People who write kids' shows are weird. Who's like, "This is a thought a child would enjoy"?
This has been "One Man's Take, by Taylor Berman," a recurring showcase of opinion writing. Previously: Holidays. Corn. Websites. New sports. The moon. True Detective. Fear. Perfume. Nuggets. Kanye West. Education. Chefs. Flip-flops.
[Illustration by Jim Cooke]
Years of babysitting has taught me one thing: Children's programs are written by stoned people.
I don't know, my kids watch some tv (haha they're watching it right now, maybe more than some, whatever JUDGEMEIFYOUDARE!) and a lot of it is really educational. They're 3 and talk nonstop about lava, molten rock, volcanoes, and how they are formed. PBS is awesome. And whatever they are interested in from their tv shows, I supplement with books from the library so we read about volcanoes a lot right now too.
I don't know about older kid tv, but toddler tv can be great!
All television programs are written by stoned people.
Children's show writers just enjoy more of the harder stuff.
Wild Kratts and Fetch with ruff Ruffman have lots of good content and my daughter picks up so much stuff from both of them, like mad knowledge of animals and such. She's 10 so your kids are a ways off from those but they are solid shows, silly plots though, kids like silly, so do I :)
I've tried Wild Kratts a few times, but my guys aren't into it yet. But oh god, Dinosaur Train and Space Racers they are all about. There is a volcano episode in each of those shows that I swear we watch once a day each.
I've never heard of Fetch before, I'll look for it!
Does this carry over to people who write books for kids too
I don't think it should. Childrens book authors and illustrators are fucking amazing. The guy that writes content for the Wot-Wots is just weird and creepy
For some reason, people who write children's books piss me off way more than people who write TV shows for kids. It just seems that people who write books for kids (specifically kids older than 10 and teens) seem overly proud of themselves, at least these days.
I'd say
Young Adult fiction writers weird me out. Authors of children's books I get. But there's something about a writer wanting to inhabit the world of people who are old enough to encounter adult themes but too young to know how to deal with them that creeps me out. And then, like you said, to be all haughty about having success within that genre just makes it worse. Gross.
People who write kid's shows really grind your gears?
Living up to your screen name I see.
Sorry, just trying to figure out if your post was relevant, as opposed to being just an attempt to one-up an actually relevant post.
"Who's like, "This is a thought a child would enjoy"?'
Well, off the top of my head - parents. Beyond that - those creative enough to think outside of their own mindset.
I love kid's tv. Currently on the hunt for any and everything related to volcanoes, space, trains and dinosaurs! It's not all mind numbing, some is educational.
The vast majority of kids shows don't really appeal to me, but there are some that are really quite clever.
I admit to sitting and watching Dinosaur Train with my boys. What's not to love? Tons of dino info, trains, catchy songs, cute animation.
As merely an uncle myself, I don't have to base my viewing on my company all that often. And luckily for big nerdy me, my niece is a big fan of Batman and Clone Wars.
