Barney

'Barney & Friends' is a good educational show for kids, plain and simple. After reading the reviews on this page, I feel I must respond to some of the comments, many of which were made by folks who obviously jumped on the anti-Barney bandwagon without actually watching the show first.

First, in regard to the common complaint that Barney doesn't teach kids about any feelings other than happiness: Do you think kids today need to be taught about sadness, anger, violence, or fear? Is there not enough of that in their lives already? Kids aren't immune to life and they're lives are more than what they see on a TV show. The 30 minutes of pure unadulterated happiness exhibited by Barney and his friends in most episodes is an appealing contrast to the bleak stress-filled real world many kids are exposed to for the other 23 1/2 hours of the day. So many kids live in poverty or in dysfunctional or abusive families, or both, and they constantly hear about death and destruction radiating out from every corner of the globe. Fortunately, many kids can turn on PBS and see happy optimistic puppets telling them how wonderful life can be; perhaps it evens things out a bit in a child's impressionable mind.

To say Barney only teaches happiness isn't true anyway, there are several episodes that are solely dedicated to dealing with negative feelings like being sad, mad, scared or embarrassed, and how it's okay to feel these emotions. Granted, the children on the show are happy most of the time, but why shouldn't they be? It's a 30 minute kiddie show, should they all dress up in black veils and mope around like a bunch of goths? They are trying to make their audience, children age 2-6 years old, feel happy.

Secondly, to address the notion that Barney does all the work and imagining, thus setting a bad example for kids: This shows you haven't watched the show because Barney is a figment of the children's imaginations, and therefore all of Barney's ideas are their ideas. We see the fantasy from their imagination's perspective.

I thought for sure I'd heard it all when it came to putting down Barney and similar shows, but I was wrong. Now people are insulting kiddie shows for being too imaginative. I keep reading idiotic comments like 'these kids are seeing a big talking purple dinosaur, are they snorting PCP or something?!! That's going to scar them for life!!" Those types of comments might have been slightly humorous 25 years ago, maybe. But now this attitude has become so commonplace that people are seriously holding a show's creativity against it. For instance, a friend of mine who has a 4 year old son refused to let him watch the Teletubbies because it was, and I quote, "bizarre and too Orwellian". (!) Gimme a break. That's almost as silly as another reviewer's claim that Barney disrespects his preschool audience by talking down to them. That's so ridiculous, I'm not even going to respond to it other than to say, that's just silly.

Let 'Barney & Friends' be what it is: a simple sweet children's show that teaches young kids moral lessons while entertaining them with catchy songs and brightly colored dinosaurs. It's silly to expect anything different from a show that caters to such a young demographic. And next time, watch more than two minutes of a show before you submit a review for it. ~Darlene

I have been watching this since my 9 year old nephew was just a year old. Over the years, and now that my own children watch it, I see it differently. My son really remembers the things that Barney and Friends teaches and I am thankful. It's almost like Barney confirms the things I teach my son and they seem to sink in better (say manners). I have noticed that even at my age, I have favorite characters and can see the obvious difference between the original shows when it was The Backyard gang, and the new shows. Since this is meant for kids and it really gets down there with kids, it seems that parents and other grown ups who find it annoying, should just leave the room. I personally didn't start liking the show until I sat down with my nephew and watched it with him, singing and dancing with him. He had so much fun seeing me do what they were doing! Yay for Barney!

From the adult perspective, this show would seems really stupid and horrible. But for my brother and I as toddlers watching the show, I loved it. My brother and I learned things about sharing, different cultures, mixing colors, etc. At the time, I thought it was a great show. You all have to remember, IT IS A KIDS SHOW. It is not meant to make tons of sense in a real-world setting or be a wonderful, inspiring show (actually, to a toddler, it is a wonderful and inspiring show). It's just a nice, entertaining program for very young children. Nothing more, nothing less. But then again, are any childrens shows anything more than that? No. Barney and Friends has given me some really fond childhood memories of just enjoying things for what they were, not analyzing them. Save the horrors of that for when children are older. Anyway, If you really want some bad childrens television, watch teletubbies. You'll probably become dumber.

Before my daughter was born I'd heard a lot of unpleasant things about Barney and Friends, but now having seen most of the episodes and owning many of the videos, I have to admit that I admire the artistry that goes into Barney. It teaches manners and etiquette, counting, verbal skills, spacial relations, and responsibility. I am also glad for the musical appreciation that it gives my little one. However, I should point out that occasionally I become dismayed when listening to the politically correct versions of the fairy tales and folk lore with which I grew up. Still I and my daughter enjoy the show very much and I find myself wondering what happened to the child actors/actresses in it.

All four of my children watched this show during their preschooler years. I have a two-year-old who watches every day and owns a couple of videos.

This show is about using your imagination. It teaches musical skills. It teaches the alphabet, numbers, memorization, and good behavioral techniques. When the show originally aired it was all imagination. Barney was a stuffed toy owned by a girl named Tina who imagined she was back at school playing with her friends and classroom toys. Now it has evolved to a treehouse in the center of a park and the focus is friendship. Thanks to everything decent this show has to offer, my kids have grown up more intelligent and they are not afraid to show off their knowledge and talents.

Bottom line - my kids are happier because of Barney being a part of their lives. That makes this show TOPS in my book!