Pinoy Parents React On CoComelon Addiction: ‘It’s Not The Show But The Screen Time’

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  It seems the ultra-popular Youtube and Netflix kiddie show CoComelon (it has 101.5 billion views to date) is causing some commotion among netizens, including parents over at our Facebook group, Smart Parenting Village.

  If you’re wondering what’s going on, it started with a series of posts by @jerricasannes on Instagram Stories. According to her profile, she is a graduate of BS Child Development and a former owner of a Reggio toddler school. She has since put up the post on her feed.

  “Cocomelon is so hyper-stimulating”

  She warned her followers that CoComelon was addicting for tots and that “our children are the guinea pigs.” She went on to say, “Cocomelon is so hyper-stimulating that it actually acts as a drug, a stimulant.”

  Citing an example, Jerrica showed an episode that shows the family cooking in the kitchen. She pointed out how a scene can change in less than two seconds and how multiple sounds such as singing, laughing, and baby noises are all going on at the same time.

  “Their brain literally CAN’T,” she stresses. She went on to enumerate the following bad effects of CoComelon on a child:

  • Experience symptoms of addiction and withdrawal (i.e., having a meltdown if the program is turned off).
  • General discomfort in the speed of everyday life because the brain begins to expect intense level of stimulation
  • Difficulty in playing creatively and without entertainment
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  Interested in another point of view from an expert? Read here

  Pinoy parents react

  In reaction, moms and dads in the Smart Parenting Village can’t help but offer their two cents. One dad stated: “Nagtataka lang ako kasi bakit Cocomelon lang? Bakit now lang? Dahil ba naging number 1 sila? At bakit wala nang ibang legit at scientific studies about the effect of the show?”

  He says it seems the cartoons of his era, such as Voltes V, Tom and Jerry, and Popeye, were far more ‘brutal.’

  “Let’s not be too praning to the point na parang nakakulong na sila sa bunker,” he reminded the members. “Our LOs (little ones) are different with different personalities, with different learning styles. Tayong mga magulang ang mas nakakakilala sa kanila at alam kung ano mas nakakabuti sa kanila.”

  It’s not the show, but the screen time

  Many moms agreed with the dad and said the show is not to blame, but the amount of screen time that parents allow their kids to have is the issue.

  “Kahit anong channel pa yan, kung walang limits sa screentime, it will still trigger the addiction. I can’t hate CoComelon and Peppa Pig like that kasi my 6 year-old started speaking good English because of Peppa Pig. And CoComelon has good nursery rhymes that we can sing together even with the screen off,” says one.

  Another mom thought that the post was exaggerated. “You can be with your kids while watching these shows to validate their claims. It’s up to us parents how to limit the kids’ screentime,” she argues.

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  One mom, however, was relieved that her LO didn’t watch CoComelon. “Buti hindi fan at never na addict sa Cocomelon ang anak ko. Bob the Builder ang gustong gusto niya,” she says.

  One mom says the post makes mothers, who resort to screen time while doing other chores, feel guilty.

  “I know the purpose of the post was to warn, but still…it makes mommies feel bad about the decisions they do for the little ones. Paano yung mommies na walang yaya? Na walang ibang kasama sa bahay? Like me!” she says, punctuating her post with a sarcastic face emoji.

  Stay open

  Another mom says that it’s good to remain open to posts like these, so parents become discriminating about the shows they expose their children to.

  “Ok din yung may ganung mga info para we can weigh correctly yung mga bagay bagay at hindi pagsisihan sa huli.” She adds, “Ganun din sinabi sa amin ng pedia at neurodevped ng anak ko — kaya hindi siya fake news or gawa gawa lang for me.”

  Most netizens agreed that they, as parents, control and monitor the viewing. So it all boils down to the right balance, they said.

  As one mom puts it, “At the end of the day parent ang kasama ng bata, tayo pa rin ang kasama nila at humubog ng kagandahang asal nila.”

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