I may be new at this mommy thing, but I’ve been watching and loving cartoons for a long, long time. I haven’t been in the kid cartoon circuit since my niece and nephew were little (they are now both in high school), so it’s quite possible I am in the minority of parents who actually looked forward to having an excuse to make some new animated TV friends.
Holy crap, it’s a book too.
[P.S. if you’re going to tell me that babies shouldn’t look at screens until they’re x-old/tv is burning up her brain/Satan created cartoons, save your typing breath as La Mommy ain’t reading it.]
Baby M already has some favorites. It’s pretty cool to see her little face light up when she hears her TV buddies like Dora the Explorer and the Canadian pooches of the PAW Patrol (“We’re on a roll!”). She, like many babies, especially enjoys the musical portions and will turn and look at the TV (even though it’s not on) whenever I start singing one of the TV songs (but not when I sing a non-TV song).
Genius, I know! But I digress.
I particularly love cartoons that have underlying, positive messages for kids—things like how to include others in playtime, how to pass the time while waiting, how to handle being frustrated/angry, etc.
Alas, going to the potty isn’t something I ever wanted to see animated.
And yet I have.
And you can too!
Look, I love Daniel Tiger, I really do. And so does M. For those not in the know, Daniel is essentially Mr. Rogers (yes, THAT Mr. Rogers) reincarnated into a feisty little tiger. He wears a red hoodie and little red sneakers, which he takes off at the end of each episode, tossing them from hand to hand à la Fred, all while singing a familiar neighborly song. He has a raspy voice that does raspy *way* better than Peppa Pig (don’t get me started), loves his Mommy and Daddy and Trolley, and keeps M’s attention, which makes him a winner in my cartoon playbook.
But sorry y’all—I really don’t want to see him pee.
I mean, for one, Daniel doesn’t wear pants. Awwwkward when it’s time for him to hop on the pot. I can already see my smart aleck kid (I’m guessing) asking where Daniel hides his pee-pee. I mean, dude, can’t we delay the “tiger penis” discussion until at least her first trip to the zoo?
Hopping on the pot, by the way, is what both boys and girls do for Number One in Daniel’s world. Which is totally cool, in case you’re wondering. Yes, I looked that up because I have never potty-trained a boy, and as it turns out many recommend boys start out sitting down to pee. Fascinating, eh?
But now let’s look more closely at Daniel’s song regarding zee pott-ay (channeling Daniel’s French grandfather, Grandpere Tiger, right there–I sh*t you not).
When you have to go potty
Stop
And go right away
Flush and wash and be on your way.
Anyone notice something missing there? Show of hands please? Don’t go shy on me now!
That’s right, folks. No wipe.
Gah!
To be fair, in the cartoon, Prince Wednesday, the first character to wee on camera, does wipe (making me wonder if he really did only do Number One hmmm…), but every Emptying of the Bladder (royal or not) thereafter is sans toilet paper.
Moreover, said action is noticeably absent in the potty ditty, as you can well see.
I can’t possibly be the only mom freaked out by The Great Urination of Daniel, can I?
Well, my research for this post (yes, I researched the Daniel Tiger potty episode—glamorous life, this) turned up one mom, Sarah of OMG There’s Three, who found the tinkling tiger quite helpful in potty-training one of her triplets. She even made and shared a Daniel Tiger potty chart (which you can download too!), showing her irrefutable talent for turning lemon-colored liquid into . . . ahem. Right.
Anyhoo, just like that, I found myself rethinking my position on the whizzing kitty.
Well color me converted because I’m now going with the idea that if someday that cartoon helps M understand that when she has to go potty, she should stop and go right away, etc., perhaps the image of Daniel and his friends peeing all at the same time in a line of color-coordinated stalls in Daniel’s make-believe world ain’t so bad after all.
I will, however, adjust the lyrics of the song to include wiping, because ew.
Now just try to get that earworm of a potty song out of your head. I dare you.
Haha … too funny! I was introduced to Daniel Tiger last year while visiting a good friend in the States who has a son that just loves him. I still find myself – over a year later – sometimes humming “Stop, think and cho-ooo-ooo-ose.” Those songs … they’ll never ever ever ever ever go away. So you might want to start working in the wiping bit, like, now.
You’re *very* right, Laura…we’re already singing “wipe, flush, wash and be on your way.” HA!
And you’ve just gotten to the perfect time for the “You have to try new foods ’cause they might taste gooooood” song. OK, that officially exhausts my very limited Daniel Tiger knowledge. You’ll have to keep us up to date with more Daniel Tiger stories! 🙂
“Stop, think, and choo–oo–oose” was on today! I find the new foods one to be quite awkward in its melody and yet STILL ridiculously catchy. They are goooo-oood.
I have never liked this show. I feel like a lot of the characters are brats and get their way all the time just because they express how they “feel”. I loved the original Mr. Rogers (my family member actually worked on the show!) and I feel like this show is an embarrassment to the original. The final straw for me was that they don’t wipe. Daniel not wiping was one thing because he’s a cartoon tiger… But when the little girl (i forget her name) doesn’t wipe, I was really disappointed. That is not really a good thing to show little girls, considering they can get really nasty down there if they don’t wipe. Eek! After all I have said, I still let my almost 4 year old son watch this show because he is not yet potty trained and it is one of the only ways I can get him to sit on his little potty.
Hi Emily! It’s funny you saw this now because we are *just* starting potty training adventures around here, and I’m wondering now if Daniel might actually help the situation despite my reservations…kids do love what they love no matter what we think/say, though, eh? Thanks for coming by and commenting!
I’m SOOO glad I’m not the only one freaked out by the coordinated potty time of friends… Even after all these years and 2 kids potty trained the potty friends gets me EVERYTIME!! And the wiping!!!! My daughter has been potty trained for a year or so now, but is to the point where she is holding it longer and longer trying to see just how long she can “wait” (my son did this too at about the same stage) so, alas, back to the potty episode we go….
Hope it’s going more smoothly for you and your little one, Kendall. Friends who pee together…erm…um……..
Daniel tiger doesn’t wipe
his but after he uses the potty potty, wait he’s 4 years old and is still potty training on a potty?
You make an excellent point, Stacie….
Minor note: boys don’t wipe after weeing, we shake. 😉
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