A bit sappy perhaps, but great lessons on friendship
I have fairly limited access to children's television fare where I live, mostly through DVD's I have been able to get hold of. So I get to know a few episodes of a few series' really, really well. Strawberry Shortcake happens to be one that I can find DVD's for here. When it comes to lessons about caring for each other and being a good friend, this show has given me something to talk about twith my daughter. I love it that you can see changes in the characters as the story progresses. Peppermint Piece (is that her name,? I hear it with an Indonesian translation, so I am never sure if I hear it correctly) learns about playing fair, or being accepting of other people's differences. Angel Cake learns that she doesn't always have to be perfect to have fun. Even Strawberry herself, who usually has it all together gets discouraged sometimes, but picks herself up and goes on. Dora the Explorer is great for a more academic focus (although admitedly sometimes annoying after a while). Backyardigans is fantastic in encouraging imagination, movement and singing. Strawberry is my pick for providing a setting where little girls learn about caring and friendship. By the way, in spite of all the commerialism around Strawberry, my daughter only has raincoat with the redhead on it. :)
This is a good step up from the typical preschool shows (Dora, Fresh Beat,etc). My first grader can easily identify the issues that come up (leaving people out, bullying etc) that have happened at school. Also while it is clearly showing the correct moral choice it is not as simplified as the young preschool shows like Dora. My only complaint is that the channel we have it on shows 3 commercials during the show itself. My 4 year old also watches the show but I have to be more clear with her that the bad behavior modeled is actually bad and not something that we should do. I don't believe there is a lot of age appropriate shows out there for the young elementary set, and this is a good one for girls.