Ni Hao, Kai-lan (Nickelodeon)
common sense media says
Cultural content, good messages make show a hit.
parents & educators say
- 35% say it's educational
- 30% say there are positive messages
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that preschoolers will be drawn to this well-rounded cartoon that exposes kids to the basics of the Mandarin language and Chinese culture. Kids will easily relate to the stories of 5-year-old Kai-lan and her friends, and they'll learn constructive ways of handling social-emotional issues like fear, sharing, and jealousy. Song, dance, and plenty of interactivity add to this entirely kid-friendly package, and parents can feel good about both its educational quality and positive lessons.
Violence & scariness:
Not applicable.
Sexy stuff:
Not applicable.
Language:
Not applicable.
Consumerism:
Not applicable.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking:
Not applicable.
More on Ni Hao, Kai-lan
Review It
Based on 43 parent & educator reviews:
- 35% say it's educational
- 30% say there are positive messages
- 28% say there are positive role models
Most useful reviews by all members
stacey253
parent of 3 year old
parent of 3 year old
TAUGHT MY SON TO HIT, STOMP, AND ACT VIOLENT!
My 2 1/2 year old son mysteriously began using violence when he is not exposed to other little kids often to pick it up from them. I could not figure out where in the world he was learning terms like "I'm going to stomp you." He also began hitting and stomping on the floor, threatening to stomp me. I couldn't figure out how in the world my usually sweet little boy was learning to be so angry. Then I watched the show with him one day (he usually watched it w/his grammy/papa) and I heard the characters using these terms and hitting each other. Now my little man has a terrible problem with stomping, hitting, kicking, or acting in a violent manner whenever he does not like something or does not get his way. I think the opening credits of the show should make it very clear that the show is NOT for children under a certain age, because little tikes are not cognitively mature enough to pick up the message. In fact, all it did was TEACH my son the very behavior it was advocating against. I'm a little upset that I now have to un-train my son of this behavior. Hitting and violence is something the parents should teach, not something they learn on a child's cartoon by watching the characters act out in a violent manner. I would not recommend it to any child under 5.
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jeep30girl
parent of 4 year old
parent of 4 year old
Remove Ni Hao KEEP Dora and Diego
Hate it - It has taught my child to use Im MAD stomp his foot, throw major tantrums (More than a normal), throw things when he is mad (More than a normal), Hit and push other kids (More than a normal).
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Twin Mom1232
parent of 5 year old
parent of 5 year old
Bad Behavior of Characters Outweigh the Good Messages
I'm so happy to see other parents noticed a change in their children's behavior after watching this, because I did too! My 4-yr-old twins really liked this show, but then I began to notice my son stomping around the house, shouting constantly, kicking his sister, and throwing temper tantrums all the time. When I heard him repeatedly shout "I am SOOO mad!" it rang a bell and I watched Kai-Lan with them and sure enough, he was imitating the terrible behavior of Kai-Lan's bratty friends. So this adorable little show is now banned in our house.
It's too bad though--my daughter loved it, and would clap like Kai-Lan to "figure out...what to do!" And hearing them repeat the Chinese phrases was really cute. I think regarding the show's other characters, parents will just have to see what their children take away from this show. Hopefully it's the good messages!
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diga
parent of 3 year old
parent of 3 year old
Mixed message
My child is starting to act like the characters and it seems that she needs to have tantrums to get what she wants. Not recommended.
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sp. ed. ...
adult
adult
Why so much negativity?
I do not like this show! There's always an angry character who is mad, kicking sand, or having a tantrum. Last night my 21 month old daughter was watching and came into the kitchen and said, "I'm really made like tiger!" Why do they always have to have an angry character in each episode? It's so unnecessary!
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gkoneski
parent of and 4 , 15 , 23 year old
parent of and 4 , 15 , 23 year old
Even though this, on the surface is a very cute kids show, and in the beginning, I had taped (dvr) all of them for my 2 1/2 year old daughter being she liked them so much, I started to notice that she was picking up the bad little personality quirks of the characters Tolie, and sometimes Rintoo when they act like brats when something goes wrong, or they don't get their way.
Instead of picking up the positive messages and actions from the characters, she picked up all the negative. She would copy their exact phrases and actions...so I know it wasn't just the terrible twos.
We have since erased all the shows, and don't let her watch them anymore. Ill stick with Dora as she doesn't have any bratty acting friends, or shows that don't have their characters throwing tantrums when they don't get their way.
This show would be really great if they took the bratty attitude concept of the characters away.
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Noot
parent of 2 year old
parent of 2 year old
Not for toddlers
While the show itself is cute and draws children in, younger kids immitate the negative attitudes of the characters when they don't get their way. Folded arms, saying, "I'm mad," kicking items, and storming away are discouraged (i'm sure) in most homes. A two year old does not get the "big picture" and relates only to what is seen and in turn immiates it. While leaning about different emotions is important, this show is geared more toward older children who can talk to their parents about what they're feeling and how to handle those feelings appropriately. My son no longer watches and he is throwing fewer tantrums and not announcing that he's mad or quits while kicking something with his hands folded.
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Rfrady
parent of 5 year old
parent of 5 year old
Excessive Negative Behavior
We home school our son, and while we lament the lack of social interaction our son gets, the NickJr shows have some good social interactions shows. Initially I thought this show was one of them, but our son began exhibiting anger ALL THE TIME and mimicking the Ni Hao characters. He would constantly stomp through the house kicking things and screaming "I'm Mad" and throwing tantrums. All the while quoting Ni Hao lines. We have banned this show for our son because it teaches negative behavior much more than positive behavior. It is a shame, because the characters are loveable to kids and they like to sing the little ditties they sing. This show needs to focus more on positive behavior than spending 75% of the show on negative with 10% on positive correction and the rest on cultural things. My wife speaks Hokkien Chinese and we appreciate the introduction to Chinese culture. My Wife and I are both teachers and wholeheartedly do not recommend it.
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Meerdog
teen, 14 years old
teen, 14 years old
Oh, no...a repeat of Dora the Explorer!!!
This show is pretty much a complete and total knock-off of Dora the Explorer. Some creepy foriegn kid with a football head and a wierd monkey side-kick. I've seen it all before. She's always saying "Say This!" or something like that, and asking some kind of question to the TV screen. I mean, sure, it IS better than Dora(even though I've only seen one episode of this show), but still, it's a knock off.
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Miranda ...
kid, 11 years old
kid, 11 years old
Very educational!
If you ask me, this show is very educational! I like it. Anybody who actually hates this show is stupid. I like it, I watch it sometimes and it gives me tears of joy because it is such a beautiful show. A 1 year old could even watch this because it teaches kids chinease words. I love it!
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rebma97
teen, 14 years old
teen, 14 years old
Cute, educational, show for preschoolers
My little brothers love this show. I admit that it's a cute show. It teaches you some Chinese (my brothers picked up on some Chinese language), and it has postive messages on how to deal with anger, patience, and more. I know some parents don't like this show because of Tolre (the koala) and Rentoo (the tiger)'s bad behavior, but I think that it does a good job showing kids how to deal with emotional issues. But that's just my opinion.
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smoon
parent
parent
WHY YOUR KIDS SHOULD BE WATCHING IT.
I've seen several reviews where parents are upset by their children's behavior after watching the show, but the TV show is only supposed to be a tool for learning, parents need to be part of the process too.
If your child is behaving badly, do you act like Kai-Lan? Do you show them you care by trying to figure out what is wrong? Then teach them the right thing to do instead? If the parent isn't behaving like Kai-Lan than the kids are going to behave badly whether they watch this show or not. Kai-Lan is there to help the PARENTS teach the kids, she can't do all the work for you!
My little girl is two years old and it already works on her. The other day she was not sharing her toy and I reminded her of one of the episodes on taking turns, and she turned to her friend and said "ok, your turn". She loves the characters so that encourages her to do the right thing like they do, all she needs is a little reminder from mom!
Before you pass the blame on this show try being more involved in your kids behavior, and if you don't know how to handle your kids behavior with or without the show, then look into Applied Behavior Analysis.
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pokekid
teen, 13 years old
teen, 13 years old
Failure
Kai-Lan's voice makes me want to die.
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vmerrell
parent of 3 and 5 year old
parent of 3 and 5 year old
Great for 4 and up, not so great for younger ones.
Kai-lan is GREAT! Her friends who exhibit the bad behaviour...not so great. My 2 year old constantly comes away with the bad behaviour instead of the corrected behaviour!
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Invader_Zib
teen, 17 years old
teen, 17 years old
Gave Up On Dora, Didn't Ya?
I'll only say only say one thing..........................................HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA! DORA GOT REPLACED!! LOL, THAT'S FUNNY! oh, yea, THIS SHOW IS CREEPY!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)
~InvaderZib~
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Yomij
parent
parent
Worst kid show on tv
The show teaches kids negative behaviors. Every single episode has one of the characters acting out. For once it would be nice to tune in as see the characters exhibiting some positive behavior. My daughter started saying she was mad about everything, after seeing the show. Worst kid program on tv.
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pa2425
parent of 3 and 3 year old
parent of 3 and 3 year old
great values and education
I love this show for my daughters - i prefer this show over dora or diego any day. This show focuses on emotions and how to cope with them and how to resolve frustrating situations. it displays great examples of cooperation and friendship based values.
it also incorporates another language into my childrens' vocabulary and one that is not widely taught- as Spanish is taught in their daycare and more commonly spoken.
I appreciate this show as they have the character Kai-Lan appropriately dressed as well, my duaghters no loner watch dora the explorer because my 3 year old started to want her tummy to show all the time like Dora's does and we believe modest is hottest and will raise our children that way.
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Disappointed ...
parent of 3 year old
parent of 3 year old
NOT FOR TWO YEAR OLDS!
My 2 year old son started watching this show about six months ago and has been kicked out of 3 daycares. I didn't know why my son became aggressive or started saying he was "MAD" all the time until I watched the show. Oh my goodness! Then, the light bulb went off. Wow! This is so aweful! I am banning my son from watching this show. I hope his behavior improves.
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brandonneo
kid, 13 years old
kid, 13 years old
This show is cute but the tiger and koala are whiny little beeotches.Kai lan is a good role model as is her grandpa.
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