Kill Caillou!

I have a four-year old who loves Caillou. I don't. Nor do any adult parents that I know. We share a deep and abiding loathing for the high-pitched prattler (and his irritating relatives).

On the face of it, Caillou isn't a bad show. It doesn't promote glitz, bad behavior, weirdly over-sexualized pre-teens, stupid jokes, or taking down opponent after opponent. Instead, this canadian children's show features a more or less ordinary family -- two rather lumpy-looking working parents, average house, car, desires, style of living -- all revolving around the hero, Caillou.

Caillou is four. He is bald (for no discernible reason) and has a really big head. His name translates roughly as "Pebble." Perhaps I should mention that this is an animated show - everything is presented in primary colors and there are no borders to the pictures, which tail off into a haze. He also has a piping voice and comments, endlessly, all the time, on every aspect of his day.

He has a lot of lessons to learn (this is a show for pre-schoolers, after all). Caillou must deal with disappointment, learn that he grows slowly and isn't yet a big kid, be friendly and supportive with other children, and master some childhood milestones.

It's not Caillou that bother me so much (though his voice is really really irritating!). It's his parents and their parenting that make me want to gouge my eyeballs out with a pink plastic toddler spoon.


Caillou's parents are completely focused on Caillou, Caillou's wants, desires, and ideas. They have endless patience and talk to their children in a special, lovingly patient tone of voice that never fails to send me into the kitchen grinding my teeth and muttering. In Caillou's world (typical, I guess, of most children's worldview) his parents ONLY exist to facilitate and nurture him.


Caillou's parents are always ready to play with him, to read a story to him, and to explain the world to him. Always. They don't get angry. They don't turn on the demanding little whiner (and Caillou could whine competitively for Canada) and tell him to be quiet,  leave them alone, and stop WHINING!

One set of parents I know hate the show so much that they told their kids that Caillou was really really sick and the show was being taken off the air while he recovered.

I suspect it's going to be a very long convalescence!