I want the full attention of the parents right now. Have you ever wondered, while watching TV with your little one, where the parents are of the children you’re watching? Anyone?
I remember watching Rugrats and because they were babies, there were always parents around. Were they attentive? No, no they were not but they were there and Nickelodeon let us know they were there. Even Spongebob had an episode where we met his parents. We saw the parents in countless shows when I was a child, besides Sesame Street but there were still responsible adults around. So what changed? Why don’t we see parents in cartoon like we used to?
When Dora The Explorer dropped, how long was it before we saw her parents or did we ever meet them? I briefly read an article on a mom blog that said the disappearance of the parents help children solve their own problems and come to their own conclusions. That’s all fine and dandy but Max and Ruby look like they just live alone. Dora is literally traveling in her world with just a backpack and Boots, who would scare no one if he needed to.
Yes, I know not all shows don’t show the parents but the few that don’t have parents at all always catch my eye. I don’t disagree with the idea that without parents children get to explore the world through an unfiltered lens where they get to create and solve problems. We did that back in the day and we still saw those parents. I just want to know who thought it would be better to show these five-year-olds without their parents to other five-year-olds. Do any of these shows show these kids how to better interact and communicate with their parents? A valuable life lesson that, as an adult, we are all still learning and wish we were equip with skills to do so.
I’m not a true parent so what do you y’all think? Do you care to see the parents or are you like me and are looking around for some sign of parent life?
BLACK WATCH 