Monday 9 January 2012

The Holy Grail: The Cause Of All Disobedience In Children!

Yes, folks, it’s been found!
One father complained his 4-year old son had taken to splashing in muddle puddles (Ed: sic. Yes, really...) on the way to school, imitating Peppa's favourite past-time.
Children never did this before ‘Peppa Pig’…
Others complained their children shouted "chocolate cake!" whenever they were asked what they would like for breakfast - just like George pig.
Children never did…

Oh, I can’t keep this up! Of course they did!

It’s just that, in the past, they’d be disciplined by their parents, who wouldn’t have dreamed of blaming some external force for children deciding to act like, well, children.
"The more I see, the more alarmed I am by the choice of behaviour put into this 'cartoon'," wrote one mother
Wrote this where? And what's with the scare quotes, love? Do you doubt it's a cartoon?
… on parenting website Mumsnet.
Oh. I might have known…
Psychologist Dr Aric Sigman said in recent years there had been a "significant increase" in children using "adversarial, snide, questioning, confrontational and disrespectful behaviour", which he attributed to cartoons.
Cartoons have been around for a hell of a lot longer than that, so I think something else must be involved, frankly.

Maybe it’s women talking b******s to other women on websites like ‘Mumsnet’?
"There is nothing special about Peppa Pig - the same applies to all programmes. Some 80 per cent of brain development is between birth and three years old, so if they spend a lot of time watching the TV, they will copy the forms of behaviours that they see on the TV," he told the Daily Mail.
Or, just perhaps, it’s the case that the sort of mothers who use TV as a babysitter tend not to be the sort who’d raise obedient, well-behaved children irrespective of cartoons?

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh...FFS! Words aren't enough to describe this pathetic nonsense.

Tattyfalarr said...

"TV babysitters"...nail on head, Julia.

Clearly it's completely beyond the collective capability of these "mums" to watch along with their children and point out what is and is not acceptable behaviour in their own homes.

We must save these children from such terrible neglect.

Silly bints...they really should be careful what they wish for.

James Higham said...

Just one small inlet in the sea of lack of common sense.

dognamedblue said...

my 2 year old nephew was in a department store, he sat down & started banging on a top, when asked if he was playing a piano he said "no it is my computer, I'm playing Peppa Pig"
coincidence???
maybe, just maybe Peppa Pig is the root of all evil? the antichrist sent to this world to bring about its destruction? the cause of the financial collapse? behind the "occupy" movements? & "arab springs" around the globe?

Demetrius said...

Oh dear, I am still splashing in muddy puddles and asking for chocolate cake. It all started in the 1930's but you see nobody told me to stop. Am I doing something wrong?

Captain Haddock said...

Errmm .. Peppa who ?

Bucko said...

Well wadda you know? Someone created a cartoon based on normal childhood behaviour, and some mums who want to defer responsibility, blame their childs normal behaviour on a cartoon rather than raising them properly.

Ban it, I say said...

I jumped in puddles when little, but I didn't watch Peppa Pig.

My kids jumped in puddles when they were little, but they didn't watch Peppa Pig.

Now my five year old grandson jumps in puddles but he watches Peppa Pig, so I am outraged!

This must stop at once!

Anonymous said...

But, he can stop being foreign by buggering off back to his own country. Simples, hey?

Bill d'Sarse said...

'Tis true I tells ya! After a young life of being left in front of the telly whilst me ma' leant on the garden fence, smoking tabs and gossiping with the neighbours, I have spent many, many hours of my adult life sitting stark still, wearing a long grey wig with a grey clown doll on the table next to me whilst playing noughts and crosses on a blackboard.

Anonymous said...

Sorry, wrong post place (see idiot me above). was talking about Mr Egypt.

Captain Haddock said...

"The Cause Of All Disobedience In Children"

Is fuckwit parents, who are often little more than kids themselves, who seem to regard their own offspring as being "fast-track" tickets to council, or other accommodation .. or as fashion accessories (check out the names they give 'em) ..

Aided & abetted by an army of equally fuckwitted social workers, politicians & limp-wristed, left wing lawyers (often the same animal) who have made the moderate chastisement of children a criminal offence ..

Anonymous said...

Damn and I thought it was 'Bob the Builder' who was the cause of all the woes in this world.

(Well you try putting your rather expensive dinner table back together after your four year old has sawn through the leg because he was copying the red and yellow checkered nightmare! Oh and the song was a pain too, it completely ruins your street cred when you start humming it in public, people still snigger when I walk down the street).

Whilst my 'pride and joy' never asked for cake for breakfast, after a session of ensuring through play (with a toy telephone) that he knew how to call the police or ambulance for help in an emergency, having to explain to four burly police officers at my door that "no, we are all Ok" and, "no, we haven't got sixteen burglars and a fire at the moment thank you!" is a little embarrassing after he practiced on the real phone -oops.

I hate to break it to 'Dr' Aric Sigman but when children use "adversarial, snide, questioning, confrontational and disrespectful behaviour" it means they are growing up. A normal adult would then explain, advise and use discipline appropriately - not run to the press to blame Furking cartoon pig FFS

Bucko said...

She's a right delinquent that Peppa Pig. Cast you minds back to 2010 when Peppa never wore a seatbelt.

The cartoons had to be changed because: one parent "complained that her daughter had refused to wear a seatbelt because Peppa did not."

Something has gone seriously wrong somewhere

Pavlov's Cat said...

Hope he never sees 'Horrid Henry' then ,

Anonymous said...

In defence of Peppa, I must say young master SAOT gave me a well constructed summary of an episode involving a spider.

He also knows how to start a chainsaw from when I let him watch "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and to kill zombies with head shots from "Dawn of the Dead"

And they say TV is a nageative influence

JuliaM said...

"Clearly it's completely beyond the collective capability of these "mums" to watch along with their children..."

Oh, they're far too busy for that! Probably on 'Mumsnet'.. :/

"...but you see nobody told me to stop. Am I doing something wrong?"

:D

"Sorry, wrong post place..."

I figured... ;)

"I hate to break it to 'Dr' Aric Sigman but when children use "adversarial, snide, questioning, confrontational and disrespectful behaviour" it means they are growing up."

Well, indeed.

And what's with including 'questioning' in there? Is it because it embarrasses the know-nothing, question-nothing parents, perhaps?

Anonymous said...

You used to hear this sort of thing all the time when mothers were waiting to pick their children up from school. Now some stupid journalist decides that it's worthy of a headline.

Anonymous said...

""The more I see, the more alarmed I am by the choice of behaviour put into this 'cartoon'," wrote one mother…"

ITS A CARTOON!!!!

I love Roadrunner cartoons, but I have yet to buy some dynamite from ACME Inc in the vain hope of catching a roadrunner.

Anonymous said...

@dognamedblue: Barney the Dinosaur is the antichrist, not Peppa Pig.

Captain Haddock said...

"I love Roadrunner cartoons, but I have yet to buy some dynamite from ACME Inc in the vain hope of catching a roadrunner" ...


Indeed, when did anyone last hear about tribes of kids running around yelling .. "Beep Beep now ya bastard ? " .. ;)

Anonymous said...

My 4 year old daughter loves Peppa Pig and tells me I have a 'big fat tummy' like Daddy Pig and that I am 'very silly' just like Daddy Pig. I am FAR more concerned about the fact that Peppa Pig portrays the male patriarcal character as an overweight, blethering idiot than I am about the fact that the cartoon pig jumps in puddles and sometimes eats cake for breakfast.

Oh no, hang on. It's only a cartoon and there are real problems in the world.

CJ Nerd said...

It's just a matter of time before this becomes mitigation for the August riots.

"It is regrettably true, Your Honour, that my client was apprehended leaving Foot Locker through a broken window, and carrying 26 shoes- all of which, much to his chagrin, were for the left foot.

However, I must point out that Peppa Pig wears shoes, and indeed other footwear, and that my client's low self-esteem and perceived inequality vis-a-vis this porcine provocateur does partially acount for his actions".