Why the Hate Toward SpongeBob?

[JaneFW]

I guess that I don't feel that Sponge Bob doesn't have a whole lot to give our kids. Yeah, it makes them laugh, so that's fine, and I let them watch it, but I have to go out of the room because the noise that comes from the volume and the shrillness of the voices is just terribly irritating .. to me! I guess I probably watched a few annoying cartoons when I was a kid - although there weren't many cartoons around in those days lol - but I guess I prefer SB to some of the other junk they watch.

 

[CrystalBrooke]

Now you're name calling.......which is ironic as you obviously didn't get the lesson of the show....

there's a difference in calling someone a dummy just to be mean and calling someone ignorant who clearly is being so...you assume that just because i watch SpongeBob that I curse and name call like they do which is ignorant, you are uninformed in what you were talking about.

 

[Andry]

there's a difference in calling someone a dummy just to be mean and calling someone ignorant who clearly is being so...you assume that just because i watch SpongeBob that I curse and name call like they do which is ignorant, you are uninformed in what you were talking about.

You previously posted that you found nothing inappropriate about SB. I beg to differ.

You don't seem to read well. I did not assume. I said "if". You're getting all worked up over an "if".

While the message of that particular episode may be noble, how it goes about teaching it I found was completely inappropriate and unnecessary. IOW, that's not how I - and I dare say many parents - would teach our own kids about cussing and cursing. You might find it funny as an 18yo watching it, as you would already understand the "wrongness" of cussing. But a 7-8 yo may not. As a parent that's where I'm coming from - the effect on our kids. That's not me being ignorant.

You, on the other hand, as you've established yourself that calling someone ignorant who is clearly so is not name calling, are ignorant to the fact that you don't have to consider the impact of kids younger than you watching it.

 

[janny108]

Some childed friends of mine were over last weekend and, while we adults were looking at photo albums, the kids started jonesing for something to do. I suggested putting in one of my SpongeBob Squarepants DVD's. And my friends were all like, [smug, serious voice]"We don't allow Spongebob in our home."[/smug, serious voice]

Can somebody please give me some kind of a clue about what parents would find objectionable about SpongeBob! It's SPONGEBOB! for Pete's sake! I've watched it for years and have never seen any kind of objectionable content. My friends are both college graduates and, one would think, have critical thinking skills and have sorted through this whole "SpongeBob is gay" hysteria that was going around a couple of years ago.

Any help here?

There are worse things to take a stand on as parents. Sponge Bob---ah the power of the sponge! He's on T shirts, cups and when I took my daughter to see the Sponge Bob movie, there were lots of GUYS there to watch it w/o kids. He's great, honest, helpful, funny, a good employee and friend. What's not to like about him?? So what if he sounds a little "effiminate"?

I think some worse cartoons(and there are a bit of those) are like Johnny Bravo, who is unemployed, lives with his mother, thinks he is the gal's "MEOW" LOL He's got brawn, but no obvious talents.
Jan

 

[JaneFW]

There are worse things to take a stand on as parents. Sponge Bob---ah the power of the sponge! He's on T shirts, cups and when I took my daughter to see the Sponge Bob movie, there were lots of GUYS there to watch it w/o kids. He's great, honest, helpful, funny, a good employee and friend. What's not to like about him?? So what if he sounds a little "effiminate"?

I think some worse cartoons(and there are a bit of those) are like Johnny Bravo, who is unemployed, lives with his mother, thinks he is the gal's "MEOW" LOL He's got brawn, but no obvious talents.
Jan

And isn't that strange because I can't stand SB, but i think that JB is hi-lar-ious. I don't think that JB is really a kids cartoon. My kids just don't get the subtleties, I guess.

 

[AutumnDreamer]

I am asking Andry and CrystalBrooke to please stop responding to each other. It is derailing the thread, and getting very close to flaming.

 

[GolfingMom]

i think it's really sad when adults have nothing better to do than to turn a child's cartoon into something sinful and bad...it's a children's show, people should leave it at that and stop trying to turn it into something it's not.

I must disagree with you this one. Far too many kids shows have such negative aspects to it. We, as parents, aren't turning a child's cartoon into something sinful - the show does that all on it's own. We as parents do get to choose if we will allow our child to watch it or not.

 

[CrystalBrooke]

as a parents myself, even tho my daughter isnt old enough to watch tv and be affected by it, i understand there are shows that you dont want your child to watch that i'll be fine with letting my child watch like SB for instance... my brother who is 8 and my cousins who are 6 and 7 watch it all the time and i never hear any name calling or cursing come out of their mouths. i think a lot of it has to do with how you've raised them to that point, my mom had already taught my brother that those things are not acceptable so when he watched the shows he never paid attention to it.

 

[HeatherJay]

I saw this one episode of SpongeBob where his shoe laces were became untied and he didn't know how to do them up again. (Has anyone seen this one?) Anyway, he says something like, 'I've been wearing shoes for as long as I can remember,' and the screen flashes to shot that I swear was a little SpongeBob sperm wearing shoes and swimming up a fallopian tube. I about died. Maybe that wasn't what it was, but that's sure what it looked like.

The rest of the show was filled with him falling down, dragging himself along and screaming a lot. Really annoying.

It wasn't a fallopian tube.

Here, educate yourself about sea sponge reproduction.

Most sea sponges are hermaphroditic (having both sexes in one), but produce only one type of gamete per spawn. (i.e. some play the male role and the other plays the female role, even though they are both capable of playing either role). The sperm is released into the water column by the "male" sponge and finds its way to the "female" sponges, where fertilization occurs internally. Eventually, the planktonic larvae are released from the female sponge and float around in the water column as plankton for only a few days. They then settle down and start growing. The next time the sponges reproduce, they may change sexual roles.

BTW, we LOVE Spongebob in this house, lol. He's hilarious and we all watch the episodes together...it's high quality family time.

 

[Sign Of The Fish Burger]

DH and I quite enjoy sponge bob- I think he's quite funny
Then again we don't have kids, so migh opinion might change, but really I don't see the harm in it.

We also love Fairly Odd parets

 

[HeatherJay]

DH and I quite enjoy sponge bob- I think he's quite funny
Then again we don't have kids, so migh opinion might change, but really I don't see the harm in it.

We also love Fairly Odd parets

LOL, Fairly Odd Parents annoy me...but I think Chip Skylark is hilarious! I like the one where his teeth fall out.

 

[Sign Of The Fish Burger]

I don't think I saw that one!!!

 

[HeatherJay]

I don't think I saw that one!!!

LOL, well they don't "fall" out...they get stolen by Dr Bender. But it's still funny. And just for you, Kansas...a little dental ditty by Chip Skylark.

My Shiny Teeth

 

[andiesmama]

LOL, Fairly Odd Parents annoy me...but I think Chip Skylark is hilarious! I like the one where his teeth fall out.

Yeah...isn't that the one where the teeth start singing, too? That one is funny...

As for SpongeBob, Andie's been watching that show since shortly after she turned 3, so for about a year or more now and I see no evidence of her using words like "stupid" or "dummy" or cursing or...or...or...(*insert rolls eyes smilie here*)

I think Crystal had a great point when she said it's more about how you bring up your kids than the shows they watch. If your child knows from the get-go what's appropriate behaviour & what isn't then more than likely a silly cartoon isn't going to change that.

 

[Mela'h]

My daughter loves any thing Spongebob! She has a Spongebob blanket, a body pillow and a big stuffy. I think the cartoons are kinda silly but my husband gets a kick out of them. I think you can over-analyze anything and find something negative.
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[HeKnowsMyName]

I think Crystal had a great point when she said it's more about how you bring up your kids than the shows they watch. If your child knows from the get-go what's appropriate behaviour & what isn't then more than likely a silly cartoon isn't going to change that.

Well ... DD began to have a disrespecting attitude towards me and I couldn't understand why. I read one post a few months back that some people didn't let their kids watch certain shows because they picked up the disrespectfulness and attitude of the characters. I started paying a bit more attention to what DD was watching and sure enough there was attitude in several of the shows she watched - it all began to make sense. I've raised her to be respectful (believe me, we've been strict on her), but she still picked up some bad habits from TV.

 

[Linnis]

I think we must also remember it depends on the kid. Some kids are more affected by things than others.

 

[peacechild]

I know a family who doesn't even own a TV because they think it's a terrible influence and they don't want their kids to pick up bad language etc.
Truth be told, their kids are the most disrespectful little...terrors I've ever met in my life, and that's saying something because I babysit quite a few kids.

 

[HeatherJay]

I think we must also remember it depends on the kid. Some kids are more affected by things than others.

I totally agree.

 

[wanderingone]

There is no SpongeBob in our house. There isn't really a specific reason beyond I find the entire show really annoying and as a parent I reserve the right to not allow my kids to watch things that I find annoying since I have to listen to them too.

Cheers for the honesty. Sometimes I am amused by the way people go all out to find "valid" reasons to disallow certain things. I can't stand sponge bob, it's just annoying. It's not been "banned" but when the kids were younger and all their tv watching was when I was watching with them sponge bob was on the list of "Mommy can't stand it, pick something else"

Somehow I still know that silly song... who lives in a pineapple under the sea...

(I personally believe most people making up some of these cartoons are having a very enjoyable trip on very illegal substances when they come up with the ideas for them...)