Tags
Dora the Explorer, kindergarten, learning to read, Little Einsteins, Mattel, Nickelodeon, swimming with young kids, toys
I fully blame my husband for Dora ever entering our house.
We had been pretty good in the first few years with our eldest re: no television. The guideline is no TV before age two.
Then my aunt gifted my daughter a Little Einsteins video …
… that drove my husband bonkers.
So one day, he put on Dora instead.
And five years later, she’s still hangin’ on.
My eldest has outgrown her. But my 4-year-old still sleeps with a Dora doll and pulls out the odd Dora book for nostalgia purposes every now and then.
In five-minutes, here’s all the Dora swag the girls and I managed to pull together for an impromptu photo shoot:
In case you missed it, they are all posed on a Dora chair.
And in case you are wondering, that little blond doll in the shot is an “honourary Dora”. She comes swimming with us and the other Dora dolls. Not as frequently as before, but once in a while when nostalgia hits she and her Dora friends still make their way into our swim bag.
I’ve blogged more about Dora helping my girls learn to swim over here. Among other useful things, the dollies are buoyant.
But focusing on Dora proper, the American television series Dora the Explorer began in 2000, was carried by Nickelodeon, and aired until 2006, but (clearly) still lives on!
The series centres on Dora, an American girl of Mexican heritage, who loves adventure. Each episode finds her questing for something with her sidekick Boots the monkey, equipped with her trusty purple backpack and map.
In 2009, Mattel and Nickelodeon announced a tween version of Dora, but neither of my daughters have really latched on to her and the Explorer Girls (her tween friends). So far the spin-off show Dora and Friends (2014), hasn’t really been of too much interest.
Overall? I’m a Dora fan. What’s to really dislike about a young girl who loves adventure and problem solves with the help of her friends while speaking two languages? Her books helped my kids love reading. Her dolls helped teach them to swim. And her bike helmet was with them when they learnt to ride a bike.
So, three cheers for Dora! Who is with me?
Baby Gates Down 
I don’t generally disagree with your review of Dora… but why is a 5 year old travelling by herself without parental guidance/adult supervision of any kind?
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Oh, it’s okay – she’s an Explorer. And she’s not travelling by herself! She has Boots and her GPS! What could go wrong? My gut also tells me you could probably find some academic literature on the absence of parents in kiddy shows and stories (I know Dora’s exist – but that’s about it) but fair point!
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She’s going in her imagination, is she not? That’s ok, right?
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LOL! I remember those days. Sometimes at night I can still hear the Little Einsteins theme song in my head….”We’re going on a trip in our favorite rocket ship….” Oy!
My boys are older now and are no longer into the Little Einsteins, but every once in a while I’ll start singing the song just to torture them. 😉
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This made me smile – ability to torture your kids with stuff they’ve outgrown is one of the small pleasures in parenthood. I’m not sure if that happens with girls though – both mine have this nostalgic bent, so not yet for me!
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Give it time. 😉
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Dora was always a favorite show of all of my granddaughters. I think some of my grandson’s might have watched it too. Of course they are older now and would probably deny it.
Cheryl
Plucking Of My Heartstrings
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There is of course cousin Diego for the boys – but I always thought Dora was pretty good for young girls or boys.
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We still say “swiper no swiping” sometimes. I’m not sure why. It isn’t really needed much in general conversation. My girls liked Dora but didn’t watch it tons. The one they loved was Caillou. I was not a fan. WeekendsInMaine
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Oooh – Caillou purposefully DID NOT feature as Letter C on this A to Z. I too was not a fan. I’m not aware of many parents who are. Indeed I once did a blog post about being Ten Things of Thankful for NOT being Caillou’s mother. It remains one of my most read blog posts….
As for incorporating random references from kids shows into everyday conversation – bravo!
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Too funny! I am also thankful that I am NOT Caillou’s Mom. I was so glad when we finished with that one.
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Agreed! As an aside – a separate piece that annoyed me about the whole thing is we’re Canadian and my husband is French – so the kids go to French school and I expend a lot of energy looking for resources in French. Enter Caillou. A French show and character – but we could only get the show in English from our cable subscriber! I could have almost suffered through it from a bilingual educational perspective if we’d actually been able to view it in French!
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Really? That’s crazy that you couldn’t get it in French. It probably wouldn’t have made the show more watchable but, like you said, at least you’d have the language education piece in that scenario.
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Hey, she taught me to count to 10 in Spanish!!! 😀 😀 😀
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That was Sesame Street for me back in the day 🙂 But my kids? They’re with you. But either way – Lo hicimos!
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haha, I was more referring to the fact that my kids watched Dora. and because I was stay at home mom – I watched Dora. So I learned 😀
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Ah! Yo comprendo (okay, I’ll stop that now, promise). But agreed, I love shows that give a bit of another language on the side. Always good to know!
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even if it is just bits and pieces 😉
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The niece and nephews never really got into Dora. But the current high school kids sure know who she is…
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I suppose that makes sense for the high school kids. As for niece and nephew – what were they into? My nephew, for instance – Thomas the Tank Engine. Not something we deal with here, but their house is all about Thomas.
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My elder one loved Dora when she was 3 and we even had Dora themed birthday party for her. But once she turned 4 she moved from Dora to princesses. Your post made me nostalgic. 🙂
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Ah – we too have had Dora birthdays here. I’m glad I could bring back a few good memories for you.
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I remember watching Dora with my nephew when he was a toddler! Fun times and I enjoyed it too..
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I certainly think she’ one of the more watchable young kid shows…
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Dora is still going strong. I didn’t know the show ended in 2006 cos they show reruns all the time. Every kid I know loves it!
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Yes! She will live on forever in syndication!
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I had never watched the show but my brother had bought this Dora exampad for me which I loved. It was my lucky examboard and I used to carry it always! I still have it with me 😀
Exams
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Is that like a notepad? Either way, I’m glad the little Explorer brought you luck 🙂
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My niece and nephews could speak more Spanish than I could and I wish I had watched more Dora when I went to Mexico back in January. On the list of kid shows, it isn’t so bad.
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I’m not entirely sure watching Dora would have prepared you for Mexico – counting to 10 and saying hello only get you so far 😉 But yes, as far as kids shows go, it is one of the more watchable ones 🙂
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Dora the Explorer is certainly famous. It sounds like she’s also a great educational tool. Those are the best kinds of toys. yes?
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Indeed! The one that pleasantly surprised me was the swimming. They really used them to help float when they could ALMOST swim – it was fun to watch!
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