Losers Can Be Winners
I just added Heathcliff to our Netflix queue. I remember watching that show as a kid. I love having my kids watch shows I used to like.
I was thinking the other day about all the kids' shows these days... mainly the educational ones. I like that my kids watch them b/c they're learning stuff, but there's something that bothers me about them. Whenever Dora or Diego or any other character on there participates in some sort of contest or race or game, they ALWAYS win. ALWAYS! I get what they're trying to teach kids... if you work hard you can do anything. But you know what? that's not true. You can't do everything. You can do some things, and you suck at other things. And that's the truth. I've been trying to teach my kids that it's okay to lose. I think this is important b/c who likes to play games or have competitions with sore losers? "I didn't win b/c you cheated! It wasn't my fault!" Wah, wah, wah. Those people get on my nerves. Ya know what? You lost. It's not the end of the world. Congratulate the person who won and get over it. The end.
I say this b/c for the most part when it comes to games or sports, I am the loser. I rarely win at anything. Instead of crying about it, however, I kinda have fun with it. In fact, sometimes when I win I feel awkward b/c I'm so much more comfortable with being the loser. haha
I'm not saying that people shouldn't try to win at things that are important. I was very competitive with grades in school. I was also first chair in band b/c I worked hard at it. I want my kids to do well in school, and I would love for them to excel in something like sports or music, but I also want them to understand that if they're not THE best, that's okay, and there's no reason to get mad. Just try harder. Use that as motivation to do better next time. And don't belittle people when you do win.
I was just thinking that in these shows they need to teach kids that you can't always win. I think it's an important life lesson. There are a lot of people who never learned that so when they don't win, they think it's the end of the world when it's not.
So, there. Those are my deep thoughts about educational children's television. :)
I was thinking the other day about all the kids' shows these days... mainly the educational ones. I like that my kids watch them b/c they're learning stuff, but there's something that bothers me about them. Whenever Dora or Diego or any other character on there participates in some sort of contest or race or game, they ALWAYS win. ALWAYS! I get what they're trying to teach kids... if you work hard you can do anything. But you know what? that's not true. You can't do everything. You can do some things, and you suck at other things. And that's the truth. I've been trying to teach my kids that it's okay to lose. I think this is important b/c who likes to play games or have competitions with sore losers? "I didn't win b/c you cheated! It wasn't my fault!" Wah, wah, wah. Those people get on my nerves. Ya know what? You lost. It's not the end of the world. Congratulate the person who won and get over it. The end.
I say this b/c for the most part when it comes to games or sports, I am the loser. I rarely win at anything. Instead of crying about it, however, I kinda have fun with it. In fact, sometimes when I win I feel awkward b/c I'm so much more comfortable with being the loser. haha
I'm not saying that people shouldn't try to win at things that are important. I was very competitive with grades in school. I was also first chair in band b/c I worked hard at it. I want my kids to do well in school, and I would love for them to excel in something like sports or music, but I also want them to understand that if they're not THE best, that's okay, and there's no reason to get mad. Just try harder. Use that as motivation to do better next time. And don't belittle people when you do win.
I was just thinking that in these shows they need to teach kids that you can't always win. I think it's an important life lesson. There are a lot of people who never learned that so when they don't win, they think it's the end of the world when it's not.
So, there. Those are my deep thoughts about educational children's television. :)