Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Max & Ruby teaches preschoolers obesity's funny!


As if the television show isn't repulsive enough, last week I had to endure sitting through a live action Max & Ruby play (my 4 year old adores Max & Ruby).

Standout moment for me?

A character with her bottom stuffed with prop weight came out onto the stage.

The shopkeeper in the skit then introduced her as "Mrs. Bottom-heavy", which of course resulted in lots of giggles due to the sight gag.

It also taught pre-school children that making fun of people's weights or what they look like, is funny, fair and worthy of applause.

Given the frightening rise in rates of childhood obesity, chances are in each and every one of those kids' kindergarten classes there'll be at least one child who's visibly overweight.

Perhaps Nickelodeon would like to field telephone calls from those kids' distraught parents when their children come home in tears after having their weight ridiculed by their easily influenced peers?

And so in one awful afternoon, Max & Ruby managed to turn what's usually only repulsive (to adults), into something that was also reprehensible (to everyone).

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