One of Adana's favorite cartoons is Max & Ruby. It's about a stubborn, monosyllabic toddler bunny and his ever-so-gentle, patient and resourceful older sister bunny.The Nick Jr. website has this to say about the series:
Max & Ruby . . . offers an empowering message for children by showing Max and Ruby playing together and resolving their differences in ways that are respectful and supportive.
Yeah, right. Actually, I think the truth is that this show is meant to make parents feel like crap. We are worthless, grumpy beasts who obviously can't deal with our own kids as well as a 7-year old bunny can.
Case in point:
In one of today's episodes, Ruby (the big sister) wanted to catch the bus to go visit her friend. As soon as they got out to the curb to wait for the bus, Max demanded that she go back inside to get a toy.
Lesson #1 - when your toddler yells "Fire Truck," the correct response is to sweetly say, "OK, I'll go get your fire truck." Then, when this causes you to miss your bus, you must respond (still with absolute sweetness), "Oh dear. Now we'll have to wait for the next one."
Reality #1 - when your toddler yells "Fire Truck," you say, "Yep, you forgot your fire truck. Here's a rock you can play with."
In the course of the episode, Max & Ruby ended up missing 5 or 6 buses, all due to Max demanding a toy and Ruby calmly obliging. Ultimately, they end up missing the last bus of the day, which means that Ruby will not get to go visit her friend after all. She merely sighs and accepts the disapointment, while Max smirks and exclaims, "Stay home!"
Lesson #2 - no matter how inconvenienced you are, you should always maintain a perfectly peaceful and tender demeanor.
Reality #2 - kids can be a huge inconvenience - that's what Time Out and spankings are for (oh yeah - I went there. I said the "s" word.)
I think it's about time to introduce Adana to Spongebob.
3 comments:
My kids LOVE Max and Ruby, in fact they play as if they are Maz and Ruby. I can't stand it, so I usually do the dishes while it is on.
Be careful! Failure to exhibit boundless patience and sweetness toward unreasonable, demanding children can earn you the wrath of other, better parents! You don't need to ask me how I know this, right??
I am so glad we missed out on this show! I banned all maudlin, emotionally manipulative glurge from the house. That's right, I "lost" the copies of "The Rainbow Fish" and "Love You Forever" that we were given; the last thing I need is more "Mommy Guilt!"
My boys don't watch that cartoon. They usually watch Disney Cartoons in the mornings. Lilo & Stitch, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, My Friends Tiger and Pooh, etc. They also love Dora & Diego, on Nickelodeon, and of course Scooby Doo, Tom & Jerry, and Land Before Time on Cartoon Network. It really depends on the time of day. As of late I have just been shutting off the TV, and telling them to go play. Which surprisingly they do! So we have had more off time lately, which is an improvement. I am proud of myself anyways...
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