I don’t know why but for the longest time, I’ve always cringed when I see Barney. Yeah, that huge purple dinosaur that kids love to watch as it hops about, sings and dances. I just hate it! I have no specific reasons why, but I just found it unattractive and weird. So, when I was just a 20-something, not even married, I had made up my mind that when I do have kids in the future, they are not going to watch Barney.
And yet, today, my one and a half year old watched Barney for the first time. I went against my words, but I wasn’t the only one. Even the daddy, who also hates Barney for no apparent reason, bent backwards and slipped in that Barney VCD into the player for his son!
Why did we give in, you might wonder. It wasn’t because the boy asked for it. He didn’t even know how to say Barney. He never even watched Barney before today. So why, you wonder? Well, today I wanted to buy him some new kiddie shows because I think he’s getting bored of his existing ones. I also wanted to leave some shows at the babysitter’s so that he’s got more choices while he spends his days there.
When we were at the VCD rack and wondering what to buy, and even asking him which ones he wanted, he pointed to some Winnie The Pooh, Thomas & Friends and Bob The Builder shows. He never at any point indicated interest towards Barney. But at that point, at the back of my mind, I remember some mummies who told me that some Barney shows are actually quite engaging, educational and fun for the kids. I felt quite bad to be depriving my little boy of something that’s enjoyable just because I hate it for no reason.
Just as I was thinking these thoughts, suddenly the daddy said “You know, I think he will be quite entertained by Barney”. I was so surprised to hear that and normally, I think I would’ve made a face and dismissed that. But since I was having that guilt in me, I readily agreed with the daddy and was quite happy to browse through the Barney selection and pick up one to try.
I got the one where Barney hosts a talk show and has some of the other characters as participants on the show and they all take turns to sing, dance and play games. So it wasn’t the typical Barney program. And how did the boy like it? He quite enjoyed some of those songs and for some moments, he did seem quite engrossed with the show. But his attention span has gotten shorter as he grows, so before he can finish watching the entire VCD, he asked for something else.
And how did the mummy and daddy who hated Barney found the show? Well, it was alright. I didn’t cringe as much and I even tried to sing along with the characters just to get the boy to enjoy the songs more! So today, I’ve learned yet another lesson. Never say never!
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I think it is ok to let him watch other stuff once in a while without us feeling guilty about it. Hayley watches Disney channel (except Danny and daddy cause hubby finds the show stupid) plus her ‘your baby can read’ series.
Sometimes she will watch American Idol with me too but only for 2 seconds la.. haha
Hey,
I think it is ok to let him watch Barney once in a while. Some of the episodes can be interesting and educational. My niece used to love watching it and she can sit in front of the TV (not moving) for the whole hour and she can even tell us what’s coming up next.
When I started Hayley with your baby can read series, I was told not to let her watch anything else. I tried but in the end I still let her watch Disney channel
. So don’t have to feel guilty la 
Err…my boy watches Disney Channel too!
But then, I think he prefers my Wah Lai Toi channels because he seems more engrossed following the dramas than some of those cartoon shows!