Damn Dora
Just 3 short weeks ago, I bought a couple of new sippy cups. We were going on a road trip north for Labor Day and I wanted to get some insulated cups that Sabrina could use in the car without the milk getting yucky too quickly. I bought Dora cups. Have you tried to buy anything unbranded in this day and age? It is impossible. My choices were Dora or Disney Princesses. I’m not completely anti-princess – I just figure I will get my fill of that crap when she is old enough to ask for it. So until she can request it, I avoid it. So I bought 2 Dora cups. Sabrina had no idea who that little girl was so she called her “Nina” (which is what she calls herself) and life was good.
Fast forward a few days later to her birthday party in Pittsburgh. Someone gave her a couple of Dora bath toys. Sabrina HATES the bath tub but seemed to think the toys looked like fun. Once we returned home, I put her in her swimsuit (so she wouldn’t think it was a bath – she likes to swim) and gave her the Dora and Boots toys (is that the monkey’s name?) in the tub. She had a ball. I washed her hair and she didn’t freak out. She didn’t want to get out of the tub. She loved Dora (we told her that was the girl’s name) and was sad that she could only play with her in the bathtub but she was suddenly happy to take baths for the first time in a year. All was good in our world.
Fast forward to one day last week. Sabrina wasn’t feeling well and I was trying to get her to sit quietly instead of roaming around and whining because nothing was going the way she wanted it to. I turned on the TV. She was fascinated. Then Dora came on. She immediately recognized her and started dancing and yelling “Dora, bath”. Dora has put a spell on my child. When she drinks out of her Dora cup she talks to Dora. She whines for Dora anytime she is near the bathroom where Dora lives. Every time the TV is on (or off for that matter) she asks for Dora. I hear the name Dora 329 times a day. Dora is her new BFF.
We made it 2 years without her identifying with any TV or Disney character…I guess we had a good run.
It could be worse… it could be Yo Gabba Gabba.
Be thankful for small things. Dora’s pretty benign.
Our son is the same though, doesn’t watch TV at all, perhaps 1-2 shows a week… but is totally enthralled by it. He even knows Thomas the Train and Diego, having seen them each about 2 times.
Marketing, gotta love it!
Angelena was stuck on Telly Tubbies and Barney for the longest time… Then it was Elmo from Seaseme Street… Now, it is Dora and Diego… Wait till she gets wind of Dora’s Cousin…
Guess what I was thinking about making them be for Halloween…
Dora and Diego…
I figure if I can get them sick of them, maybe they will move on to something else…
HAHAHA…
Good Luck ~!
Hehehe…
Ruby doesn’t really have the language to talk about the characters she likes yet. But Medina…she’s been here less than 3 months and is OBSESSED with Hannah Montanna and has been for weeks already. I don’t think there’s any way to avoid it.
Kerri, Medina, and Ruby
I like Dora. I think it’s cool the way she incorporates spanish into the show.
Try not buying anything made in China …
http://fourgetaboutit.blogspot.com/
It could be worse. WAY worse!
We did the no-TV-shows-philosophy with our oldest and he was over two before he had ever watched anything but a few Barney tapes that I would put in while I took a shower.
Now with CiCi we watch Dora, Diego, and Little Bear. I love it because these are wholesome sweet shows and I have my boys (9 and 6) watching them now to be sweet to their sister. We watch little else which is awesome.
wow…. you did last a long time. Miss G has a definite fascination with Dora and Diego, Blue’s Clues and Pinky Dinky Doo. Anybody know how to explain to a 2 1/2 year-old that they apparently changed the morning TV schedule and that Pinky doesn’t come on after Blue’s Clues any more? Franklin isn’t cutting it for her and that little bit of time lets me lay in bed for a little while longer every day while she sits on the bed and watches it.
Yeah – you are a better mom then me. π In our house we TiVo Dora, Diego, Thomas, Signing Time, Backyardigans and SuperWhy.
In fact, Alex came over, saw Sabrina’s picture and said, “Dora – look mommy – juice Dora cup – I have Dora cup and Diego cup.”
π
I totally understand your pain! My little one is now crying out for Jack from Jack’s Big Music Show! Luckily, we don’t have any connections to our sippy cups or bath toys yet! Hang in there π
Sabrina is as adorable as ever!
We burned all the Barney tapes after our oldest was too old for them so no one would ever accidentally get hooked to that purple moron.
We do love us some Little Einsteins though!
Dora is ok and all, but what’s with the “used car salesman TV commercial” style of yelling? Why can’t Dora just talk in a normal voice? Let me tell ya, it really gets to you after a while. See if she’ll watch Max and Ruby. They are calm and soothing to a weary momma’s ears.
Best of luck!!
Karrie
Oh and the Backyardigans ROCK!!!! Really.
The slippery slope.
We’re still holding on…
I’m afraid our Dora days are over. While I’m not crazy about the commercialism of it, I like Dora as a character. She’s an EXPLORER for goodness sakes! Girl Power! And all that shit. LOL
Because you know how I feel about the Princess Brigade. And at 4.5, the princess love is upon us. Yuck.
Despite my best efforts, we’re all dora all the time, too. I got a couple of the videos for her and I must say, they aren’t bad. I like the one with the puppy/dog theme b/c one of the epsiodes is all about the ABC’s.
I’m looking to leverage the Dora love for potty training, too!
Haha. Yeah, we gave into the TV and Elmo is now our friend.
My niece’s daughter (who’s father is mexican and has a dark hair and coloring) LOVES Dora! She would say “She looks like me!” It was sweet.
well, there will be those times when you need to concentrate on cooking, or Tessa, or even yourself a la shower, so Dora can make for a good, TEMPORARY “baby sitter.” And, yes, it could be worse. Dora is interactive and educational at least. When we were growing up it was somebody pulling an anvil out of their back pocket and whacking someone over the head with it, stuttering or lisping, or trying to outwit some other character. Dora is a passavist, which is good. :~)
You did get the sidekick’s name right, Boots. Just wait, in no time you’ll be singing Do-do-do-do-do Dora! Do-do-do-do-do Dora! Dora, Dora, Dora the explorah!
Good times. Good times.
terri in virginia
The Boy didn’t know what a cartoon was until he was three. Television didn’t exist. We thought we were such good parents. HAHAHA. Is the person who created Spongebob still alive? Because I have heard every episode a gazillion times. Write some new stuff, will ya?
Wow I can’t believe you managed to avoid this for that long!!! Gabbie is obsessed with Dora, Elmo, Pinky Dinky Doo, Yo Gabba Gabba, Max and Ruby, Gerald McBoing Boing, The Litte Mermaid, and I could go on and on!!! Now that you have opened up that can of worms it isn’t going to stop!
Eliana had never watched a single cartoon while we lived in Guatemala (not having a television for the first year was a big part of that). When we brought her home at 18 months she didn’t even understand the concept of watching a cartoon, or TV in general.
I would occasionally flip on Noggin for 15 minutes while I cleaned the kitchen (or tried to slip into the bathroom ALONE) and she couldn’t care less. But Dora changed all that. About three months after getting home I happen to flip on the TV when Dora was playing. Eliana was OBSESSED from the moment she first saw her. I don’t know if it’s Doras Spanish accent, Spanish words, Latin features, or some toddler mind-meld subliminal message, but whatever it is, she LOVES ALL THINGS Dora! {{sigh}}
It’s actually good for a toddler to be “into” something. Mine is 2 and is obsessed with Thomas the train stuff. It was great b/c he spends hours building tracks, he’s learned all the names of the trains -it’s very educational. He also loves Diego and I got him a diego rescue center. Now he loves to pretend to take care of sick animals. He loves the music too on the show-lots of spanish words and music. It’s all how you feed off of it. Some parents just let their kids watch the stuff for hours but we got him toys that he can be imaginative with that goes w/ the theme.
Shows like this aren’t the mindless cartoons that we used to watch like Tom and Jerry, Flintstones, etc. They actually spend the entire 20 min trying to educate and teach something.
I think all little ones become obsessed with something…I’m sure it could be worse….Dora seems like a good model for her….
She could dress up as Dora for Halloween!
Dora is quite addictive. At least she’s an active, smart girl that speaks in too languages. Not a bad BFF to have. I remember when my DD loved Dora. I’d hear her watching TV and screaming “Backpack! Backpack!”
Wow, what a great mom you are – you made it to two! While mine only recently started watching the TV shows, he started dancing to theme songs at 18 months. We’d actually turn off the news to play the theme song to Spongebob for him to dance to (it was that funny…), luckily he had no interest in the cartoon – still doesn’t – but the Wiggles and Jack’s Music Show rock his world. Oh yeah, and anything with a picture of Spongebob on it (who he has called Spuba since he was 18 months old).
i am the map i am the map i am the map i am the map i am the map I am the map i am the map I AM THE MAP! that gets on my nerves a bit. a bit a bit a bit a bit a bit
oh ya…timmy is OBSESSED with Curious George and Cailou right now.
TRY FREAKIN BOB THE BUILDER!!!!!!!! Reese often runs around YELLING “BOB” all day. It was one of her first words. But, he also likes Dora. I sing the theme songs ALL day long.
Has she learned how to turn on the TV yet? That is pretty special. Ihave to unplug it here and tell him it is broken, but miracuosly gets fixed when I need to do something!!
OHHHHHH the princess phase. What a lovely time that was in our life. It looked like Disney world puked in our house.
Could she get any cuter?
i feel for you. it’s diego 24-7 in our house. amazing how they can see it once and be totally and completely hooked. if only broccoli were like that.
Have you heard about Princess Bubble? This princess is different and very popular in my home.
lol Sabrina does look like Dora! So cute…my oldest son used to be in love with Blue’s Clues!!! All I ever heard was “A CLUE! A CLUE! A CLUE!” I’m very glad to be past that stage, except for the past 3 years now he’s just obsessed with Spiderman. He’s non stop trying to fly around the house and making “tsp! tsp! tsp!” sounds (that’s his spiderweb making noise) He’s been Spiderman 2 years in a row for Halloween. Maybe Sabrina should be Dora for Halloween!
Dora and Diego are popular with my 2 year old girl. The yelling (“Say it louder!”) drives me crazy but all things considered, it’s not a bad show. At least Dora has tomboy qualities and is fearless. She was the first Latina children’s character on TV (2000).
This is an interview about the creation of the show from NPR “Me Llamo Dora” > http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89531478.
I dread the coming Princess phase.
Oh Dora. Wait until you hear the “Map Song”. Yes, Dora (and yes Boots is his name) has been a staple in our house for quite some time. In fact, some times when Emily gets really mad she yells in Spanish. The other day I was trying to brush her hair and after about 2 minutes, she turned around and stated very firmly, “No mas Mama”. How can you argue with that? A couple of weeks before that I was in the laundry room folding clothes and Emily was walking around the house looking for me (I could faintly hear her calling my name and heard her running around upstairs looking from room to room but it didn’t sound urgent so I figured she would find me eventually – our house is only so big). Suddenly she appears at the door to the laundry room looking quite annoyed I must say and loudly stated, “Mama Benga Aqui” (Probably spelled wrong but loosely translated means come here). I looked at her and asked her to repeat herself to make sure that I heard right. She said it again. So I asked her if she knew what she was saying. She looked at me and said, Mama come here. When I looked shocked she rolled her eyes and said dramatically por favor (please). Apparently she misread my shock and utter amazement at my daughter somehow becoming fluent in Spanish as annoyance that she had not followed her request with please. I took Spanish in high school and college so I probably know enough to avoid getting sold into slavery or unwittingly becoming a drug mule but once Emily’s vocabulary surpasses my own I am screwed.
PS – Swiper is the fox, Benny is the cow, Isa is the iguana, Abuela is the grandma, and there are 3 insects that run around playing tamborines called the Fiesta Trio. Just thought I would clue you in to the ensemble cast.
Welcome my friend to my world. Glad you’re here.
We don’t even watch Dora, and K. knows who she is. We don’t watch it because I can’t stand the yelling. I’d rather watch Handy Manny any day. We’re a Disney family-he loves the Playhouse Disney. Imagination Movers is his favorite now. And he will yell, “MOVERS!” every time we’re in the car now because we have the CD. Which I admit I listen to, even when he’s not in the car π I think I am officially a Mom now!
You got lotsa feedback on this topic. I completely understand about the “princess'”thing. I don’t want them in my house until she’s interested. Some of my friends are pointing them out to her on sneakers, dolls, balls or just buying junk with them on it. I made it clear recently that I want her to figure it out herself without the help of others. Not into it at all but if it makes her smile and it’s only a phase, one of the many, then I’ll deal with it.
Better it’s Dora than that Miley Cyrus and others like her. Yuk! Dred the day.
Whats wrong with the princess phase? Jamie will be 2 in January and has just recently moved into this. I think its cute. Dora was her girl for a while too, but Barney is still asked for along with Calliou.
It could be worse. My monkey girl is obsessed with SpongeBob Square Pants!! I blame her brother for this.
My girls LOVE Dora too!!
Too funny!! Cerah LOVES Dora too. She freaked out when she couldn’t take Dora to school with her.
Derek LOVE Spongebob.. I HATE IT!!!!
We also love Little Bear and Wubbzy π
Two questions frequently asked by Network Marketers are What kind of business records do I have to keep
for the IRS. All this in 1494 and this entire still found on your modern accounting
balance sheet. Their main concern is to give owners updated
information on current issues that may affect their business operations.
Also visit my web site :: Fort Lauderdale CPA firm
Plastic surgery has become immensely popular in the last few years.
They use high-end techniques, innovative surgical methods and state-of-art machines to deliver excellent result.
The American Board of Plastic Surgery, retrieved from website on February 18, 2012.
My web site; plastic surgery essay