My Toddler Daughter's Current Favorite Show

I had to share this here.  One of the things I love about real estate is the flexibility.  I usually work from home most mornings, catching up on emails (and now blogging), and I get to see my kids at their best.  Sometimes, that means I get to watch TV with our toddler in order to distract her from destroying our home.  In fact, my wife and I coined a couple of terms about this when we had our first child - the toddler is called the "Destructicon" and we are the "Destracticons", trying to keep them interested in something not quite so messy/damaging.

Our daughter, Abby, is now 17 months old.  She has a couple of shows that she really enjoys, including Sesame Street (she can say "Elmo" perfectly) and Caillou.  If you are not familiar with Caillou, it is an animated show based on a series of books about a four-year old boy and his family.  He has a little sister, Rosie, who appears to be about two. 

All three of my kids have had the opportunity to enjoy this show, as it first appeared when my son was a toddler, so we are well-versed on the program now.  One of the reasons that I think kids enjoy it is the fact that there is NEVER any conflict, and the parents seem to be saints.  I feel like I am a good dad, but Caillou's dad puts me to shame with his abundance of patience and his willingness to play and interact with his kids all day long.  One excerpt from this morning while Caillou's family was eating sandwiches:

DAD: Wow, that is quite a slice of tomato.

CAILLOU (giving his mom a slice for her sandwich): Here you go, Mommy.

NARRATOR: Caillou liked copying his Daddy, but he also likes making his Mommy happy.

You can see what I mean.  Despite the calm dialogue, it is moderately entertaining and certainly non-offensive. 

As Abby is learning to talk, there are certain words that she struggles with, including "Caillou".  It comes out as "Tai-too", and sometimes as "tattoo" which is always funny to me.  The other day, she said, "Tai-too tattoo" and I told her that she was not allowed to get a Caillou tattoo right now.  The next time that Abby said this, my wife said, "Maybe we could just let the baby get a temporary tattoo, or a henna tattoo of Caillou, just to make her happy." :)

One other important topic that I have never understood is why Caillou is bald.  As you can see from the graphic above, he has no hair at all.  Why is this?  He is four years old - it even specifies this in the show's theme song: "I'm just a kid who's four, each day I learn some more, I like exploring, I'm Caillou."  So, what gives? 

Is Caillou the next Charlie Brown?  Is it necessary to have cartoon kids that are bald?  Does that make them more "relatable" somehow, and if so, to whom?  I never really understood why Charlie Brown had about three hairs on his head by age nine.  Was he just so stressed out from being the world's biggest loser? 

Well, I guess I am done with my questions for now.  Honestly, "Caillou" is a great kids' show and I would recommend it for littler kiddos.  I have also loved Charlie Brown since I was a kid, so please understand this is only in jest.

Thanks for reading - please feel free to answer any of my above questions, or talk about some of your favorite kid's programs.