A weighty aardvark June 12, 2007
Posted by spacemom in : Life...otherwise , trackbackThis weekend, we watched “Arthur” on PBS.
Marc Brown, I am disappointed. Very disappointed.
The premise of this episode was that Arthur needed a suit for a play where he was the rich man who was being haunted by a ghost. He tried on his suit and found the pants were too tight. When shopping for a new pair, the only ones that fit were “husky”. Arthur, horrified by the term “husky”, needed a way to figure out how to lose the weight. His friends started to help by explaining the different diets their mothers had been on and finally a teacher helps Arthur by giving the class pedometers and asking the class to track their steps. Arthur
also learns healthy food choices. In the 3 weeks, he exercises more, eats well and can fit into his old pants in time for the play.
Arthur episodes tend to start with the theme exaggerated. So when this one started with Arthur as an obese child, I knew the issue.
So what’s wrong with this? What is wrong with teaching kids healthy eating and exercise? I was upset at the way they approached it. Should a child be upset when they can no longer fit into something? Maybe? Maybe not?
I have already had Soleil, my 37 lb 43 inch tall girl say she is too fat. Hello???
She is not fat. She is not close to fat. She is right on the 50 percentiles on the CDC charts from 2000. Granted, these charts are compiled from data from the 1990s, but that would actually mean she is probably smaller as there is evidence of kids being more overweight
these days.
We guide our kids to eat well. We guide them to exercise. But when Buster started to tell Arthur that he was an expert in diets because his mom had been on every diet imaginable, I think a line was crossed.
Yes, this is reality. Women diet more than men. Women have lower esteem and view their bodies differently than men. But couldn’t Buster have focused on how Arthur was out of shape (he couldn’t keep up with Buster and was breathing hard) instead of Arthur’s weight? They touched on Arthur being out of shape, but most of the episode was Arthur being outraged that he was “husky”.
If you’ve ever seen “What not to wear” on TLC, you’ve noticed that the hosts have one simple thing in mind: Embrace your age and size and find clothes that look GOOD on you. Size is just a number. Let it go…
We spent a bit after the Arthur episode discussing things.
Note to Marc Brown and the others who work on Arthur:
To address the need for kids to make good nutritional choices and to exercise, how about this:
Arthur’s class does a fitness test in PE. He does poorly and is sad. His friends and teachers work together to help him make the better choices in food and exercise. Three weeks later, Arthur takes the fitness test again and is much improved.
How about that?
Comments»
Very well said. I think you should send this to the shows producers.
I hate the Arthur cartoons. For all the reasons you mentioned and more. They are so cookie-cutter in their approach to “what kids should know”, and so blatantly obvious in their “hidden messages”…bleck!
We saw the same episode and I had the same thoughts. In general, I find the Arthur shows a bit too “old” for my kids anyway (even tho they both want to watch him).
And it isn’t just Arthur…it is everywhere, and it is so sad. And the message being conveyed to our kids is just going to perpetuate (and exacerbate) the body dysmorphia and eating disorders that are already starting younger, lasting longer and affecting more people. Sigh….
When D was little, he was “husky” and had to buy his clothes in a special store. His last name, also, unfortunately rhymes with Whale, which made for a hard time on the playground…..and while the entire time I’ve known him (10+ years) he has been what everyone would describe as “tall and thin”, he still sees himself as a “husky” person. Kills me.
But then to see that the media, who can truly have an effect on how our kids think about themselves and others (and find solutions to their troubles) continue to offer poor solutions and exaggerations makes me angry. And sad.
OMG, how awful! Frustrating, frustrating.
I had a similar reaction to a Thomas episode earlier this week … we’ve never watched Thomas before, but decided to give it a go.
I. Think. Not.
It’s so hard to screen our kids’ TV intake, but so very important.
Love your post — please do send it on to PBS and the creators of Arthur! Preschoolers coming up behind you guys will thank you….