - LOL, I had never even noticed that before. haha
5. Actually, I know the teaching is effective because my nephew runs around speaking Spanish. If you'll notice, they're sure to be specific about what they're talking about when they use any Spanish: "LOOK! Una cebolla!" *Dora holds up the onion and it glows and wobbles in her hand* Besides, it's not about teaching children an entire language, it's about opening their minds to the fact that there are other languages. It helps them be more receptive of it.
4. Because every children's show is realistic. Most of the shows with similar themes that I can think of revolve around kids who enter fantasy worlds when their parents leave the room (Muppet Babies, Dragon Tales, Rupert, Little Bear, et c.). I'm sure Dora's parents aren't being neglectful. Having an imaginative plot for a children's show is not a crime. There's nothing wrong with helping children be creative. Also, all episodes aren't so "pointless" as How to be a Princess in a Fairy Land. I've seen episodes where Dora is taught the importance of sharing, or how to deal with the death of a loved one. It's the fun stuff that keeps the child hooked so the show can teach some actual values.
3. You're right. I think songs should be banned from all children's productions. Actaully, I'm lying. Do you not remember the love you had for "I Love You" from Barney?! Songs make it easy for children to remember things because they're simple, they rhyme, and they're fun.
2. No argument there...but maybe her voice is in a higher pitch so children can understand her better...Maybe.
1. Yeah, this is a problem with modern marketing...it seems to be happening faster nowadays, too. Whereas a show had to be around for a year or so in the past, now it starts after a couple of months...before you know it there are mugs and rulers and gummy fruit candies galore of favorite characters. But, this isn't a Dora-exclusive issue. Twilight, anyone?
I realize this was probably made in jest (I hope) but seriously, let the kids have their loud, obnoxious, high-pitched, off-key fun while they still can.
you have to watch the Dora parody on SNL. Hil-arious and parodied all the things you listed.
@Btrfly_Wngs@xanga - There was this running joke/theme in this one special of Fairly Odd Parents (Channel Chasers or something like that) where the main character noticed how all the adults in cartoons are absent-minded, never there, dumber than the kids, or let their kids do dangerous stuff.
@Mercredi@lovelyish - That is interesting! LOL. I never really thought about it, but I guess on some level I just assumed Dora was only in America.