My 2 yr old boy loves Dora and only Dora. I've exposed him to Sesame Street, Yogabagaba, Diego, etc but he shows no interest in any of those. My hubbie thinks we should introduce "male oriented shows" for him. What do you recommend? I recorded Bob the builder for him to watch so we'll see if he likes that. Of course we can't do a thing even if we introduced a "male oriented show" and he's not up to watching it but we just wanted to know what your 2 yr old toddler boy watch. Thanks!
My two year old son watches everything on Noggin/ Nick Jr. and the sprout channel. Dora is a very popular show to all the children . My son enjoys it also compared to Diego. Give him time kids know what they like. I don't think he necessarily cares that she's a girl. It just the whole concept that he enjoys.
Shant'e
Hello L., I have a 2 year old grandson and he loves to watch elmo. Lately he loves to watch Mickey Mouse, he just got into mickey mouse, them are his to favorite.
My son is almost 2 and he loves Yo Gabba Gabba, Elmo, Handy Manny, Special Agent Oso, Dora the Explorer, Imagination Movers, and My Friends Tigger and Pooh. I have tried Thomas the Train and he watches it some. Oh, and he recently started liking Wow Wow Wubzy. I don't think it matters if they watch male oriented shows at this age. My son is "all boy" but still enjoys playing with his kitchen and enjoys Dora as much as everything else. Just have fun!!
My friend's 2 yo son loves Curious George (though George always gets into trouble, which might not be the "best" message to be sending).
You should force him to watch manly men.
My son loves Sesame Street. He is even singing some of the songs and playing along much more than when he was younger. We also Watch the Backyardigans & The Wonder pets at night. They are on at 8 pm on Nick Both Jr. These shows are a mix of boys & girls characters. Occasionally we will catch an episode of Wow Wow Wubzy. We don't sit in front of the tv either. These are jsut shows that we happen to catch. We are really into music right now so the CD player is our best friend right now. Hope this helps. P.S.- We love Dora and Diego too!
Mine doesn't watch Diego either. It's all about Dora. We watched that Christmas special all day every day for 2 weeks. He also likes music shows like Hi-5, Fresh Beat Band, the Wiggles, Imagination Movers... etc. If they sing, he's all over it. He also likes Thomas the Train and anything with Aliens for some reason lol
I don't think at this age the shows kids watch will have anything to do with their "manliness" in the future. My son plays with my 10 month olds baby dolls and little people castles... they're just playing, exploring and having fun!
ok my 2 yr old doesnt really have interest in tv. If i put on a sing along, he will watch it for a few minutes, go do something else and then come back to watch it etc..etc.. He will not just sit and watch a full show. My son also likes dora but i dont think its because it is a "female oriented" show. Dora is a about learning, has nothing to do with what sex your child is! It could be cause there is singing in her shows that your son likes. Try sing alongs! Dont be bias to whether it is a boy or girl in the show that he is watching. He is 2 and doesnt understand all that, he just likes something about dora's "SHOW" not dora!!
I would try Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Caillou, Clifford the big red dog and Curious George.. Good luck!
My son is obsessed with Little Einsteins right now. It seems to me that they like what they like at this age. You can't really "make" them watch any one show. These TV crushes come and go... I wouldn't worry about it...
My 2-year-old boy is currently obsessed with tv. Didn't plan on him watching as much as he does, but it became a daily thing ever since he broke his leg last spring. My tiring third trimester of pregnancy and now nursing a newborn every few hours, tv has become something my son asks for all the time. But, to answer your question . . . he enjoys a lot of what is on PBS in the morning - Curious George, Sid the Science Kid, Dinosaur Train, Word World. We also have Veggie Tale DVDs and Hermie and Friends DVDs which are great - they always teach a lesson. All of these shows seem pretty gender neutral. He also enjoys the Disney sing-a-longs and the old Looney Tunes. We don't have expanded cable, so my son has never seen Dora. I'm sure it's fine that your son is watching it! :)
I have an older son, so my 2 1/2 year old watches different show, but when we go to the library he always picks a
Dora Video and sometimes finds Dora books. I see no problem with it. Most children at that age like one thing and want to do only that. They do out grow it.
I wouldn't worry about it. At that age you don't really want to push TV that much anyway because I think the American Pediatric Association says they should only watch max an hour of TV or have an hour combined of TV and internet time a day so it doesn't affect their development. That being said my younger son definitely watched more TV than my older because he was often sick and I needed him to be still for hours of breathing treatments.
At that age my older son was obsessed with Elmo and then 6 months later wasn't even interested but interested in Thomas the train and Bob the Builder so they go through phases. Lots of my son's male friends LOVED Dora for about year or so and then it passed:). I don't think Dora will hurt him.
My daughter (also 2) started with watching Sesame Street and she too had NO interest in watching anything else. Totally by accident we found that if she's read a book then she'll be interested in a show. So now she also likes Thomas, Bob the Builder and Caillou. And of course still Sesame Street:) Thank goodness for DVR!
Both of my boys loved Dora best for the longest time and my four year old still sleeps with a small Dora doll. They also love trucks, planes, trains and action figures so I wouldn't worry about him being all for Dora. Eventually he'll find other things he likes and you'll be trying to figure out how to get him to turn the tv off and do something else. lol
I think it's so cool your hubbie is wanting to think of manly things for his son! Very cool! But I agree, at this age, the gender in shows doesnt' matter. My 2 year old loves Dora and Diego. He also LOVES Super why the BEST on PBS and Word World. Literally, I turned around, and he knew the alphabet, and I had no idea where he learned it. He shrieks when the Super Why music starts and he likes Dinosaur Train. Kudos, Hubbie! And yes,if he's not interested in shows, that's really not a bad thing, so don't sweat it.
Hi L., We were having the same issue with our son and Dora. We found that he really loves Veggietales. It was the only show we could get him to watch other then Dora. Now he watches that a lot and he's starting to be interested in Sesame Street now too!
Hope this helps,
K.
SAHM of 1yr. old & 3 yr. old boys
My son likes bob the builder and thomas the train. i let him watch the sprout channel which has a variety of shows on it and those are the two he likes the best. I do not know why your husband is so worried about him watching dora the explorer. I also let my son watch pbs kids which have a variety of shows on them. have him watch those two channels and see if he gets interested in anything else. I would not worry about it,he is only two years old.
My son loves TV. I only let him watch kid's shows. He really likes shows that have music. His favorite show is Sesame Street by far! He also likes Thomas the Train, Jack's Big Music Show, Yo Gabba Gabba, The Wiggles... So what his likes Dora. Who ever said Dora was just for girls? My boy likes Dora too. I would take it as a good sign that he's not a TV junkie. I keep Nick Jr. on all the time at home (and Sprout too). And unfortunately my son knows how to turn all the TV's in the house on!
My son is 2 & also likes Dora (not his first pick though). He watches several different shows- backyardigans, diego, max & ruby, clifford, curious george. I don't really think it much matters the gender of the main character- what's the hubby afraid of?
Hasn't he thought about who his role model is if he's home all day w/ you or his female teacher?
And in response to a post regarding 2 year olds & tv....I have 3 kids & no my kids don't sit in front of the tv all day, but without it somedays I may go insane-lol! It makes for a great reward for both Mama & kids!! :) Everything in moderation is perfectly fine!
Best of luck finding more shows!
My twin 2 1/2 year old boys were obsessed with Dora up until a couple of months ago - it's all they wanted to watch. All of a sudden they wanted to watch different programs and only watch Dora once in a while now. They watch Bob The Builder, Dragon Tales, Dinosaur Train, Word World, Super Y and Caillou. I wouldn't worry about it not being male oriented. I'd be more worried about you hearing the same show over and over and going crazy! I'd try a new show on him every once in a while and soon his interest in Dora will wane.
When my kids were that age they liked the Teletubbies which were (sadly?) made to target the youngest viewers. Their visuals and story lines are perfect for that age. Hugely annoying for adults though. They also liked the Wiggles.
If your son likes Dora I would let him watch it. Reassure your husband that he will not grow up to be gay if he watches Dora or any other "girls" show-or even plays with "girl" toys. And not to lecture you because many men feel this way but the quickest way to screw up a kid is to make him feel self concious about what he is doing at an early age. My neighbor has done that with his little boy and at 8 yo he is one of the most nervous and unhappy little boys I know. He was always teased by his father if he did anything even remotely girlish. I will never forget the time he made fun of him at 4 yo for riding our neighbors pink bike. The little boy was mortified and so was I. Anyhow, sorry for the soapbox here its just something I feel strongly about as a mom raising boys.
my son is 2 1/2 and he loves to watch playhouse disney. handy manny, mickey mouse club, special agent oso, imagination movers. the shows aren't too bad, i can sit thru them and they aren't really annoying or immature sounding. hope this helps..
We usually only have our son watch tv when he is eating because that is usually a struggle. The following shows are ones that he enjoys: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Handy Manny,The Wiggles, Barney and Sesame St. It also helps to watch the show with him and try to get him excited about the things they do on the show. Ask him questions about it and imitate what they do.
Good luck!
M.
Hi L.,
Have you tried Dinosaur Train? It's super cute and it's on PBS in the mornings. My girls love it.
C.
P.S. I wish my children had the same "problem" and wanted less TV instead of more. :) It's a daily battle over here!!
Hi. I know I'm late, but I was just cleaning up my email and found this. I did a quick scan of posts and saw no mention of Kipper. The best cartoon ever! Nothing annoying about it for parents, and kids love it. All the characters are male, but I don't think that matters. It isn't on tv much, but you can try it from the library. The dvd's are also cheap to buy. Kipper is a dog. He and his friends are active and creative. It may not be the most overtlyl educational, but it's mellow. It's actually the last thing played everynight on sprout's bedtime show. You have to see a few of them to start picking up on the subtle things, but the adults in my family have rather lengthy discussions about all reasons we love Kipper (jazzy music, adult voices, subtle humor, real personalities...). No surprise that we are watching it right now!
Also, my daughter definitely goes in cycles. Just when I think I'm ready to go to Australia to commit Wigglecide she moves back to Kipper. Or discovers Angelina Ballerina. It will change when you least expect it!
My 2 year old loves tv & watches a bunch of shows. I don't really think gender matters at this age, but these are his favorite shows:
PBS - Caillou (male), Super Why (both, lead character male), Dinosaur train (neutral),
Disney Channel - Mickey Mouse club house (neutral), Jungle Junction (neutral), Winnie the Pooh (neutral)
He likes others from PBS as well, I just can't think of the titles now. He is NOT a fan of Sesame Street. I too find SS a bit boring compared to the others. Caillou is his all time favorite & it teaches A LOT of GREAT lessons. He has learned so much from watching it. One day in the bath he even told me the whole water cycle (water goes down the drain, into the ground, up into clouds, rains down into rivers & oceans) b/c he saw it in an episode. If you only want him to watch one thing, this would be my choice.
MISS SPIDER!!!!! animation is fabulous!!!
It seems to me that your husband is concerned about your son's sexual orientation based on a child's show. Do not get me wrong, but it is a little bit to early to conclude such a thing. My son loves Dora, as well as yours. I mainly introduced Dora to my son because I do mostly speak Spanish to him and Dora frequently, pronounces Spanish word in her show. Likewise, my son identifies the characters in the show as, Boots the monkey, Tico the squirrel, Swiper the fox, and so forth. Other shows are already mentioned by other moms like Go Diego Go, PBS shows, Nick Jr., Sprout and Disney Channels. In short, let your son to enjoy himself and watch what he likes. Nevertheless, your husband can introduce your son to sports or other boys activities that he regards as more "proper" to your son. In the end, the important thing is that you son is a balance person and with plenty of health to enjoy life the way he decides.
Kids are generally "unisex" until around age 3+. You'll find boys liking girl stuff and girls liking boy stuff and then as they get older they see their surrounding and start comforming to what society and their family does. At age 2, I wouldn't let hubby worry about him watching a girl, lol. What's the big deal about that? They don't see Dora as a girl. They see a kid having fun and entertaining them, that's all. Dad is the one who sees a "girl" cuz he's a man. I wouldn't worry about it. Let him watch whatever he likes in his age appropriate catagory. There's Blues Clues and buy some Brainy Baby DVDs for him to watch sometimes too. They're educational and taught my triplets more stuff than I had time for, lol. I would go through your guide on your cable box, on the menu click on search, kids, all, and see what's on that is his age. I like the shows on PBS like Super Why, Word World, Sid the Science Kid and Dinosaur Train. And Sprout is always a winner in this house no matter how young or old. It keeps them age appropriate!
K. B
mom to 5 including triplets
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At that age, my son liked Dora too. Don't stress over it. Gender is not a big deal at this age. Let him watch what he likes. My son also liked Thomas The Tank Engine.
My son loves Sesame Street - specifically Elmo. I agree that you can't make them like anything in particular. The addictions will come and go. For a while there my son would ask to watch the Kellie Pickler video on On Demand, he was obsessed with her. Now he couldn't care less.
Dora isn't gender specific in my opinion.
I wish you luck.
