Dora's Reign Continues
Tuesday January 13, 2009
Today
another DVD featuring
Dora the Explorer hit store shelves.
Dora and the Three Little Pigs contains a new episode, "Dora Saves the Three Little Piggies," along with three additional episodes: "The Mayan Adventure," "Bouncy Boots," " and "The Big Red Chicken's Magic Show." In "Dora Saves the Three Little Piggies," Dora and Boots have to straighten out the chaos that Swiper has caused in Fairytale Land. Kids are sure to enjoy helping Dora and Boots return stolen items to favorite fairy tale characters.
I'm not sure how many Dora DVDs there are, but I know it is more than 40. Dora has been on the air since 2000, and Dora the Explorer is still ranked the number-one-rated preschool series on all of commercial television according to Nickelodeon. Dora the Explorer is also listed as one of my Top 10 Shows for Preschoolers, because of the strong educational content; identifiable characters; and memorable, musical episodes. Pretty much every preschooler I have ever come into contact with knows and loves Dora, and it seems that little boys love the show just as much as girls do.
What is your preschooler's favorite TV show? Is it your favorite show for preschoolers as well? Use the comment link below, or join our discussion about the best shows for preschoolers on the Kids TV & Movies forum.
(Photo © Paramount Home Entertainment)
AT&T Announces In-car Satellite TV, but at What Cost?
Sunday January 11, 2009
At the recent CES (Consumer Electronics Show) conference, AT&T announced a CruiseCast in-car satellite TV service that is set to launch this spring. Channels like the Disney Channel and Nickelodeon (Among 22 satellite video channels and additional music channels) will be available, but at what cost? According to the CruiseCast website, it will cost $1,299 (MSRP) for the kit and about $28 per month for the service.
I can't see paying that to watch TV in the car. I guess commuters who carpool could watch CNN Mobile Live on the way to work, or people who travel in RVs might enjoy being able to watch regular TV stations, but the lineup of channels features a lot of kids' TV networks and the service seems to be strongly directed toward families. While I don't think that the average family is going to go for this at that price, the product will be offered at dealerships, so it will probably turn into one of those things that gets tacked onto the price as an upgrade to the vehicle and gets buried in the financing. Consumers would then just have to swallow the $28 a month.
There may be another cost associated with this technology and others like it, though. It is an interesting commentary on our society that 1. the product is being offered in the first place, and 2. a large number of the available channels are targeted at kids. Pretty soon, kids will have the ability to be glued to the tube almost 24 hours a day. Someone could make a movie out of the premise -- something about a TV network that takes over the world by sending messages to kids who are watching TV in their bedrooms as they fall asleep and waking up to it in the morning only to watch some more TV as they eat breakfast, and then it's into the car to watch TV as they travel to school.
The charge to protect children and raise them to be happy, productive contributors to society requires more diligence from parents as technology becomes more pervasive, and it is only going to get harder. While technology is great in many ways, it is also dangerous in some ways. Kids have easier access to inappropriate content, and TV, video games and other media can be addictive for anyone. Hours of life pass away with hardly any notice as kids and adults become entranced with shows on TV or determined to attain some achievement on a video game. Not that TV and video games are all bad -- they provide fun, and sometimes even educational entertainment -- but it can be challenging to teach kids how to find a good balance. How all of this will affect the future is hard to say exactly, but I do know that it's a whole new world now even just compared to when I was in school. Kids now have the potential to accomplish more than ever, but they also have more temptation to waste their lives away. It's daunting to realize that it is up to us to help them make wise choices and find that balance.
More on Kids and Media:
Ni Hao Kai-lan on DVD in Time for the Chinese New Year
Sunday January 11, 2009
Nick Jr.'s popular show for preschoolers,
Ni Hao Kai-lan expands preschoolers' foreign language learning with an adorable show that teaches kids Chinese words and customs. The second DVD featuring episodes from the show,
Ni Hao Kai-lan: Celebrate with Kai-lan is now available and contains an episode about the Chinese New Year. The event provides a fun opportunity to teach kids about other countries and cultures, and Kai-lan brings the celebration right to a preschooler's level.
This year, the kids and I are going to celebrate Chinese New Year (January 26, 2009) by watching the Kai-lan episode and learning about China. We don't have a real globe, but we have a globe beach ball, so I am going to dig that out and play a game after we locate China and talk about it. Sherri, our guide to Family Crafts, also has some great crafts and activities for Chinese New Year. Maybe I'll even get really brave and try out a Chinese recipe. According to our guide to Chinese food, tangerines and oranges are considered good luck -- an easy and healthy snack that's lucky too!
Happy Chinese New Year!
(Photo © Paramount Home Entertainment)
Super Bowl Monsters vs. Aliens Sneak Peek -- In 3D!
Monday January 5, 2009
As if there wasn't already enough hype surrounding Super Bowl commercials, this year there will be commercials in 3D! This first-ever all 3D Super Bowl commercial break event will feature the premier 3D movie trailer for the DreamWorks Animation film Monsters vs. Aliens, which opens in theaters on March 27th. You can get your 3D glasses at PepsiCo's SoBe Lifewater displays in stores around the country. Or, call 1-800-646-2904 in order to obtain a pair. (The trailer and a 3D SoBe commercial are set to air at the end of the second quarter of the game, which airs on NBC on Sunday, February 1, 2009. )
The 3D trailer and commercial will be broadcast using Intel's InTru 3D technology, which is supposedly superior to the red/blue 3D glasses we are used to using for home 3D viewing. I can't wait to see how good it really is, as the recent 3D DVD releases (Journey to the Center of the Earth and Polar Express, for example) have been disappointing. If some company could perfect a good home 3D viewing technology, the in-home family viewing experience would be changed forever.
(Photo © DreamWorks Animation L.L.C.) 
