Dora

I have a 16-months-old girl and she LOVES Dora. Trust me I have tried to get her to like other cartoons or Sesame Street, but no luck. I agree, it gets annoying after a while, but I don't have to watch it. I can do stuff around the house, while Dora is on TV.

If you have ever worked with kids, or have kids, you may have noticed that they like interaction. They don't know that Dora cannot hear them. At this age they have no concept of what TV really is. And they need repetition. How many times have read the same book(s) to your child in one day? I can tell you have a read most of her books plenty of times (I don't have to read them anymore). They learn by repetition...

As for the person who said kids should be learning their ABCs, yes they should, when they are 5, and not at this age. Even though, Dora is supposed to be for "pre-schoolers" I don't think many kids over the age of 4 are interested in Dora anymore. So, lighten up and let kids be kids before you make them learn a whole bunch of stuff before they really need to know it. Your child won't read any better if he/she knows the ABCs by the time he/she is 2.

To sum this up, I think Dora is great for kids from 1 to 3. They will learn some words, maybe remember some of the Spanish, and maybe learn to count. But even if they don't learn anything, it's a good way for them to relax and have some fun. They don't have to learn ALL the time. And best of all, it's NOT violent!!! So for all the complainers, stop watching it!!! It's for your child, NOT you! There are shows for adults on TV, but probably not on Nick...

It seems that Dora feels she must yell at all times to get attention, which makes her as pleasant to listen to as fingernails on a blackboard. Even after enduring a few episodes of this show, I'm still trying to figure out what the creators think they are teaching? The few words of Spanish that are used aren't enough to form simple phrases, so why are they there? Mostly, it seems like they're trying to teach prepositions (up, down, through, etc.) and they're padding it with a few Spanish words to fill out the half-hour episode. I think her parents should keep better tabs on her and around the house more instead of letting her wander through forests and valleys all the time. That, and there's something evil about her eyes.

Dora is one of the few, if any female stars of an animated show. The problem solving, bilingualism and non-violent approach is a breath of fresh air in the blast-em-up world of children's animated shows. How could anyone argue with that?

This is a wonderful show for children. It's perfect for pre-schoolers and toddlers. The lessons are hidden in Dora's adventures and not force fed. In my opinion, one of the best parts of the show is the bilingual aspect. Characters speak both English and Spanish. My 20 month old can count to ten in both languages thanks to this show. The adventures are fun and interesting, with an emphasis on sharing, compromise, and interactivity. Catchy songs are interspersed with recurring themes. The repetition can be annoying for a parent, but it's just what young minds need to aid in learning. Unlike other "children's" shows, there in almost no reference to commercial tie-ins. Yes, there is Dora merchandise available, but they don't waste time or insult your intelligence pushing it on the show.

As I can see, so far every comment came from English speaking audience.

Well, we live in Hungary, and here the series were translated to Hungarian, with some English phrases in it (which were originally the Spanish ones, I guess). I have a 5 and a 2 year-old daughter, and they both enjoy watching Dora very much. I think this is a very good educational movie! The younger learns special Hungarian words, which she would not know otherwise (eg. volcano). She also enjoys the activity Dora asks us to do. And the older one picked up the English words very fast, and even asked me to teach her more English! Thanks to this cartoon now they tell us to fasten our safety belts when we drive, and the little one learned to count to ten at a very early age. We have most of the parts recorded on video, and they often ask for them. By the way, I couldn't find the information on this site: how many parts are there altogether? If somebody knows, please let me know.