If you're like my wife and me you've children and you both have a full-time job, which means you don't have a great deal of time to sit down and keep an eye on everything that the children enjoy on tv. Thankfully, nowadays, the cable companies help you to control the programs your children have access to by configuring your DVR with parental controls to block out Skin-a-max and also the other unsuitable stations which can be bad for your kids brains. Having said that, you ought to still take time to view a minimum of a few episodes, every now and then of your child's favorite shows to ensure what they're watching (though it may appear harmless) isn't cooking their minds and stuffing their impressionable brain with bad ideas.
My son, unlike a lot of kids is only interested in 3 channels, Disney Channel, Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network. Right now one of the most popular shows is called Ninjago. The show is based on Lego characters, which may be disarming to most adults right away, since most of us grew up playing with Legos and their round yellow heads and c-shaped interchangeable arms and appendages don't exactly make for violent TV. However, most cartoon shows these days have some pretty mature humor to them, so it's always important to monitor what your kids watch.
The Ninjago Cartoon Network show isn't any different. The 4 key heroes, Kai, Zane, Jay and Cole are teenage ninjas with teenage thought patterns, so the show isn't exactly perfect role model content for a bright 6 year-old, that is unless you want your 6 year-old to behave like a hormonal, lazy 14 year-old. Apart from the too-old for toddlers and small children behavior of the 4 ninja heroes, there's a great deal of grown-up subjects, such as power struggles and deliberate deceptiveness by the Serpentine (snake headed bad guys) as well as the irritating bad guy, Lloyd Garmadon who is trying to enslave the other people so that they will steal for him. All of these negative attributes result in good story lines, however the themes are also a little grown up for many children to absorb correctly on their own.
Beyond the mature themes there's obviously the aspect of violence that comes with any "Ninja" related show, even when all of the figures are made from Legos. For sure, Ninjago is not the most aggressive cartoon, or even near to being as violent as the old Tom and Jerry or Bugs Bunny Cartoons, but for those of you who have children that act out everything they see on TV, you might want to kids from viewing it. If not, you can expect your 5 year olds to be swinging anything that looks like a sword at their siblings and attempting to spin kick the dog.
All the warnings regarding mature content and violence aside, there's a lot of positive things about Ninjago, but only if parents are available to positively educate the topics of the shows to their kids. For instance, one common and persistent theme is the significance of training and self-control that Sensei Wu attempts to teach his Ninjago students. Most 5-8 year olds won't comprehend the importance of achieving their true potential through training and self-control. So parents, it's under your control to make that point. Also, there's one character that's not the same as the rest, who takes everything literally and is a "Nerd." The other Ninjago characters bully and mock this character, Zane because he is unique, however in the long run they understand that his quirkiness isn't a bad thing. It's also essential to stress the fact that his quirkiness is beneficial, or else the only thing children will focus on is that it is acceptable to bully the kids around them who act in different ways.
My final judgement on Ninjago is that compared to some other cartoon shows like Phineas and Ferb and Spongebob, Ninjago is very comparable when it comes to some of its content being too mature for the younger kids in its audience. Consequently, it's not really a good idea to let your young kids watch unrestricted quantities of these three shows without monitoring them at some point, and doing a fair bit of editorializing on a few of the topics that need to be stressed in a unfavorable light, like bullying, or in a positive light such as the need for practice and living up to one's full potential. Compared to other shows that are out there with little or no informative value, Ninjago is a welcome relief, but only if you're willing to spend some time viewing it along with your kids.
My son, unlike a lot of kids is only interested in 3 channels, Disney Channel, Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network. Right now one of the most popular shows is called Ninjago. The show is based on Lego characters, which may be disarming to most adults right away, since most of us grew up playing with Legos and their round yellow heads and c-shaped interchangeable arms and appendages don't exactly make for violent TV. However, most cartoon shows these days have some pretty mature humor to them, so it's always important to monitor what your kids watch.
The Ninjago Cartoon Network show isn't any different. The 4 key heroes, Kai, Zane, Jay and Cole are teenage ninjas with teenage thought patterns, so the show isn't exactly perfect role model content for a bright 6 year-old, that is unless you want your 6 year-old to behave like a hormonal, lazy 14 year-old. Apart from the too-old for toddlers and small children behavior of the 4 ninja heroes, there's a great deal of grown-up subjects, such as power struggles and deliberate deceptiveness by the Serpentine (snake headed bad guys) as well as the irritating bad guy, Lloyd Garmadon who is trying to enslave the other people so that they will steal for him. All of these negative attributes result in good story lines, however the themes are also a little grown up for many children to absorb correctly on their own.
Beyond the mature themes there's obviously the aspect of violence that comes with any "Ninja" related show, even when all of the figures are made from Legos. For sure, Ninjago is not the most aggressive cartoon, or even near to being as violent as the old Tom and Jerry or Bugs Bunny Cartoons, but for those of you who have children that act out everything they see on TV, you might want to kids from viewing it. If not, you can expect your 5 year olds to be swinging anything that looks like a sword at their siblings and attempting to spin kick the dog.
All the warnings regarding mature content and violence aside, there's a lot of positive things about Ninjago, but only if parents are available to positively educate the topics of the shows to their kids. For instance, one common and persistent theme is the significance of training and self-control that Sensei Wu attempts to teach his Ninjago students. Most 5-8 year olds won't comprehend the importance of achieving their true potential through training and self-control. So parents, it's under your control to make that point. Also, there's one character that's not the same as the rest, who takes everything literally and is a "Nerd." The other Ninjago characters bully and mock this character, Zane because he is unique, however in the long run they understand that his quirkiness isn't a bad thing. It's also essential to stress the fact that his quirkiness is beneficial, or else the only thing children will focus on is that it is acceptable to bully the kids around them who act in different ways.
My final judgement on Ninjago is that compared to some other cartoon shows like Phineas and Ferb and Spongebob, Ninjago is very comparable when it comes to some of its content being too mature for the younger kids in its audience. Consequently, it's not really a good idea to let your young kids watch unrestricted quantities of these three shows without monitoring them at some point, and doing a fair bit of editorializing on a few of the topics that need to be stressed in a unfavorable light, like bullying, or in a positive light such as the need for practice and living up to one's full potential. Compared to other shows that are out there with little or no informative value, Ninjago is a welcome relief, but only if you're willing to spend some time viewing it along with your kids.
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