I resigned over a year ago but I still get together with Mormons for activities. There is one lady who is only 3 years older then me but has like 5 kids who joins us on occasion.

She went on this rant about how she watched Spongebob is bad for small kids. I had to keep myself from laughing.

I have never actually seen the show but it just seemed like she was being typically holler then thou.

Anyone actually seen the show and can comment y?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/03/2011 02:14AM by Susan I/S.

I don't like the snarky, sarcastic way some of the characters talk to each other because my son, who's 9, imitates it, and I'd rather he didn't.

That's just my take on it. It's a waste of his time to watch programs of that level.

This is supposed to respond to the original post. I'm not arguing with serena's point of view. I hadn't seen her post until after I posted mine.

Spongebob is a very sweet, naive, good-hearted sponge. There are characters in the show with less ideal personality traits, but they are all pretty funny to me. I had more of a problem with Rugrats than SpongeBob.

The kids like the funny voices, the pretty colors, and SpongeBob's innocent, wide-eyed face. I can't imagine that the kids get the same thing from it as adults. I know a lot of adults who enjoy it at least as much as their kids.

He lives in a pineapple under the sea! He has a pet snail named Gary who meows. What could be sweeter than that?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/02/2011 11:26PM by duffy.

My TBM neighbors don't let their children watch Spongebob either. There is some adult humor but it would go over a kid's head, kind of like Shrek. These same neighbors let their kids watch Avatar which is PG13 and has some swearing in it. Makes sense huh?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/03/2011 02:14AM by Susan I/S.

When I was a kid, I knew that--ta dah-cartoons weren't real, just some made up fun.

I used to love little mice and cats doing big production numbers. I'm sure that's why I'm gay--or vice versa.

The thing with Sponge Bob is, none of the characters in it conform to the standards of their species. Sandy Cheeks the squirrel visits them on the ocean floor. Mr. Krabbs has a hamburger joint and his daughter Pearl is a whale (a real one).

So my question is, someone who teaches their children that a man lived in a fish, that thousands of species toddled onto an ark and the whole world was flooded, that moses parted the red sea and walked across, has a problem with Spongebob Squarepants????



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/03/2011 02:15AM by Susan I/S.

What is wrong with Spongebob?Is it that he is nice to everyone(even those who do not agree with him), he can be polite, and he is happy. Maybe they dont like how he wares a white shirt and tie



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/03/2011 02:15AM by Susan I/S.

Not like hes an asexual sponge or anything and this isnt a children's show remember? And Patrick and him have some...scenes. Not to mention chain smoking and drive by shootings.

LOL Some people are so ridiculous....anyway read spongebobs wikipedia on his sexual oriention. heehee

:)

Even if he was gay...? you know, so what? He is a WONDERFUL sponge and maybe people should let him be himself and love whoever he wants!
ok im done :)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/03/2011 12:13AM by missguided.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIpEkPcdEEo&sns=em

GARY!

But seriously, i do recall some scientist recently saying cartoons are bad for young kids because of the rapidly changing images. The think it can contribute to attention deficit issues later in life.

You beat me to it!! Haha.

I have a 1st grader who watches Spongebob. I overheard some things on the program and kind of got the drift that there was a subtle gay undercurrent to the show. (Which is a big so-what to me). Of course my little guy doesn't "get it." Goes right over his head.

Anyway, I corraled my teenagers one afternoon to see if my impressions were correct. Holy Moly! I got a half-hour dissertation on the sexual complexities of Spongebob and company.

Apparently SB's sexual orientation is well-known among the high school crowd . . . and buzz words and phrases from the show are used among the older kids. Hilarious. <rolls eyes>

So anyway, I can totally understand a TBM trying to protect her toddlers from such "corrupt" moral influence.

;o)

Patrick and Spongebob are gay. In one episode Patrick says "lets get naked". I couldn't stop laughing. But I support Patrick and Spongebob getting married.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/03/2011 02:16AM by Susan I/S.

Squidward is just the more modern take on any Charles Nelson Riley/Paul Lynn character from kids' shows of years past.

Spongebob and Patrick are just naive. Children.

But hey: at least Tinki Winki is no longer on the air.

According to Wiki, the creator said SB is asexual and he had no intention of making him gay. James Dobson decided he was gay.

In order to enjoy Spongebob, one would have to have a sense of humor. That is something most TBM's programmed brains cannot compute.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/03/2011 02:16AM by Susan I/S.

is for the same reason they should love him

..... its far too easy to imagine bob saying
"I know the church is true"

with that insane star crossed wide eyed sponge bob look on his face. In other words, it hits way too close to home!

i personally think the below statement is applicable to tv in general. but that's me, and no, i don't have enough data to back that up.

this is just one (1) study. to make up your mind you should explore and read a lot more than this one single article.

nonetheless, it's a start:

"In a study released by the University of Virginia, exposing 60 four year old children to a 9-minute segment of Spongebob Squarepants, and it contributed to the children scoring lower in memory and thinking skills compared to a controlled group and watched slow-paced educational cartoons or drew pictures"

http://www.virginia.edu/uvatoday/newsRelease.php?id=16032

...it makes kids dumb.
There are many more educational programs, and I personally agree that Sesame Street, Word World, etc are much better for kids to watch. That being said, I don't ban Sponge Bob entirely, I just try to encourage better shows.

You can read a summary (minus all the research citations) at

http://figur8.net/baby/2010/05/25/nurture-shock-chapter-9-plays-well-with-others-part-1/

Even more briefly, even good-intentioned shows spend too much time setting up the social conflict, including insults and put-down language, and not enough time resolving it. Hence especially younger children don't make the connection to the moral at the end of the story and simply end up imitating the "bad behavior."

My parents don't let my siblings watch spongebob and I couldn't watch rugrats when I was younger either.

Sponge Bob is watched in my house. Some medical group said it's not good for young children to watch a lot because of the constantly changing scenes, bright colors, etc... And that kids need to get outside more. Whatever. I watch Sponge Bob with my children, and Family Guy, and The Simpsons, and American Dad, and The Cleveland Show, and now Bevis & Butthead again. We draw the line with South Park for our younger children. I grew up with too many banned shows and will not do the same. The adult humor goes right over their heads depending on their age.

I heard a recommendation that kids shouldn't even see a tv (even off) before the age of 2. How crazy is that? And how exactly are you supposed to do that? Hide the tv in the attic?

I think moderation is fine. And kids definitely need to get plenty of outside time too. But if they are getting plenty of exercise I don't see the big deal about watching tv.

One thing that bothered me growing up is I had no idea what other kids were talking about when they talked about certain tv shows or movies. In 4th grade all my friends were excited because Titanic had just come out- I couldn't see it and so I couldn't talk to them about it. When I was younger all my friends talked about Rugrats. When I was in high school everyone talked about Southpark.

I think that is what bothered me most about not being allowed to view certain tv shows and movies- it puts you in a different culture than everybody else. Adds to that "us verses them" mentality. I don't want my son to feel like he doesn't know his own culture.

daughter to television. She's only three but I can definitely see a big difference in her behavior and creativity when she's been watching a lot of television.

I agree with you that the key is moderation and that being paranoid about a kid even seeing a television is a bit extreme, but it's also telling that so many Americans seem to think it would be impossible to live without a television. My wife and I essentially did not have access to television for the first five years we were married (and this wasn't in the Dark Ages - it was in the first decade of the 21st century) and it really was not a big deal. We had an ancient television set with rabbit ears (no cable or satellite), and the reception was unreliable or non-existent much of the year. We listened to music, we read, we talked and played games - we really did not miss watching the tube.

I understand feeling alienated by not knowing what people are talking about, and I definitely do not approve of banning media on the basis that it's somehow evil or that "the prophet said you can't watch it." On the other hand, we probably need to ask ourselves whether we really care whether our kids are completely tuned in to a culture that promotes the idea that a POS like Titanic is a good movie. Sure, in public school kids are going to think it's weird not to be up on the latest popular movies and TV shows. On the other hand, public school doesn't last forever, and someday your son may find himself amongst people who take pride in their ignorance of (and look down upon people who know) popular culture, who are astounded that any person can have made it to the age of 22 without having read "Ulysses," and who've never been to a college football game but hold season tickets to the opera. Ultimately, you can't please everyone and you can't possibly read, watch or listen to everything. It's best to cast the broadest net you can and err on the side of higher culture. Not being able to discuss Two and a Half Men intelligently probably is never going to cost you or your son a good job, but not knowing who Mozart was just might.

Is Spongebob part of the temple recommend interview, word of wisdom or against the requirements for baptism?

Bet they've been allowed to watch graphic images of a Jew being persecuted and then crucified to death.

My kids have watched SpongeBob Squarepants and they have turned out fine.

Squidword represents sperm sponge bob= tampon like bikini bottom=vagina duh

then why aren't we more messed up?? I grew up watching Smurfs, Transformers, She-Ra, He-Man, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, DuckTales, Darkwing Duck...and I turned out fine.

It depends on the episode. Some episodes kill brain cells and promote obnoxious behavior. But a surprising many episodes are insightful, funny, innocent and creative. However, if children are really young then these great themes won't reach them, and I can see how that could be problematic. I love the ones where Spongebob learns a naughty word from the grafitti on the dumpster, and where Patrick accidently switches his brain for an incredibly smart one and tries to re-discover the meaning of fun.

While I LMAO once in a while with sponge bob cartoon I sometimes feel it might not be good for my older kids who understand some of the underlying suggestions.

Just to name one they live in a place called Bikini Bottom and he's a sponge......

SpongeBob is a great show for kids and it's entertaining enough for adults too. It's been my family's favorite cartoon since it came out years ago.

It's not suggestive like the Simpsons (which I like too but admit it can be bad for kids).

So rock on SpongeBob SquarePants.

LOL! Your name cracks me up. My 1st grader just turned in a pumpkin project... decorate a pumpkin like a character and she made up "spongebob pumpkin pants". :)

It depends on the episode. The one where the fish repeatedly says I'm going to kick your butt, yes that is banned.

better media for small children (including almost any book ever produced). I don't think the show is necessarily harmful, but it's disjointed and frenetic, and most of it goes over small children's heads. By the time kids are old enough to "get" the show they are also old enough to enjoy better quality entertainment.

Sponge Bob is cute and funny and I would let any kid watch it.

Those same fucktards all watched The Three Stooges when they were kids without bitching. Double fucking standard, you fucktards.

Ron

@Convert - the original poster

"She went on this rant about how she watched Spongebob is bad for small kids. "

i guess i'm not sure what "bad" means.
i don't think one size fits all. one answer in one area may not be applicable to another area.


in other words, are you trying to approach your TBM friend's comment from a moral perspective? developmental perspective?

who was a delusional TBM was convinced that SpongeBob promoted a "gay agenda and lifestyle" ....whatever the hell that means.

The show is not only pretty humorous as far as kids shows go but it's virtually harmless for kids over the age of 6 IMO.

Heaven forbid kids should watch SpongeBob. How about we have them read the BoM instead? Might I suggest the part where Nephi kills Laban after hearing voices or where Ammon cuts off the arms of all those dudes?

To each his own but I just gotta say......WTF?