[erinellakal]

So, Erin, 5 loves High School Musical, Hannah Montana and Suite Life of Zach and Cody. I didn't see any thing wrong with letting her watching it cuz them because they are all rated G.
Well I have noticed some very rude and disrespectful phrases come out her mouth they are direct quotes from those shows. Last night I told DH we are going to have to do something about it. An while later I was talking to my mom, who works at Erins school. And she said that Erins teacher was telling her that all the little girls in that class(all 5 years old) talk about Hannah and High School Musical all day and she is soooo tired of all of it. She also said that they have been very qulicky already in pre-k! They say stuff to each other that 5 year olds should know what it even means! They should still be inocent little preschoolers, but they hear stuff on TV and repeat it and it is even causing fights between them. One argument that her teacher told my mom about was that if you have blonde hair like sharpay(from high school musical) you're mean and ugly and if you have brown hair like gabriella(hsm) your nice and pretty. They tell each other that they are bad singers and a bunch of other junk like that! She said that are kinda b-words to each other!
They should be talking about little kid stuff, right? Like little red riding hood and the three bears!!!
So I have blocked the disney channels from our TVs now.....it means no more Micky Mouse Club house and Wiggles and other cute shows like that, but I don't want Erin to be a b-word at the age of 5! I don't talk b-wordish to anyone, so really she is getting from TV and from her "friends".
We had a long talk last night about what is nice to talk about and what we can say and talk about at schoool. She understands, but I cannot control the other little girls in her class. I wish i could!

Wow this got long!
Has anyone else gone thru this? What else did you do to remedy the situation?

I also told dh that maybe i should just home school, her but he just laughed at me! I don't want to do that, but i was in the mood last night where i just wanted to keep her close and not let her grow up! And I don't mean to say home school isn't a good thing, it IS, its just not for us.
There, I am done! !!

[erinellakal]

Oh and she has actually lost interest in other things she loves since she discovered these shows like ballet, dress up, all the girly stuff.....

[mcmama]

They've got the b word in Hannah? or anywhere on Disney Channel?

Too much TV is not good at this age. She should be doing stuff for herself. Limit the TV, period.

When she watches tv, watch it with her.

These girls sound like 4th grade catty queen bees. This is a school problem. Please bring it to the attention of the teacher.I have known girls this age to flip for movies and shows (had a group of four year olds in pre k who were obsessed with the soundtrack of Grease) - but it has to be part of the total life. Playtime is a huge thing at 5, especially pretend play.

[deedee1231]

I have twin girls about the same age as your daughter. I have seen all of the shows that you mentioned at least once, and I understand what you mean--some of the things that the characters say to one another can be snotty, although I personally think some of the content on Nick is actually worse than Disney.

I do not block tv channels at my house, but I do put a limit on the amount of tv that they watch each day. We do not turn the tv on until 3:30 and there is no tv after dinner unless it is a family movie that we watch together. When tv is not an option they are much more apt to play with their favorite toys, draw, color, play dress-up, build with legos or k'nex, play-dough, and use their imaginations. Maybe you could try to work out a schedule to where her daily television viewing would end before these shows air?

Sometimes my girls end up watching Rugrats on Nick, which I am not a fan of because Angelica is mean to the babies and she always calls them "stupid babies" and other hateful things. If it comes on and they end up watching it, I always make sure I say something after a rude comment. Just something like, "Oh, that was a mean thing to say, I would be unhappy if one of my girls said something like that," or "It is a good thing Angelica is a cartoon because a real little girl would be in big trouble for acting like that!" Seems to be working.

[pattiewrites]

Our girls love HSM and Hannah. I've never seen a problem at all. No cursing in either that I've ever heard.

[erinellakal]

NO, i am not saying they have heard the b-word from the shows, they are acting like b----es to each other......i guess the b---- is maybe not the word i should have used.....they are really really snotty and sassy to each other.

I do limit TV watching. She gets 1/2 in the morning and 1/2 after school. But she can choose to save the 1/2hours and then watch 1 hour later. She understands it in that she can watch one show at a time in the morning and after school or 2 shows later on, like after dinner. She has been choosing to watch 2 shows later and thats when Hannah and Zack and Cody are on. She can also watch one movie, but it has to be something everyone wants to watch. I actually enjoyed both HSM 1 and 2 so when shes wanted to watch them i have had no problem letting her, but now its causing problems at school, so should i not let her watch them anymore?

We also have cartoons or a disney movie on during rest time, but she is at school during rest time. Other than these TV times I do leave on the game show network or TLC for background noise for myself.

Am I over reacting? Should I just tell her teacher that she has to get them to stop being catty? I think I should tell Erin to stop acting snotty and catty to her friends, right?

[twinzplus3]

I don't think you're over reacting. My oldest dd loves those shows. . .but she's 8. The little ones sometimes see them by default and whereas my 8yo might well be aware that something is rude or inappropriate. . .my 4yo will repeat it and it sounds snotty--not like I raise my kids. I think in general, they're really good shows w/ positive messages but little kids can sometimes come away with just the one phrase or one idea.

I think that you just have to talk through it with her. Why is that phrase snotty. Where did she hear it? Help her think through what type of friend she really wants to be--KWIM? As far as saying something to the teacher--I wouldn't. She can't make them not act snotty or rude. Not only that but she doesn't have eyes and ears in the back of her head--KWIM? Calling kids out on something like that is a losing battle for her.

[Kristin1981]

My son is 4 1/2 and I don't have a issues with tv at all but, the only channel he watches is Nogin he loves it and that makes me happy...He has picked up a bit of attitude and mouth from school though...
I went on a field trip with him and most the kids I seen were brats....The girls were very bossy and snotty and the boys just rough and pushy...
Ryan came home the other day and said some kid named Ben hurt his bestest friend Ricky and when I asked Ry why he goes Ben is just a A** and always is

[sharinielsen]

You have to keep in mind that the kids will hear the same stuff that they are exposed to on the tv in school, probably a lot worse! I would rather have my kids exposed to some of these phrases they may hear on Disney shows with me at their side so we can talk about why it is not appropriate together than having them try the phrases out at school or in front of someone else.

[martinhelen]

Hi
I really enjoyed reading your posting and I totally agree with your comments. My 5 year old daughter has just received a HSM 3 party invite, which we declined. We have not let her watch any of the HSM films as we feel that they are inappropriate. Other mums have told me that the films do not contain anything to worry about, but the fact that the setting is a High School is enough to make me think it is too old!
At the weekend, my 5 year old daughter was enjoying Winnie the pooh with her younger brother. She also enjoys Tinkerbell and Disney Princess. This HSM phenonema is a huge leap from any thing else she enjoys watching.
We feel like we are the minority, but we are going to stick to our guns. We have explained to our daughter, why we don't want her to watch HSM, and although she was a little bit upset about not being able to go to the party, she soon cheered up when we told her we would be going to the cinema instead to watch something more appropriate.
What is most worrying, is that the parent of the daughter hosting the party is the Head Teacher of our daughter's school! Children are being forced to grow up so quickly and I am fighting it. We are young-ish parents and (we like to think) still fairly 'with it', but we are sticking with our guns on this one.
Helen