Yo Gabba Gabba!

I started watching kids' shows recently since my son turned 1 this summer. I LOVE Yo Gabba Gabba! It's happy, interesting, brightly-colored, hip, and teaches good lessons. So far it's the only kids' show I love -- Berenstain Bears bores me, Ni-Hao Kai-Lan is a little too precious, and The Wiggles drive me to a frantic search for the remote. (I actually got into a verbal altercation recently with a 2 1/2 year-old who objected to my strong dislike of The Wiggles.) Though Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Friends is okay, Spiderus's jerkiness notwithstanding, nothing holds a candle to Yo Gabba Gabba. I wish it was on right now.

I'm subjected to a lot of children's programming and this is one of the few tolerable shows on Noggin. I'm not quite sure why some people think the music is bad, I find it quite catchy and well written. It sure beats that purple dinosaur's songs and even my hometown hero Mr. Roger's music.

I refused to watch it at first and brushed it off as just another excruciatingly bad kid show but the infectious songs and good lessons rubbed off on me. Beats Little Bill, Oswald and most of the other Noggin lineup. This is the kind of show that would get canceled just because people don't tend to like things that are different. Here's to hoping it stays for a while. At least until my kids get a little older.

The songs are very good. I have about 6 DVDs (or my daughter does to be slightly more accurate) and there are about 12 songs that are very, very good. Like good enough that I would listen to on my own. Very catch stuff and some are pretty sophisticated musically.

Now not every song is the children's equivalent of "Freebird". But about every other episode there is a really good song.

They have lots of original songs but I was blown away by their choice of cover songs. They covered not one, but at least two songs by an obscure group called The Free Design. I have always believed their songs would be perfect in a children's show setting and it came as quite a shock to find somebody else had the same vision as I.

Many of the original songs are good. To be frank, you have a better chance of finding a good song in this show than on the radio these days. Some of the better songs are "Listen", "Different Shapes" "Riding my Bicycle"

My 1 yr old son loves this show! I like that it teaches him something in a light hearted way every episode. I also like how it plays up creativity and individuality. What I LOVE about it is how it falls outside of the mainstream for kids shows. Most are just too cutesy and generic for me to enjoy watching over and over. This one definitely falls outside of the box. The guests are usually alternative music groups or independent film artists. One of the strangest and funniest episodes centered entirely around Jack Black, who seems to be a friend of the show. It's true that the costumes and effects are very low tech, but I can find that anywhere if it were important to me. The bold colors, fun music, and good messages more than make up for what it is missing. And I just love the weirdness :)

I've watched Yo Gabba Gabba! on Nick Jr. with my 5-year-old son. At first, I thought the show was strange and I wasn't entirely sure if I wanted my son to watch it. However, now that I've seen it a few times, I feel that it's completely appropriate for him and it's message is simply not delivered traditionally. However, there's nothing wrong with thinking outside of the box and I like that it's different from other shows.

The show teaches simple life lessons like saying "please" and "thank you" and trying new foods "try it -- you'll like it" to children in a colorful, happy, musical format. It is an imaginative program and focuses on characters who are excited and behave as though they are learning along at a preschoolers' level. It's fun to watch for kids and adults.

Another amazing thing about the show is that it features adults and children of many different races and ethnicities playing together happily. This is important especially for young children who may not frequently see people of different skin tones or prominent features to understand that people are different in many ways, but that doesn't mean that we can't all be friends.

Yo Gabba Gabba -- along with the more recent addition to Nick Jr, "The Fresh Beat Band" -- also introduces children to different types of music, including hip-hop. Strong beats can be fun for children to learn rhythm and counting.