Boycotting the Berenstain Bears
Pat Riffel
was 2), and our son really took a liking to them instantly. We continued
to buy more and more of them. At first I didn't really notice the
negative image Papa had, but after about 4 or 5 books I could definitely
see a pattern...Mama knows best, can bring reason and peace to ANY situation,
etc. and Papa is basically a bumbling fool.
I thought "oh, you're just reading too much into this", but after reading
another book or two the pattern was undeniable in my mind. By this time
my son liked the books even more than at first and always asked to buy
another one. I like the way the books cover some subjects (Strangers, Truth,
Money, Messy Room, etc), but don't know if it outweighs the (IMHO) negative
sterotypes.
My son eventually moved on to choosing other books. My only regret is that
I did not get rid of the BB books before my second son got interested in
them!
Salit Levy Gazit
>We probably bought our first BB book about 6 years ago (when our now 8 YO
>was 2), and our son really took a liking to them instantly. We continued
>to buy more and more of them. At first I didn't really notice the
>negative image Papa had, but after about 4 or 5 books I could definitely
>see a pattern...Mama knows best, can bring reason and peace to ANY situation,
>etc. and Papa is basically a bumbling fool.
I only bought one Bernstein book - "The big honey hunt" (which was included
in a set with two Dr. Suess books). My son loves the book, but I have not
bought any others, because I disliked it quite the opposite
reason cited by everyone else, namely, I felt the book presented the mom
as "all knowing" but *boring* to death, while papa bear, all his faults
notwithstanding, is so much fun to be with! I mean, sure, they ended up
buying the honey at the store, but what an adventure they had on the way!
Salit
sa...@cs.duke.edu
Kate Dudding
>I like the way the books cover some subjects (Strangers, Truth,
>Money, Messy Room, etc), but don't know if it outweighs the (IMHO) negative
>sterotypes.
I too like the way subjects are covered. But when reading this book,
and others, I often make 'editorial comments' to my five year old.
For BB, I would say, "Do you think it's strange that Papa Bear is
always making the mistakes? Real fathers aren't like that, are they?"
For Cinderella/Snow White/someday-my-prince-will-come stories, I say,
"Do you think people fall in love at first sight and decide to live
together for the rest of their lives after knowing someone for 1 day?
Do you think that's what Daddy and I did? Why didn't Cinderella
leave?" And then we discuss things.
BTW no flames re. my editorial comments. It's Monday a.m. and I just
made them up off the top of my sleepy head. I am also not trying to
defend BB.
The point is that stories which partially disagree with your view of
the world can be used as discussion topics with your child. And of
course, each parent has to decide which books have so little value for
their children that they should not be read at all.
--
Kate Dudding dud...@crd.ge.com
GE Corporate Research and Development
Bldg. KW, Room C315
PO Box 8, Schenectady, NY 12301 (518) 387-7164
Grace Downey
I only have one exposure to the Berenstain Bears, we rented
a video-tape this weekend: The Messy Room.
In it, Mama was grumpy, loud, and demanding. Papa Bear was
reasonable, and helped Brother and Sister bear straighten
up their room by building them toy boxes and shelves.
But I do agree that most of the sitcoms today are the antithesis
of "Father Knows Best." The male figure is usually inept and
the butt of the comedy.
The fellow in the article was very unreasonable though. He should
spend less energy pointing fingers at outside influences, and maybe
work on building a decent relationship with his children.
Grace Downey
dow...@sei.cmu.edu