I-Carly - Question for those with kids

miller2917

miller2917

Cathlete
My 6.5 year old LOVES iCarly but I am not sure it's appropriate -(my 4 year old is now sneaking glimpses as well). We've made an effort to limit the viewing but haven't completely banned the show yet.

Am I being an overprotective mother or should I stop her from watching altogether. I watched Happy Days and Laverne and Shirley.....I am not sure if this show is any worse but I find myself thinking, "I don't like the behavior of the 2 main characters"...my daughter says she thinks they're just being silly and that she know that she shouldn't act that way in real life.

Any comments for a struggling mom.
 
We've been watching it for ages now (my son just turned 10 and my daughter just turned 7 - Lauren has been watching it for as long as it's been on, I'd guess, so certainly well younger than your oldest when she started). What strikes you, specifically, as being inappropriate? I can't think of anything that's ever given me pause at all.
 
miller2917 said:
My 6.5 year old LOVES iCarly but I am not sure it's appropriate -(my 4 year old is now sneaking glimpses as well). We've made an effort to limit the viewing but haven't completely banned the show yet.

Am I being an overprotective mother or should I stop her from watching altogether. I watched Happy Days and Laverne and Shirley.....I am not sure if this show is any worse but I find myself thinking, "I don't like the behavior of the 2 main characters"...my daughter says she thinks they're just being silly and that she know that she shouldn't act that way in real life.

Any comments for a struggling mom.
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My daugther is 12, so she stopped watching a few years ago, but I remember thinking the same thing on the behavior of the characters.

I tend to be very conservative with TV and my kids, so others may feel differently.
 
My kids(7and 8) watch icarly as well. I don't allow them to watch Hannah Montana or most of the shows I've seen on Disney because of the way they behave and treat others. I know Sam (the sidekick) on icarly can be rude but my kids see this as being silly as well and know they should never do or talk to people in that way. IMO icarly is pretty harmless compared to others who focus solely on boys, dating, kissing etc.. Icarly has done a few shows on those topics but my kids just think its "gross" I guess it's the age.
 
Hi there,

I don't think you are being over protective at all. My 7 year old son watches it, but as soon as he repeats some snotty little quip or talks disrespectfully at all, all bets are off. I locked the channel on the TV's so he has to ask to watch it. He loses a day of I-Carly for each remark. Sam in particular comes across as unbelievably rude and disrespectful. NOT who I want my son emmulating.

I've tried to explain to him that that is not how you talk to people, especially not adults and that the kids on the program are paid to be obnoxious but that is not the real world. In fact, if there were any "real" parents on the show they would hopefully not allow the kids to behave so poorly.

Best of luck with this!

Pam
 
Hi -
My 8 yr old son has been watching it since it started.. I'm OK w/ it but we watch it together and when Sam is being rude/inconsiderate or they make adults look like idiots ( which seems to be a theme on the show) we talk about it. So, at least its a lesson on how NOT to act! :)

Not sure if you ever watched Drake and Josh, but I felt the same way about that, esp. what a punk Drake was. That being said, I do have some of his songs downloaded on my Mp3 player... ( how dorky is that?!)


Lynn M.
 
My friend has a 4 yr old that watches it and I do not think its appropriate for her age. Well at least not appropriate for my friends child. She's quite the drama queen and can pick up on words/phrases and certain behavior very quickly.

The other day my friend told me that they were coming back from a family gathering and apparently her daughter was lectured for doing something wrong. Her 4 yr. old's response? she yelled, "You've ruined my life!" My immediate reaction was that she should stop watching I-Carly and her father said its something he had complained about numerous times.

I recently babysat for that friend and while her daughter was watching something on Nick Jr. she starts yelling, excitedly, at a male character on TV, "call me, call me". I have definitely seen that on I-Carly advertisements.

Again, every child is different and my friend's daughter is extremely observant, stores information like a computer and spits it out when you least expect it. We often say she is 4 going on 16 and It's often very funny, but still......just not appropriate.
 
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My two oldest boys (ages 5 and 8) watch it and have watched it for a year or so. They love it. I think it's a cute show. We also are big fans of Wizards of Waverly Place, Hannah Montannah, all things tween. I think they are good shows. When I was little I watched Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley and Threes Company, and I *think* I turned out OK. :p I think the more you ban a show, the more appealing it seems to them. That said, I do limit their Cartoon Network intake. I hate that channel.
 
Stephanie0523 said:
My two oldest boys (ages 5 and 8) watch it and have watched it for a year or so. They love it. I think it's a cute show. We also are big fans of Wizards of Waverly Place, Hannah Montannah, all things tween. I think they are good shows. When I was little I watched Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley and Threes Company, and I *think* I turned out OK. :p I think the more you ban a show, the more appealing it seems to them. That said, I do limit their Cartoon Network intake. I hate that channel.
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Stephanie - I totally agree with you! I'm totally fine with everything you list - those are my kids' fave shows. I personally don't have a problem with my kids seeing different types of behavior, both good and bad. Hiding it from them to prevent it doesn't work as a general rule, in my opinion.

But the Cartoon Network shows? HATE them. ALL of them!

For the OP, at the end of the day, it's your house, your kids, so it's your rules. If you don't like the shows, then don't let the kids watch them. There are going to be opinions that vary all over the map on any parenting issue. Who cares what the rest of us do? Do you YOU feel is right.
 
My daughter is 5 and in the past year she has shifted from watching shows on Disney Channel to Nickelodeon. The shows themselves are not what concerns me. Disney Channel does not have commercials -- Nick does. My daughter has now become someone who wants me to buy her everything she sees on TV.

The idea of kids running a web show is pretty unique, and I think it could inspire kids to be creative and artistic -- Spencer, the older brother is an artist. Sure, there are rude moments, but I think you're going to find that on any show nowadays. We as parents can teach our kids that this is not the way to act. I'm not for a show about kids casting spells on each other (as in Wizards of Waverly Place). Kids can produce a web show -- they cannot change their brother into a frog. :)
 
pepnchar said:
My daughter is 5 and in the past year she has shifted from watching shows on Disney Channel to Nickelodeon. The shows themselves are not what concerns me. Disney Channel does not have commercials -- Nick does. My daughter has now become someone who wants me to buy her everything she sees on TV.

The idea of kids running a web show is pretty unique, and I think it could inspire kids to be creative and artistic -- Spencer, the older brother is an artist. Sure, there are rude moments, but I think you're going to find that on any show nowadays. We as parents can teach our kids that this is not the way to act. I'm not for a show about kids casting spells on each other (as in Wizards of Waverly Place). Kids can produce a web show -- they cannot change their brother into a frog. :)
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I agree that it's annoying that there are commercials on Nick. My middle son (age 5) is always asking me if we need a brownie pan (the one for lazy people who can't slice their own brownies) or a snuggie. :rolleyes:

I love the way that the shows like iCarly and Wizards of Waverly place promote creativity and usually have a good moral lesson involved. I don't have a problem with the wizardry ... my oldest son (age 8) and I currently are reading Harry Potter (the first one) together and having a blast! :)
 
Our 10yo daughter isn't allowed to watch the Suite Life of Zach and Cody because of the way they behave towards adults and she has occasionally acted like Hannah Montana when we tell her something (making us reconsider letting her watch that, too!). iCarly doesn't bother me, though. DH and I really hate Nickelodeon.

But if you're looking for a fun show, let your kids watch Phineas and Ferb on Disney. DH and I like to watch it with DD...it's fun and creative and I've actually watched it when DD wasn't around!
 
I've watched a few episodes with my 10 year old DD (my 12 year old DS peeks in to see why we're laughing), and I don't find the show offensive at all.

I think you know your child better than anyone else. My children do not pick up behaviors or imitate what they see on TV. Some shows have actually great teaching moments on how NOT to behave.
 
My 5 yo son LOVES iCarly and we all watch together as a family. My husband and I love the show - can't wait for next Monday's new episode, LOL. I think the characters are smart and witty and I like for my child to see that. And I can honestly say that even if he lost interest in the show, my DH and I would still watch!;)
 
We love I-Carly. I have 5 boys ages 15,12, 10,10, and 5 and we all enjoy watching it. My boys are smart enough to know its just a t.v show and that they shouldnt be acting that way. I get compliments all the time on how respecftful my boys are! Whenever we are in public they always open doors for ladies and myself. Now we don't let them watch any violent movies or scary movies that show people cutting up other people. I think I-Carly is a cute show and we all enjoy watching it as a family.
 
I don't like to let my kids watch shows where the characters are rude and snotty to adults or to each other. I know that it is impossible to completely prevent them from seeing anything without that kind of snide attitude so I always use it as an example of what NOT to say or do. I'm not a fan of I Carly and Hannah Montanna. I am very conservative with what my kids watch. Just because I notice that kids now adays (at least the kids at my kids school) have a ton of sass. During one of my kids baseball games one of the team members starting yelling "Here comes a fatie! Move closer everyone!" I was pretty mad. My kids are 7 and 9 and they don't even use the word stupid.
 
My overall feeling is that this show is no more harm ful than the ones we watched as kids. My parents tried to go by what the Catholic Times suggested but, with the exception of MTV, lost in the end (CT - way too conservative). The thing that I saw that I didn't really like was the girl wrestling. I don't know why but it just kind of rubbed me the wrong way. Yes, Sam is sassy too. I talked to Nicole about it again last night and she said, "it's silly mommy that's all." We have also read the Junie B. books which I LOVE - Nicole has picked up some of that girls sassy talk though too.

CN isn't allowed very often. My husband is a little uptight about this stuff - he would like to ban sponge bob - no worse than bugs bunny imo.

Get the same desires for the snuggie and brownie cutter. My daughter doesn't even like brownies but still wants that darn thing.

Thanks for all your comments. I know we need to do what's right for our family but it's good to have others perspective as well.
 
Janie

janie1234 said:
I don't like to let my kids watch shows where the characters are rude and snotty to adults or to each other. I know that it is impossible to completely prevent them from seeing anything without that kind of snide attitude so I always use it as an example of what NOT to say or do. I'm not a fan of I Carly and Hannah Montanna. I am very conservative with what my kids watch. Just because I notice that kids now adays (at least the kids at my kids school) have a ton of sass. During one of my kids baseball games one of the team members starting yelling "Here comes a fatie! Move closer everyone!" I was pretty mad. My kids are 7 and 9 and they don't even use the word stupid.
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I very much appreciated this post.

As I mentioned before, my kids are older (12 and 15) and I am STILL conservative with their TV/movies. Its important for me to know exactly what they are watching and the message that's being presented.

I am actually very proud of them, as they have no problem letting their friends know what they can and cannot watch!
 
I am not a fan of the afternoon Disney. It is geared towards the tweens and mine are not in that age group. I could explain to them about situations on the shows until my face turns blue and they would keep saying whatever because they saw it on TV. The laugh tracks are put in to most of the shows because they just aren't that funny. If the show is too commercialized - we don't watch it (i-Carly, Hannah Montana, etc). I didn't watch Happy Days or the other shows mentioned. I spent most of my time outside and that is what I try to do with them. Personally, I don't like TV at all; however, I do burn the shows I feel are appropriate for them during the day and will let them pick what they would like to see for time they are allowed. I choose alot from the animal planet, kids discovery channels, morning nick, and such. I don't hear them put each other down; they care about the people around them; they are imaginative and musical.

Just my two or three cents.
 
jacmar said:
I very much appreciated this post.

As I mentioned before, my kids are older (12 and 15) and I am STILL conservative with their TV/movies. Its important for me to know exactly what they are watching and the message that's being presented.

I am actually very proud of them, as they have no problem letting their friends know what they can and cannot watch!
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Oh thank goodness I'm not the only one out there. :) I get a lot of guff from the other parents here who let their 2nd and 3rd graders watch Family Guy, South Park, and a show called I Know My Name is Earl.
I also have no problem letting their friends know what they can and cannot watch and my kids have no problem telling their friends too. I tell them why I make the decisions I make. I've always felt that hitting is not the only characteristic of bad behavior words hurt too. Yesterday my daughter came home and was in tears some boy called her a "stupid idiot" because she couldn't catch a ball during dodge ball.
 
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