Nick Jr. has been a wealth of quality programming for young minds that are still a bit too young to get into some of the flagship shows on Nickelodeon like “Spongebob Squarepants” and others. With their slant towards teaching children new things with each episode, all of the shows featured on this network serve an entertainment purpose as well as become a strong educational tool for your child. A great example of this is the show “Bubble Guppies” which follows a class of preschool mermaids and mermen as they learn new things and use their imagination to take the lessons even farther. You might recall the show, but here are a few things that you likely didn’t know about the popular program:
They Are Meant To Represent The World
While their teacher might be a gigantic fish, the six children that are featured in this show are specifically designed to be more relatable to kids across the world. While Nickelodeon has always been on the forefront for racial equality and breaking boundaries, specifically through long running programs like “Dora The Explorer” and “Diego”, it is nice to see such a diverse group when you are watching the show.
Intentional Breaking of Stereotypes
All of the episodes feature the children doing something that they have never heard about or actually done before. Their imaginations lead them into a lot of crazy adventures. When it comes to roles or careers that might generally be more boy than girl, or deemed more girly than boyish, the show intentionally is written to break apart stereotypes that define kids to have to act a certain way or fit into a specific mold.
Catchy Songs Are Two-Fold
Have you ever wondered why you can’t get a song from the “Bubble Guppies” out of your head once you hear it? Writers for the show would tell you there are two reasons for that. The first is that, well, you have to like the song to want to pay attention to it. A more involved reason is that in order to help kids retain information that they are learning, it is coupled with a song that they will want to sing.
Bringing Autism To Light
The character on the show Nonny is vastly more knowledgeable about most things than all of the other children. He is often not as physically strong as the others, or athletic at all. While it might be easy to chalk this up as a brainy child, it has been widely understood that this character is intended to represent autism and other disabilities children suffer. This is translated through his monotone presentation when he speaks, and how he isn’t as excitable and emotionally charged as the others.
To Educate and Be Educated
Do you know why the show is set the way that it is? While a preschool class might be an ideal setting to teach your youngster new things as they get a little older, how will they be less afraid of the change in their routine? They’ve been watching the Bubble Guppies do it for years.
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