Immaturity--good or bad?

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Registered: 03-26-2003
Immaturity--good or bad?
5
Mon, 07-09-2007 - 5:20pm

Henry, at age 7, still prefers entertainment that usually goes with much younger children. That's nice for me since his little brother is almost 2. Henry's new favorite show is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. He has zero interest in shows like Transformers. As his mom, I think it's great. He and his brother have something in common. Also, Mickey Mouse is cute and safe. Every once in a while, Henry will choose to watch Spongebob on Nickelodeon instead of Dora on Nick Jr. but that is rare.

HOWEVER, there was an incident in my summer class today. There is another child that is ALL TRANSFORMERS. He brings Transformers with him every time he comes. He is always pretending to be one of them; he talks to the other children in Transformer language with a Transformer voice. I have no idea what he is saying most of the time. He is the same age as Henry.

Today there was a bit of a scuffle, argument, ending in wailing and a "It was Henry!!" It turned out that Henry was telling this other child that Transformers were for babies. Aside from this child's toys, Henry has NO CLUE what a Transformer is. Also, I'm thinking that one of the other children--possibly this one--told Henry that something he had or did was for babies. I can't imagine where else he would have gotten that from.

So maybe I should expose him to more age-appropriate stuff? I don't know. He's just not interested. Plus, the Transformer that this kid had today had a zillion teeny-tiny pieces. I do not want those all over my house. Ick.

Honestly, I don't see anything wrong with Henry liking stuff that is geared to younger children. But I also don't want him getting teased for being a baby.

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Registered: 08-10-2006
Mon, 07-09-2007 - 9:15pm

Hi Robin!
Nick is the same way, alot of what he watches is geared towards the younger crowd. Ever seen Wow Wow Wubzy?? He also went through the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, addicted until they started running reruns. He also liked the Backyardigans and Little Einsteins. This coming from a child who at age 5, speaks, thinks and prefers the company of adults. He has no interest in the action figures that the other boys are playing with. We have bought a few Spiderman figures, they sit in his room. He has a couple Power Rangers, they sit next to the Spidermen. All he wants is the Hot Wheels, Monster Trucks and Nascars. He thinks the action figures are silly. Oh, and we are also DVR'ing Goof Troop which is another Disney show, very good one if he likes that stuff. Check that one out too, it has Goofy and friends. The Magic School Bus is a great show too! Very educational and fun if you want to expand his tv programming. That and Bigfoot Meteor. Fun shows, something new. I always let Nick watch what he wanted, it seemed some of the older shows were a bit much for him, some were too rough, gave him bad dreams, etc. If he wanted to watch the younger shows, so be it!

As far as the teasing, that is tough as kids are always going to tease, no matter what you say, kids are just kids. If you can teach Henry to just walk away from it, then he is better off, but that is easier said than done as emotions run higher at this age when someone says something mean, especially with our kids.
Christine

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Christine

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Registered: 04-24-2003
Mon, 07-09-2007 - 10:44pm

My son is 7 and he also watches shows for younger kids. He loves Dora and some of the other shows that come on Nick. He is not really into the cartoons that older kids would watch.

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Registered: 06-25-2003
Mon, 07-09-2007 - 10:49pm

I think there are good points and bad points to immaturity, so I would try

-Paula

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Registered: 03-26-2003
Tue, 07-10-2007 - 1:52am

Man, what a good one right now. I thought we were a bit past this problem. Not for Mike, never was a problem for him since with the exception of Blue's clues he never was into little kid stuff.

BUt Cait! OMG different story.

Cait had 2 months worth of trade in money available. this never happens as the girl is UNABLE to save anything. It just happened that we didn't shop last month so she had like $30. She was SOOOOOO excited. And do you know what she HAD to have......

A My Littlest Pet Shop house and new littlest petshop animal. YEP. Small plastic animals which are rated for 4 (YES FOUR) year olds. And she is 13! Even my 9yo has to be convinced to play with her as it is too young for the 9yo. Guess What Emily spent her money on? Scrapbooking stuff and next she wants a camera and is making a hobby out of it but cait's got her animals and she is just sniffing them to death and happy as could be.

Don't care though. She is having the time of her life. You would think she had gotten a million dollars to spend. She is loving that dang thing.

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Registered: 10-03-2004
Tue, 07-10-2007 - 9:29am

We have found that as Malcolm gets interested in a friendship with a particular kid, he may try out their interests and see if he can hang with that. And that is how we are now TOTALLY immersed in Pokemon!!! And man, Pokemon is a great relater for almost all his age group these days, what a God-send.

He does still use his Thomas train set very occasionally, but now he and his friends are really into the designs they build of the tracks, which eventually go all over my living room, and they try to use each and every piece of the tracks that he owns (which is many, thanks to relatives).

Malcolm is now 10, and Yes, Pokemon and other video games are very safe peer-relating tools that he enjoys. Also Spongebob Squarepants, Ed, Edd & Eddy, other cartoons, latest movies such as Ratatouille, which they discuss in depth. He and his pals STILL love Tom & Jerry. Malcolm is also a Calvin & Hobbs freak, as are many peers and even older kids.

I always think to try to expand from what he is already doing, but of course my main focus is his relationships with other kids, which we always place first and foremost on our list, playdates, playdates, social skills groups, now a social skills camp. The interests he gets into are following his social successes.

So, should you encourage him to try older interests? I certainly wouldn't take his younger interests away, as he loves them. One's interests should be honored. As your home contains a younger child, I would let him keep those interests, but maybe the 2 of you can try watching a little older TV together when his younger brother is napping?

Are you having classmates over for playdates at all? One-on-one, rather than in a group at school, is so much better for our kids to develop friendships, esp. if there is a nice, quiet-type boy in his class and they might really like each other, with practise. Then have them take turns trying out interests together. BTW ... You might be surprised to find other kids with younger interests as well, once they are alone...

Sara