Do Your Kids Watch Caillou?

I won't let my children watch the show for thoses reasons. My husband and I have always thought he was a winy little brat who needed some parenting.

I did not allow my son to watch the show. The little boy whined WAY too much for my taste, talked back to adults, and cried to get his way. I felt that the good messages were far outweighed by the negative ones.

I make no apologies for controlling what my son watches!

Its so funny you wrote this because,about a week ago this was one of discussions on my Meet Up group. I definatly agree with you that Calliou needs a spanking or Naughty chair. And I never thought that this could of been where my son who is almost 4 got some of his attitude or choice of words from until we had this disscusion. Now I have pretty much just had the noggin channel on for him or when Clifford is on (his new favorite) I will put PBS on.

i used to let my son watch that show till i noticed the same thing you did. he hasnt watched it since because of that. kids pick up on the littlest things, so in my opinion, dont let her watch it.

Hi S.. My four year old likes to watch him too, but not every day so I have not noticed that. My best advice is to get the books, then you can edit the words. We have a couple of his books, I know one is about his mom and dad going out and I haven't noticed him telling his parents NO. You might find it more sucessful to eliminate the show by using the books or (if you have the time) tell her how he is being naughty while watching the show. Best of Luck.

hi - I had the same issue with caillou when my kids were that age,and they enjoyed imitating his whining and bad behavior without learning any of the lessons it was supposedly about. So we banned it, and stuck with sesame street instead :-) My advise - start NOW exerting your parental control over what your kids watch. :-)

When my Daughter was 2 she would love to watch Caillou, until my husband and I actually sat and watched it. She started whining just as he does. We stopped allowing her to watch it. We felt he was whiny and annoying, and didn't want her to think the way he acted was acceptable. I know other parents who feel the exact same way. Good luck to you in your decision!

Don't wean your daughter from Caillou... cut her off completely! Go cold turkey and do it now! Caillou is a horrible show and if you're going to break those bad habits, you have to take swift action. My daughter displayed the same behavior after watching Caillou and it took me a whole summer to undo the damage it caused! The "behavior modification" only worked after we cut Caillou from our viewing schedule entirely.

I agree that Caillou needs a spanking. He's a BRAT and his parents' submissiveness isn't doing him (or us) any favors. When your daughter says, "No," tell her that she is not Caillou and you are not Caillou's mother and things are different in your house. I recommend "Arthur," "Clifford the Big Red Dog," and "Sesame Street" if you want to continue watching PBS. Nick Jr. has some good shows, as well. "The Backyardigans" and "Wonderpets" are great!

Best of luck to you!

OMG does my kid watch that show, YES and he is obsessed with it. Caillou has become such a household word in our house that when my husbands rants at the kids he tells them, I am not Caillou's dad. My husband and I considered making a bumper sticker that read "Caillou's parents do Drugs", we figure that is the only possible explaination for their parenting style.

As for behavior my son who is 5 can at times be a handful. Lets just say he does not get the same response from my husband or I as Caillou. I think from that alone he has figured out which is fantasy!!!

I can't remember how old he was when he started watching, our older daughters watched PBS when they were little ( one still does every once in a while). I don't thinnk his behavior has changed as a result. But maybe I should think about it.

If there is something on the show that really gets me. I explain right then and there, "that behavior would not be okay in our house" I also wisper that if we go out in public and see misbehaving children. Just incase they see something they might want to try, they know in advance it is not going to fly around here.

I am so glad to have a kindered spirit with this show. But I must tell you my son does love it and watching it has become our special snuggle time. When it come on he we sit down together and watch, he sits in my lap. I recently had surgery and it was so nice when he would come snuggle with me in bed. It has become so much a part of our routine that it is like a cup of coffee it gets ugly if we don't have our snuggle time. However in the last few months he is becoming less and less interested in watching the show. I know I will miss it when it is over. I know I miss watching "Arthur" with my girls. They grow up to fast.

Thanks so much for your posting and if you ever pass a car with the above mentioned bumper sticker honk!!!

Have a good day,
J.

My son is almost 4 and we had this issue when I first start letting him watch caillou. as mean as it may sound but caillou is absolutely not allowed when im around unless he happens to be watching pbs and it comes on before I catch it. i had to just start turning the channel to dora, the wonder pets, anything other than caillou. it was just that bad. my son of course whinned in that awful voice (immitating caillou) but he eventually got over it. now dora and deigo has taken over. which i am totally ok with that. its almost anything but that whinny little boy. sorry i went on and on but try just changing the channels. hope this works.

We watched it once or twice and I thought his attitude and his parents was bad too, so I won't even turn it on. It's funny how many people noticed the same thing!

My husband and I really like Noggin, for us it's channel 116. The kids shows run from morning until 6 p.m. and include Nick Jr. shows like the Backyardigans and Wonderpets. They also have some really nice ones like Little Bear and Franklin (Franklin has gotten in trouble for sassing his parents!). Check that out, I think you'll like it much better. They also have Play With Me Sesame with the Sesame Street gang too.

Best of luck giving Caillou the boot!

I've watched Caillou a few times, and now that you mention it, I do remember him smarting back to his parents and getting away with it. My daughter is 16 months old and is just starting to get interested in a little t.v., but Caillou will not be a show in our house- thanks for bringing this to my attention. Mostly I put on Blue's Clues or The Backyardigans for her to watch because they have some good lessons and aren't incredibly annoying to watch (I can't stand the Wiggles, Teletubbies-they won't do anything for her language skills!, and some of the other shows).

If you try talking to your daughter about Caillou's bad behavior and things don't change, I've got an idea for you. One advantage you have is that your daughter can't read, can't tell time, and probably doesn't know how to use the remote. So, you could just tell her that it isn't on anymore and that would be the end of that as long as you made sure that you weren't on that channel during that time (hopefully). One suggestion to prevent it accidentally coming on- if you have a DVR (digital video recorder, like a Tivo or Replay TV-or you could just use a VCR) you could just set it to record something else during the timeframe that Caillou is on. That way, even if you were watching that channel right before Caillou comes on, it would switch to the other channel so she wouldn't see it. Good luck. There are fewer and fewer shows that are decent.

I don't let my daughters watch it for the reason you mentioned. I used to work for the local PBS station before I had kids and I noticed all the things you just mentioned....the attutude of the charactor, the words he used, the discipline, the whining tone, the temper tantrums that he throws and the parents act like it's no big deal. Bad show for kids if you ask me. But the public loves this show. When ever we did fund raising in the morning hours we's sell out of the promotional gifts and those DVD/Video always sold well on the interent and in the store. The Backyardingans, Wonder Pets, Dora and Diego, Handy Manny all much better shows for world discovery and team building.

My daughter used to watch this show and I agree that he is a whinning little brat!!!!! I made sure that during that half hour I had time for one on one with her for a few weeks and she never missed him!! We made cookies or colored what ever I could think of! I love the disney channel and only have a problem with the doodlebops and we get busy when that show comes on! Also I love noggin and the show I would steer clear of is oobi they do not talk right and I did not want my daughter talking like that! Pretty much every channel has a show or two that the channel didn't think to hard about wht kind of influence it would have on our children! The only thing good that can come of it is for us as parents we HAVE TO PAY ATTENTION to what we allow our kids to watch and not to trust anything on tv!! Have a great day good luck with de-caillouing your daughter!!

Maybe you can use it as an opportunity to help your child see how NOT to behave. I understand the frustration. I feel the same way about OOBI ( litterally someones hand with a ring that has two eyes on it). OOBI talk like baby. OOBI make me crazy. Mommy want wring OOBI neck. I constantly have to correct my children. Luckily he isn't horribly into OOBI but if I forget to change the channel before they mention he is coming on I get a horrible fit from the boy. Good Luck, you are not alone! Teletubbies must go also!

I am so with you on this! I hate this show but my two year old has started to watch it and i try my best to get his attention away from it. I have always thought caillou needed a good spanking or time out! it is a bad impression on toddlers who are learning by imitating everything they see and hear.

I too thought that caillou was a good show. My son, who will be 4 in April, used to watch it all the time. We even purchased some dvds of it. But I did start noticing that he was starting to act like caillou. He would whine, talk back and poit out that caillou would do that. My husband and I both agreed that caillou's parents were a little too laid back for our taste and both decided not to let our son watch that show anymore, which really shocks me because I really thought pbs shows were great for children, but not caillou! Hope this helps!

K.--Also a married mother of one

I am so glad someone else noticed Caillou's lack of discipline and he whines about things when he doesn't get his way, it drives me nuts. My three year old has watched him only a handful of times when it has come on before I can change the chanel but I am very suprised that PBS has not had complaints about this before now, like you said I thought PBS was one of those chanels I could trust but then I thought the Disney chanel was too and look at the junk they put on.

I thought I was the only one who went through this exact same thing. I let my daughter watch Caillou for awhile until she started pouting and tell me "no" and being just somewhat bratty. As I watched her, I noticed that she was doing and saying all the things that Caillou had recently said or done on the show a day or two before. So, we quickly discussed how Caillou is not nice to his mommy and daddy and we should not treat others that way because it is not nice. And now, she doesn't watch Caillou, she calls him the mean boy and tells me if it is on the TV. Anyway, I am not saying it is an inappropriate show, I just know that it was not for us and that is how we handled eliminating Caillou from our daughter's viewing. Hope it helps a little!

S.,
I have the exact same opinion of Calliou. My 3 1/2 year old daughter USED to watch that show too, but I had to stop letting her! Calliou acts like a little brat, and when my daughter started using that whiny voice and talking back like him, I had to turn him off. Sometimes she acts like him and I say "Don't act like Calliou!" I was thinking that maybe PBS should be alerted to how mothers feel about that show.

Hello! That is funny that you say that, bc when my daughter was about 3-4 (she's 6 1/2 now) she would watch that show and my sister, who babysat at the time would always say that Caillou was a whiny and annoying show. And I totally agree! Kylee did not change after watching the show though! I would suggest for you two, to go and pick out a movie/show that she has never seen before and maybe she will fall in love w/that and forget all about Caillou! It's worth a try.

my 8 year old son had the same problem with My gym partners a monkey on cartoon network. he would imitate the irritated screaches and hollars and back talking from that show, we had to take it away, and caillou, didn't have a prob with that show but yes i agree with him needing a spanking.

Sorry--I know you already posted your response, but this whole thread really got me thinking.

My daughter absolutely ADORED Caillou and I never had a Caillou related problem. I can say that I understand what some of you have seen in the cartoon, but the key thing is here that it's a CARTOON.

Honestly, the one that has annoyed me is Jimmy Neutron. My step-son loved/loves it and when he was younger he used to run around telling everyone he was a genius. It's cute at 2--not so cute at 7. And talk about a cartoon where the boy runs over the parents!

I think it's so hard to find a happy medium with TV. Unless it's something I've watched before, usually my husband or I try to sit with the kids when the TV is on (video or normal TV). It can be a good learning opportunity for everyone.

Heck, even cartoons we grew up with are now considered horrible...Tom and Jerry are too violent. Speedy Gonzales is racist toward Mexicans so those have been banned. The list goes on. I think the trick is not so much to ban everything sensitive but to explain the right/wrong ways to handle people/discussions/life. I grew up with all of these things and I'm not a racist murderer. Balance is key.

Good luck and don't worry! Imitation is also a phase and kids will grow out of it eventually.

My son is one and loves Caillou. And I will continue to let my son watch it. I wouldn't say that there's a lack of discipline, it's just a different parenting style. I was raised in a similar way. My mom always believed "let kids be kids". Yes, she said no when my siblings and I would do something that could harm us, like touch the stove, climb up on drawers, etc, but she let us explore virtually everything, and only said no when we could hurt ourselves.

Another factor is Caillou's age. Four is a HUGE age. They want independence and they begin going to preschool, like Caillou. When children go to preschool, they broaden their social horizons and become more engaged with those around them. Impulses are channeled into fantasies, which leaves us, as parents, the task to balance eagerness for pursuing adventure, creativity and self expression with the development of responsibility. If we are properly encouraging while being consistently disciplinary, our children are more likely to develop positive self-esteem while becoming more responsible, and will follow through on assigned activities. If not allowed to decide which activities to perform, our children may begin to feel guilt upon contemplating taking initiative. This negative association with independence will lead them to let others make decisions in place of them.

It's not that they let Caillou do whatever he wants, it's that they don't tell him no. They come up with creative alternatives so they don't have to tell him no. Maybe our children say no all the time because we say it all the time because it's easy. With so many of us being full time parents with full time jobs, everything is fast paced. How many times do we catch ourselves saying no to our kids because we're tired, or because we don't want to stop and explain why it's not safe to climb on the entertainment center. How many times do we drag our children on our errands and complain how hard it is to take our kids anywhere. Everything is just so fast paced. I bet if we slowed down, talked and explained things to our children, found creative ways to not say no, and turned everyday errands and activities into learning experiences, Caillou's parents wouldn't seem to be "on drugs".

Just a thought...

I have watched it at my aunts house and I do not allow my children to watch it. I think it set a bad example. You try selecting a few shows off of Noggin or the Disney channel. We DVR a few shows and play them back later. I dont know how old your child is but mine LOVE The Upside Down Show on Noggin. I would say if she is starting to behave like Caillou phase it out. Inroduce the child to another show.
S.

I've seen the show Caillou and it's aweful! He's a rotten spoiled brat. It's not allowed in my house. My 4 year old son knows when it's 10:00 and Caillou comes on it's time to get some toys out, or some books etc. My son says, "Caillou the brat is on, time to change the channel." He agrees that Caillou is a brat. I don't know how this show has stayed on for as long as it has. Maybe if enough parents write in to PBS and let them know how it's effecting kids negatively they'll eventually take it off the air. That's about the only show that isn't "OK" for kids I think on PBS. That's all that is watched in our house for our 2 kids. My suggestion to you is that don't put it on for your child to watch. If your child wants to watch tv still, put in a tape or something like that. Your daughter is still young....she'll come out of it sooner or later. Just be firm about the whole Caillou thing. Good luck and stay away from Caillou!!! :)

I'm so glad that I read this! My 2.5 year old daughter loves Caillou - she even sings the song when it comes on! But I hadn't thought about Caillou's behavior until you spelled it out. Probably because I am guilty of turning on PBS and letting her watch an hour while I clean the house since I work all week...I will be much more aware and like the option of reading the books to her instead of letting her watch the show! Thanks for the insight!

I agree with you about Caillou and we no longer watch it. We discussed his unacceptable behavior and my boys (2 and 4) know that he does not act nicely. As for your daughter, talk to her and tell her she can no longer watch it. After awhile, she will move on to something else and her behavior should change. Good luck!!

Our daughter watches this all the time, and while I see your point, we use it as a great learning tool to explain to her that not all parents "parent" the same and what he is allowed to do she sometimes is not. It is going to be that way in life for ever, my child isn't always going to get to do what her "friends" are doing. And just another thought...I'm not so sure that it's the tv that they are picking all the bad behavior up from as it is a lot of the age that they are. My daughter is almost 4 and it's the age to talk back, cry for things, whine, it's what kids do, and they are just seeing how far they can push things until mommy and daddy give in. JMO.

regardless of what your child watches on tv she is going to tell you no and she is going to do it often, it's an age thing, she's jsut now at that point, they don't call it the terrible two's for no reason, my kids have went through many stages because of tv shows, some good and some more annoying, like when i had to tell my son he couldn't jump out he window to the light pull like spiderman but he was a 5 year old little boy and that's just a part of being a kid. if it makes you feel better don't let her watch it but it really is jsut a typicla 2 year old responce. good luck.

My daughter is rambunkshoius(?) as it is I don't need a CARTOON encouraging it. Try The Wonder Pets, they teach about sharing and teamwork, it can try your nerves but all kids love them, then right after or before, is the Backyardagains! My little girl LOVES LOVES LOVES them! They encourage imagination, teamwork, and manners! Tasha can be a snot sometimes but Pablo, Uniqua, Tyrone, & Austin remind her to sy her please and thank you's! They sing and dance, they're adorable!

S.,
We didn't watch the show that much with our kids and I never thought about it, but now that you mention it Caillou did have his moments. I always liked Peep and the Big Wide World - you might want to check that out.
However, I would not worry about your daughter. Your boundries and expectations in your home are what your daughter will respond to - not a half hour TV show once a day. You say she is two? Welllll, she is just beginning to push her boundries to find out where they really are. She is acting normal. And you want her to question and challenge her world, it's a developmental step that is healthy. It will also make her happier and more secure when her guidelines and boundries are tested and hold strong.