[JennyEspo]

My children and I were watching Spongebob Squarepants yesterday when the commercials came on. Among them was a commercial of the Closer (the crime show w/ Kira Sedwick). I couldn't believe it when they showed the Closer solving a crime on the murder of a child! Not only that but they showed the dead girl bloody and in a school girl uniform! It was 11 O'clock in the morning! I have never seen such poor descrestion in a kids channel. You wouldn't think you would have to sheild your kids from things on Nickalodeon. I have writen an e-mail to the company but havn't heard anything yet. It was hard to find a contact number. If someone is able to find a legit number or they think of it and want to write in yourselves that would be great! Just felt like I needed to share!

[MJ7]

Thanks for the heads up!

[twinzplus3]

This is a good reason to not allow your kids to watch T.V. or invest in a Tivo! Nickelodeon is no worse than anyone else in this regard. Just FYI--the commercials are generally deemed appropriate to the age level of the programming. So if SpongeBob is rate Y-7 (which I think it is), then the commercial is thought of that way also.
Honestly, I will not yet my kids watch SpongeBob because of the language. They frequently use the word "stupid" and recently I heard the word "moron" from Sponge Bob. Not what I want any of my kids saying. I love Nick Jr. but I'm not thrilled about Nickelodeon.
However, if you really want to make an impression on them. . .you can write Nickelodean your letter. . .and let them know that you're refusing to purchase from their sponsors. You also need to write a letter to those who advertise during the commercials that says something of the like. . ."Dear Tide (or whoever is taking those slots), I will not continue to buy your product and I will encourage my like-minded friends to do the same because you are sponsoring Nickelodeon and they had a commercial. . .etc. etc. etc.
Advertisers and companies figure for every person that's angry enough to write a letter, there are at least 10,000 people who feel the same way. Furthermore, if they're advertising on Nickelodean at 11am they are targeting SAHM's. By identifying as their target audience and letting them know they've failed to reach you as a customer, you're communicating a loud message. This is how controversial shows get pulled from the air. People hit them in the pockets!
Sorry that was so long!

[pattiewrites]

I don't like Nickelodeon at all. I do let my older two watch Sponge Bob sometimes, but nothing else. This started when they heard about it in school from friends. Prior to that, they only watched PBS or DVDs. I love commercial free television! Since watching Disney and Sponge Bob, I've noticed they pay attention to commercials for toys and junky foods. I miss the days when they only watched PBS. I haven't seen the commercial for the closer, but they don't watch it much. I agree that it's inappropriate.

[floridamama]

My oldest daughter (she's 11) has told me that there were a few times where she has been watching the Disney channel, and has heard some curse words! Not real extreme ones, mind you, but curse words none the less! And, I've watched it a few times with her, and I noticed that not only are there sometimes little "innuendos" about things on some of their shows, but they like to put some of their political views out there, as well. I've caught little things from comments about voting for Hilary Clinton in the next election, to the curse words.
How very sad. I don't believe that there is any good quality family tv out there anymore.

[JennyEspo]

Just as an update; I have heard back from Nickalodeon. They seem to be taking that matter seriously. My hope is that maybe somewhere another parent saw the advertisment and what as shocked as I was to write in. Maybe what we need is to let these channels know what is expected from them.

[EasyBreezy]

I uderstand that you may be concerned about protectig your kids, but the overreacting is not necessary. The language, in reference to "stupid", how many times do you thik your child has ever heard that. You must be naive if you think banning them from one show is going to stop them from learing/using the word. For the parent of the 11 year old who was watching the disney channel, Im sure your child has heard worse language than that on the school bus or even at school. Almost all Disney movies have these innuedos, even the cartoons! So I guess your child can no longer watch any of them. Spongebob would be out of the question as well then. If you want sexual innuendos look no further! The mr. crabs in bikini bottom, a direct referece to the sexually transmitted disease. The point is no matter how hard you try to "save" your children from reality, they will discover these things on their own, whether you want them to or not. In the near future you will not be able to protect them like you think you can, and that time is coming soon.

[twinzplus3]

You're right. Of course they'll hear it. They'll also eat inordinate amounts of junk food at some point, and they'll likely see violence at some point as well as sex. I get it--I'm not that naive. But I think its absurd as a parent to allow these influences in my home at their ages. My kids are under the age of 5! Moron coming out of a 5yo mouth is not pretty and to be frank, it reflects badly on parents who have the "chicken pox" attitude towards kids hearing things. (Let them hear it anyways bc they will eventually. Or you can't protect them from everything.) My job at this point is to influence my children. . .not to let them explore and go figure it out on their own.

[JeanLynn81]

Its all about money-those who come up with a show/movie/commercial that appeals to a very broad audience make more money. Period. If they can make a kid's show thats entertaining enough for teenagers and adults, well..they've hit the jackpot! Its a shame that only a handful of movies and shows really get what quality CHILD entertainment is! Was anyone here raised watching Looney Tunes? Those cartoons were actually made for adults, not children. Yet I remember (as a very young child) plenty of times when I watched Bugs Bunny smoke a cigar and dress up in drag. I didn't understand the humor at the time-it was just funny to see him trick Elmer Fudd.
Its going to be a hard fight to get them to change television, but its very possible. Afterall, how often to you see the old Looney Tunes cartoons on tv anymore? Somebody made a difference!

[twinzplus3]

OMG--we got a very old cartoon--stuff we used to watch, "thinking gee, this will be fun for the kids. . ." It was racist and full of racist inuendos. YIKES! (A good example is Peter Pan w/the indians.) Looney Tunes is another good example of stuff that we watched. . .but I must say I think that subtlety is easier to deal with than inappropriate words, poorly chosen commercials etc.