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ESSAY My Problems with Barney

posted 20 years ago by Angel_Meiru
173 replies | jump to latest

My Problems with Barney

Just to let you know, I have nothing against most children’s shows, just this one.

Barney is what I think is wrong with the world today. Some of you may ask “What is wrong with a kiddy friendly and educational show?” Well, I can list a few things.

First off Barney is said to be an educational show that helps aid children in development. However, if you watch further, not only is Barney just made for “selling out” to little ones, it also teaches some rather harzardous lessons. These hazardous lessons are the way that the Lyon’s Group does not deliver a realistic view of life, but with a sugar coated, politically correct view of life, where negativity and problems should not exist. This also leads to the sugar coating of fairy tales and history as well, which is very unhealthy indeed. Now G Rated means “Barney rated”. That is sad, isn’t it. It is almost like telling kids that the nuking of Hiroshima and Nagasaki has never happened. And the sad thing is, kids are eating up all of that. Protecting kids is good, but giving them only a PC and sugar coated view of life is unhealthy.

Dr. Lisa Korman, a child psychologist researches the fact that ‘Using denial as a primary coping strategy, means in stark contrasts to PBS classics like “Sesame Street”, “Lambchop’s Play Along” and “Mr Roger’s Neighborhood”, “Barney” does NOT help children learn to tolerate sorrowful or stressful situations’.

And she is right. Before you flame me, here are some example of the situations handled on the show:

• Kathy is feeling sad and jealous because, unlike her friends, she has no siblings or father (perhaps she mentioned that her dad has died). "Oh, Kathy," Barney promptly responds in a loving yet chiding voice, "you have a mother and grandmother who love you very much. That’s a wonderful-size family!"

• Tina woefully announces, "I’m having a really bad day." Immediately, Barney replies, "Well, I think your day will get much better now that we’re all together!" And her older sister Luci says just moments later, "Try not to worry..., Tina. Maybe if we sang a happy song, you’d feel better!"

• Barney trips on a toy and crashes to the floor. He is down on the ground, but still is laughing and is happy as if nothing has happened.

• Kathy is scared to visit the doctor and get a shot. Barney immediately tries to convince her that there’s nothing to be afraid of. He becomes "Dr. Barney" and when Kathy gets her make-believe shot, she exclaims, "You’re right! That didn’t hurt too much!" As the show concludes, Barney asks, "Now, are you still scared to visit the real doctor?" When a jubilant, incredulous Kathy replies, "I’m not scared!", Barney and gang explode with cheers.

• Shawn looks at his easel in dismay and says, "I’m not a very good painter." Luci replies, "Oh, I wouldn’t say that, Shawn." Moments later, Barney says, "Luci’s right, Shawn. Your painting of me is terrific! You’re a wonderful artist!"

• Tina accidentally drops some records and they shatter on the floor. "I’m sorry!" she exclaims. "That’s okay," says Barney, "I’ll take care of it." "But how?" Tina asks woefully. "With a little imagination..." he replies, and the broken pieces magically become one big record.

Here is how it really should be handled (as is handled on most good children’s shows):

• When Kathy is depressed about her family, Barney can say, "I guess it’s lonely without a Dad or a brother or sister."

• When Tina announces, "I’m having a really bad day," Barney can say, "Please tell me about it."

• When Kathy is afraid to visit her doctor, Barney can say, "Thank you for telling me. What scares you the most?" And when Kathy gets her make-believe shot, she can say, "Barney, it did hurt, but only for a second."

• When Shawn says, "I’m not a very good painter," he can be told, "You know, sometimes we don’t like our picture but we can still like painting."

• When Tina accidentally broke the records, Barney could have helped in a creative manner, you know, without magic.

• Last but not least, when Barney crashes to the floor, he can say, "That really hurt!" without smiling and laughing. At least it shows that he is really hurt and not just joking about it.

Barney could have been a good and believable show for both children and adults to watch, but it wasn’t. Its purpose was just for merchandising reasons and covering up reality. There are much better programs for children out there, if you look hard enough. Or better yet, read to your children. Read them stories how they originally were, instead of giving them the syndicated “sugar-coated” material.

In other words, do not give into Barney or any show imitating it. It will not do you nor your kids any good. You will probably thankful for it once you open your eyes and get a better view of things. Life is lovely, and importantly, life is too short to give into a TV company that pretends to care about children, but really care about money and encourages the use of TV and computers as a babysitter (Which we know is not right).

[–] JRK-4 19 years ago

I just started watching "Barney" with my two young sons (both under two), and I'm surprised how actively -- and irrationally -- so many people hate this show. No, it's not "Seasme Street" (nothing is), but it is refreshingly free of the politically correct tripe that mars many other children's shows. Keep in mind one thing: "Barney" is a show for kids aged 1-3. On the show they sing, dance, and jump around, which is exactly what kids aged 1-3 love to do. I'm farily new to the whole children's television scene, but in my opinion there'f far too much pedagogy, and not enough fun. Yes, it's great that kids -- especially young kids -- beging to learn at a young age, but must they be constantly hit over the head with lessons? I think not; there's much time for that later (i.e. when they're 3).

[–] 19 years ago

[deleted]

[–] this_is_the_way_the_world_ends 19 years ago

Good Essay. Good Points.

Couterpoint.

Barny is a show about *Imagination* just like Muppet Babies was about *Imagination* Barney is far from perfect, however if he is ballanced out with other kids shows I don't think there is anything wrong with him at all.

I think Imagination is important too, and that is Barney's main focus. Using Imagination to help deal with your fears, emotions and problems is OK. Escapism is when you stay in your imagination and DON'T apply the lessons learned to real life. Although they don't show the kids applying the lessons on camera, it's made clear from the dialogue that they are practicing for real world situations.

Barney teaches through songs and play which also help kids remember- lessons like manners, saftey, family. I actually have that family one (or I used to) and it DID help my kids because my son would say before he saw that show that he didn't have a family because his dad didn't live with us. Also, my kids listened to Barney's saftey tips when they ignored most of what I said. I would rather that my kids follow saftey tips from a dinosaur and stay safe than ignore saftey tips from mom and get hurt.

Barney does use magic to solve many of his problems (because it's make believe- which is made clear immediatly "Barney is a dinasaur from our IMAGINATION- Barney can be your friend to if you just MAKE BELIEVE him.). But it's not like he says, "It's ok to run in the street because I can magically fix you." He teaches kids how to safely cross the street (with an adult, look both ways, ect)

To be fair, I think Barney has pluses and minuses but overall I think he can be a positive influence on kids.

On a side note, me and my older kids watch the manners video and pick out what things they do that are *bad* manners. Even though Barney is not perfect, he can still be a learning exprience.

ps- Catch Barney on "Character Counts"-- an AWSOME VIDEO featurning a whole bunch of children's characters and teaching some wonderful lessons.

___________
"There will always be women in rubber flirting with me!"

myspace.com/amanda_marr

[–] 19 years ago

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[–] schultzclan6 19 years ago

Same here, man!

Yeah, barney is OK for kids sometimes, but most of the time children thibk they live in a world of happiness, and when things go wrong they end up depressed because they don't know how to handle it. Nice job, angel!

Within the mind of modern culture there's an idle cog.
-Demon Hunter

[–] mr_matt_j 14 years ago

I agree with (this_is_the_way_the_world_ends). There are plus and minus points to these kinds of shows but most of the kids TV aimed at 1-5 years olds are about fantasy and imagination. Yes some of them arnt crammed to the brim with educational messages but kids love colours,happiness and songs....it inflames their imagination.

I understand people are saying this kind of sugar coated world doesnt do kids any favors and misses the point that there is tragedy and suffering in the world but i would be more concerned if i tuned into Barney and he said 'Today kids we are going to learn about a naughty man called Adolf Hitler'.....i know it seems like im being sarcastic but you learn about the horrors in this world as you grow up, you dont need it rammed in your face from birth.

Again i know you shouldnt live in a bubble but i also think these days kids are being forced to grow up too fast!

Most of the young members in my family watched and loved the Barney show. They have all grown up to become extremely clever and bright people. Not one of them ever feels that they were shielded too much from the truth of this world and even now remember it fondly as a bright,fun,musical show which at the end of the day,is exactly what it is!

[–] crazypixielover 19 years ago

Angel, you just took the words right out of my mouth....
I have two small boys and of course, my tv has been taken over by children tv shows. Being a kid at heart, I always enjoyed watching the shows with them, except for Barney. I can stand the Wiggles, and even Dora the Explorer. But Barney is so over-sugar coated. Its not educational at all. I watched it a few times, trying to get into it and I couldn't. Whats good tho, is that even my little ones don't like that show either. When it comes on, they will dance to the theme song, then go off and do their own thing, while I frantically try to find the remote lol

"Pfft, everything I say should be quoted."

[–] schultzclan6 19 years ago

Also check out Angel's comment below.

Okay, you hippies are probably wondering what I have against an "education" and "informative" show like "Barney"? Well, I have a lot of hate against it for these reasons:

1. It teaches that having a personality and individualism is immoral. No one on the show has a personality. Everyone dresses alike, talks alike, acts alike and dances alike. Even in the episode called "Being an Individual", kids try to tell Barney about what they like and EVERYONE on the planet should do what I like. Do you wanna teach your kid that being an individual is wrong?

2. "A Stranger is a Friend,You Haven't Met" Episode. While seemingly harmless, the show's producers soonfound that it could also be extremely dangerous for young children. Infact, several young Barney-lovers from across the U.S. fell victim to pedophiles, who were using the show's friendly message to lure children away from their parents. The episode has since been pulled, but the damage had been done. So called "Innocent" mistakes in programming, like this one, clearly show why parents need to watch television WITH their children.

3. IF your not happy all the time, you are a bad person. No one seems to show any other emotion but happiness, no matter which situation they are in. If the child's parents get mad or sad for some reason, the child may think of Mommy or Daddy differently. Not a good message at all.

4. Magic solves everything! Seems like every problem is solved by magic. At least in shows like "Fraggle Rock", it teaches us that magic CAN backfire at it is best to solve problems on your own. Does Barney teach this? NO, of course not. There HAS to be magic in there. And the problem is, alot of two year olds cannot tell fantasy from reality, and might think their parents, siblings or relatives can use magic to solve everything, yet become confused when they CANNOT use magic and think they are weird. Another boner pulled again.

5. Barney makes no distinction between stealing and sharing. He has even specifically said that "stealing is okay if the person you steal from doesn't mind". Kids can learn that if you really want something, stealing is a perfectly acceptable way to get it. This is not something that preschoolers need authority figures to tell them.

6. "If I just have the right thing, I can solve all my problems." Whenever the kids have a problem, Barney gives them whatever they need to solve it. The message being sent here is "Don't try to think to solve this! It's too much work, and the solution probably wouldn't work anyway. Just use this." Because of this, children could stop thinking through things (Barney said it was too much work) and become dependent on the "right" object. (The right shoes, the right food, the right computer, the right exercise machine...) This is obviously a good message for the Barney marketers, but it's not good for preschoolers.

7. The message that cheating is okay. In another episode the children are involved in a contest to carry a peanut on a spoon without dropping it. One child puts peanut butter on his spoon, and easily wins. The child is then rewarded for his creative thinking, when the child in fact bent the rules, and changed the game so that he could win. This teaches that cheating is good, you win and people think that you are creative, when in real life you will often be disqualified, or worse, and severely disliked by other competitors who played by the rules.

8. Do the kids in this show eat anything else besides cakes, cookies and candy? That teaches that it is okay to eat tons of junk food and avoid healthy food, despite Barney's so called "Health Food" song. Other than that, EVERYONE in the show eats junk food. No wonder there are so many obese kids in America and Europe.

And finally....

Most other kids' television shows teach creative problem solving well, without having to resort to "magic". Barney could also have done that but instead decided to use the method that was A) best for the marketers and B) took the least time and money for scripts. It's a blatant sellout that shows just how little the Lyons Group actually cares about children.

That is my rant for you all.

Angel is great at this stuff!

Whoever has a signature is stupid.

[–] 19 years ago

[deleted]

[–] emilyneobert 19 years ago

I don't want to flame you but:

"Just to let you know, I have nothing against most children’s shows, just this one."

Hmm...there are MANY other child's shows that are the same exact way, not just this one. Dora? Do animals talk? No. Do maps and bag-packs talk? No. And Dora also has many other "magical" things that happen. Do doors open when you say open? No. Even though you learn to "speak spanish" it's the same as barney. Are you saying that children can't have a fun children's show so that they can learn how to imagine and not think of just sorrows all their life? I hope not. Mr Rogers Neigboorhood? (And by the way, I love mr. Rogers neigboorhood.) It also has puppets that can talk, and other "magical" things. And it also is sugar-coated.

"Life is lovely, and importantly, life is too short to give into a TV company that pretends to care about children, but really care about money and encourages the use of TV and computers as a babysitter (Which we know is not right)."
Lol! What a concept! Almost ALL t.v and computer programs are interested in money! Lol! Just because a kid can watch a t.v show doesn't mean someone would give a kid a un-healthy life.

"• Shawn looks at his easel in dismay and says, "I’m not a very good painter." Luci replies, "Oh, I wouldn’t say that, Shawn." Moments later, Barney says, "Luci’s right, Shawn. Your painting of me is terrific! You’re a wonderful artist!"
I agree somewhat. I could tell a kid, here's what you can work on. But I wouldn't say "Wow! That's an awful painting, you horrid, and your person looks like it just rotted an died!" ok that was over-dramatic but still. I could say you can work on this but I would say it still looks very nice.

When your saying it isn't educational. Your wrong. Just because it a suger-coated show doesn't mean it doesn't show you how to spell, recodize shapes and colors, and learn to make crafts. That sounds somewhat educational to me! My mother has 8 kids not including me. (So nine). We are only alowed to watch to watch one show a day, and our main choice for the little kids isn't barney, but that doesn't mean we don't find it educational for ages 3-6.

Yout "Essay" seems as if you are an all around barney hater and doesn't really know what kids are like (sorry, but seriously, G rated is "Barney Retarded?"

Your essay (to me) isn't ver well thought out it has a lot of things that you probably don't understand. Pretending is FUN for children! LOL! Seriously, just because it make kids want to be nice to other kids doesen't mean that it's "DANGEROUS" for kids! Lol, seriously, I don't expect my kids to watch barney when they are in 6th grade. If you think this is the only kids show that's like this means you haven't seen very many kids shows in your life. Or you have very poor eyes.

Sorry If I was rude, I just get irratated by people who thinks kids shows like this are awful and "dangerous". If you have kids, don't let them watch it if you have a problem with it.

Yes, I find Barney annoying at times, but Dora is ten times worse! (To me)

[–] Cryptfan2 19 years ago

You know, about Sherly Leach who created Barney, I bet she was high when she created that idiot bastard; what was she thinking anyway? Did she had any time that this piece of crap is going to be hated?

[] Proud Member of the Unholy Alliance of Winx Haters []

[–] msneon1980 19 years ago

Here are my takes on your examples:

• Kathy is feeling sad and jealous because, unlike her friends, she has no siblings or father (perhaps she mentioned that her dad has died). "Oh, Kathy," Barney promptly responds in a loving yet chiding voice, "you have a mother and grandmother who love you very much. That’s a wonderful-size family!"

I think that this was a good response to this. Not all families are Mom/Dad/Brother/Dog anymore, and this was a good way to make her not feel like an outsider, which she isn't.

• Tina woefully announces, "I’m having a really bad day." Immediately, Barney replies, "Well, I think your day will get much better now that we’re all together!" And her older sister Luci says just moments later, "Try not to worry..., Tina. Maybe if we sang a happy song, you’d feel better!"

Also, a good response IMO. I guess you could have said 'Well Tina tell me everything that made your day bad' so that she could relive it all again, but I thought this way worked well.

• Barney trips on a toy and crashes to the floor. He is down on the ground, but still is laughing and is happy as if nothing has happened.

I was told by my dad that when my daughter falls down, as long as she isn't bleeding wait until you see her reaction before you react. If she cries and needs to be comforted, comfort her. But if she is fine and gets back up, comforting and babying her will only make her expect it when she doesn't really need it. Now before anyone blasts me, I'm not talking if they hit their head on concrete or something, but if they just 'trip on a toy' and are fine afterwards and laugh it off. So why wasn't this a good response? It's not teaching that the world is perfect or something, it's teaching that everything isn't horrible, and to pick yourself up from little things. Once again, just my opinion.

• Kathy is scared to visit the doctor and get a shot. Barney immediately tries to convince her that there’s nothing to be afraid of. He becomes "Dr. Barney" and when Kathy gets her make-believe shot, she exclaims, "You’re right! That didn’t hurt too much!" As the show concludes, Barney asks, "Now, are you still scared to visit the real doctor?" When a jubilant, incredulous Kathy replies, "I’m not scared!", Barney and gang explode with cheers.

OMG, Barney taught her not to be scared of something! If everyone acts like the doctor is a horrible experiance, it will be. But if you TEACH THEM IT'S NOT REALLY THAT BAD they won't be scared. Why was this so horrible? I thought it was a good lesson.

• Shawn looks at his easel in dismay and says, "I’m not a very good painter." Luci replies, "Oh, I wouldn’t say that, Shawn." Moments later, Barney says, "Luci’s right, Shawn. Your painting of me is terrific! You’re a wonderful artist!"

Once again, I thought this was good. If you tell the 3 year old their painting sucks, they are never going to want to paint again. I'm not saying to tell them it belongs in the Prado, but come on people. Sheesh.

• Tina accidentally drops some records and they shatter on the floor. "I’m sorry!" she exclaims. "That’s okay," says Barney, "I’ll take care of it." "But how?" Tina asks woefully. "With a little imagination..." he replies, and the broken pieces magically become one big record.

I don't know what to say about this one. I guess they could have really cleaned them up with a broom and dustpan. But I think that kids know the difference; I could be wrong on this one. On a side note, my 4 year old sings 'The Clean Up' song when she cleans up, so that was a positive.

Let the arguing begin, lol.

Brain: Are you pondering what I'm pondering?
Pinky: I think so Brain, but burlap chafes me so.

[–] Cryptfan2 19 years ago

Barney is never good example on children but Marylin Manson now he's a good example, I know he's a vulgar rock singer but he's intelligent actually hell he even owned Bill O'Reiley.

[] Proud Member of the Unholy Alliance of Winx Haters []

[–] Jackie_Michele 17 years ago

Here are my takes on your examples:

• Kathy is feeling sad and jealous because, unlike her friends, she has no siblings or father (perhaps she mentioned that her dad has died). "Oh, Kathy," Barney promptly responds in a loving yet chiding voice, "you have a mother and grandmother who love you very much. That’s a wonderful-size family!"

I think that this was a good response to this. Not all families are Mom/Dad/Brother/Dog anymore, and this was a good way to make her not feel like an outsider, which she isn't.

• Tina woefully announces, "I’m having a really bad day." Immediately, Barney replies, "Well, I think your day will get much better now that we’re all together!" And her older sister Luci says just moments later, "Try not to worry..., Tina. Maybe if we sang a happy song, you’d feel better!"

Also, a good response IMO. I guess you could have said 'Well Tina tell me everything that made your day bad' so that she could relive it all again, but I thought this way worked well.

• Barney trips on a toy and crashes to the floor. He is down on the ground, but still is laughing and is happy as if nothing has happened.

I was told by my dad that when my daughter falls down, as long as she isn't bleeding wait until you see her reaction before you react. If she cries and needs to be comforted, comfort her. But if she is fine and gets back up, comforting and babying her will only make her expect it when she doesn't really need it. Now before anyone blasts me, I'm not talking if they hit their head on concrete or something, but if they just 'trip on a toy' and are fine afterwards and laugh it off. So why wasn't this a good response? It's not teaching that the world is perfect or something, it's teaching that everything isn't horrible, and to pick yourself up from little things. Once again, just my opinion.

• Kathy is scared to visit the doctor and get a shot. Barney immediately tries to convince her that there’s nothing to be afraid of. He becomes "Dr. Barney" and when Kathy gets her make-believe shot, she exclaims, "You’re right! That didn’t hurt too much!" As the show concludes, Barney asks, "Now, are you still scared to visit the real doctor?" When a jubilant, incredulous Kathy replies, "I’m not scared!", Barney and gang explode with cheers.

OMG, Barney taught her not to be scared of something! If everyone acts like the doctor is a horrible experiance, it will be. But if you TEACH THEM IT'S NOT REALLY THAT BAD they won't be scared. Why was this so horrible? I thought it was a good lesson.

• Shawn looks at his easel in dismay and says, "I’m not a very good painter." Luci replies, "Oh, I wouldn’t say that, Shawn." Moments later, Barney says, "Luci’s right, Shawn. Your painting of me is terrific! You’re a wonderful artist!"

Once again, I thought this was good. If you tell the 3 year old their painting sucks, they are never going to want to paint again. I'm not saying to tell them it belongs in the Prado, but come on people. Sheesh.

• Tina accidentally drops some records and they shatter on the floor. "I’m sorry!" she exclaims. "That’s okay," says Barney, "I’ll take care of it." "But how?" Tina asks woefully. "With a little imagination..." he replies, and the broken pieces magically become one big record.

I don't know what to say about this one. I guess they could have really cleaned them up with a broom and dustpan. But I think that kids know the difference; I could be wrong on this one. On a side note, my 4 year old sings 'The Clean Up' song when she cleans up, so that was a positive.

Excellent point MsNeon.

When you analyze something meant for children with an adult mind it will seem stupid, out of touch with reality, and pointless. However, as it's been said, this is a show for children under the age of five. My daughter LOVES these shows. And when asked why I allow her to watch this show and other I always respond:

I expose her to as much vocabulary as possible. I never caught on the the baby signing craze. However, at the age of two her doctor says she has an extensive vocabulary since he is counting the words she knows in both english and spanish.

In addition to that she is learning. Children at this age learn by doing. And since she can't see everything I want her to in one day, these shows help out a lot.

The International Blogging Star
www.myspace.com/dorismom

[–] Spongeyone 14 years ago

emilyneobert seems to have completely missed the point of the OP by several miles.

Also, "When your saying it isn't educational. Your wrong" made me lol. Yeah, I'll take advice on what's educational from someone with a third grade grasp of English

[–] peachtea18 14 years ago

LOL.
The OP has/had some major issues.
I'm 19, almost 20, and grew up with Barney, Lampchop and many other similar shows in the 90's. The shows back then were no better/different than what kids watch today.

“Very few things matter and nothing matters very much.”- F. Scott Fitzgerald

[–] Mr_Pistol 19 years ago

I just realized how much Barney is like Michael Jackson.

[–] 19 years ago

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[–] 19 years ago

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[–] callumohare 18 years ago

all-right, heres an example of why almost everyone here is a stupid idiot.

Me, i sit up (Its 6 AM right now) till 6 AM playing ps2, and watching TV, then i wake up, and i play ps2 till 6AM again, me, i used to watch barney, man... i remember i would freak out if i diddnt have my barney pillow with me every night...

i dont swear, i dont kill people, i dont laugh at falling down... omfg this thread is stupid!!!!

and so is everybody here!!!

[–] sillykiddo 18 years ago

I feel the exact opposite of Angel Meiru. I feel that the solutions given above for the alternate actions of Barney are in fact too PC.

*Kathy is feeling sad and jealous because, unlike her friends, she has no siblings or father (perhaps she mentioned that her dad has died). "Oh, Kathy," Barney promptly responds in a loving yet chiding voice, "you have a mother and grandmother who love you very much. That’s a wonderful-size family!

Barney is emphasizing that, even though she doesn't have an intact family, she does have something to be thankful for, and she should spend most of her time and energy focusing not on what she doesn't have, but on what her blessings are. Sure she will always miss her father, but she has to focus on the love she gets from her mother and her grandmother.

*Tina woefully announces, "I’m having a really bad day." Immediately, Barney replies, "Well, I think your day will get much better now that we’re all together!" And her older sister Luci says just moments later, "Try not to worry..., Tina. Maybe if we sang a happy song, you’d feel better!"

Barney is once again trying to get the child to focus on the bright side rather than on her problems. If she were to spend the next half hour going over everything that has gone wrong in her day, how is that going to make her feel any better? It won't- it will only add to the negativity in her day. Barney and Luci are basically saying that she should be thankful she has such good friends that care about her enough to cheer her up and brighten her day.

*Barney trips on a toy and crashes to the floor. He is down on the ground, but still is laughing and is happy as if nothing has happened.

Okay, so should he lay there on the floor and cry about it? No, he is instead providing an example to the kids that we sometimes need to laugh at ourselves.

*Kathy is scared to visit the doctor and get a shot. Barney immediately tries to convince her that there’s nothing to be afraid of. He becomes "Dr. Barney" and when Kathy gets her make-believe shot, she exclaims, "You’re right! That didn’t hurt too much!" As the show concludes, Barney asks, "Now, are you still scared to visit the real doctor?" When a jubilant, incredulous Kathy replies, "I’m not scared!", Barney and gang explode with cheers.

If I remember right, it isn't that Barney tries to convince her that there is NOTHING to be afraid of, but that she shouldn't be afraid of doctors, since they are there to help you get healthy and stay healthy, and that is a good thing. If he were to ask her what all of her fears were, then he would be allowing her to focus more on her fears, which is what she should not do. By pretending to be a doctor, he is role playing and getting Kathy familiar with the routine of a doctor visit.

*Shawn looks at his easel in dismay and says, "I’m not a very good painter." Luci replies, "Oh, I wouldn’t say that, Shawn." Moments later, Barney says, "Luci’s right, Shawn. Your painting of me is terrific! You’re a wonderful artist!"

What the heck is wrong with positive reinforcement??? I do not believe that agreeing with Shawn would have encouraged him to continue to try, to practice, and to get better.

*Tina accidentally drops some records and they shatter on the floor. "I’m sorry!" she exclaims. "That’s okay," says Barney, "I’ll take care of it." "But how?" Tina asks woefully. "With a little imagination..." he replies, and the broken pieces magically become one big record.

Okay, so this is a little silly, but why not? I suppose Angel Meiru and Dr. Lisa Korman never watched Walt Disney? I suppose they would tell us parents never to allow our kids to watch Disney either. Wasn't Mr. Disney all about the magic of the IMAGINATION??? Hey, if John Lennon can "imagine" a world without hunger, why can't a kid "imagine" a great big record?

[–] callumohare 18 years ago

yup, anything that has to o with a kids show, these morons come up and try to find a lame-ass excuse to hate it...

sillykiddo- your right.

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] 18 years ago

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[–] callumohare 18 years ago

pssst, midnight, its called the spacebar, use it. you know, the space bar, under X, C, V, B, N, M, and the Comma button...

you press it after every word, and after every period you type, same with every comma, etc.

and no, it is not corrupting kids, you were stupid for that year because you were a kid, and you still are stupid... but we all knew that when you went and blamed everyones source for ENTERTAINMENT (And not for immatation) for corrupting kids.

[–] 18 years ago

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