Watch Animation Shows Without Dialogue With Children
I have never sat and watched a TV show with my son. Of course, I check them to make sure they are age appropriate and have general messages that I can support, but you don’t often find me curled up on the couch with him just like that. His TV time is my time when I prepare.
However, over the past couple of months I have found myself drawn into the living room if there are a couple of concerts going on. He noticed that I was soaring and invited me to his place, and before I knew about it, we watched an episode or two together every morning before school.
The first, Angry Birds Toons (Hulu and Netflix), is a series of short films based on mobile games. The second, The New Adventures of Figaro Fo (Hulu and Netflix), is an Australian animation show about a freaky guy who suffers from all kinds of phobias you can imagine.
It took me a few days to notice what the two shows had in common that attracted me: neither of them had real dialogue. And that makes him my new favorite type of show for the following reasons:
1. The narrative is relevant
So it should be, right? Telling a story completely visually, with just an occasional grunt, sigh, or squeal, takes a strong and clever storytelling to keep your attention and fully entertain you. And frankly, children’s shows may lack a little strong and clever storytelling.
2. Children understand the importance of body language.
Instead of just listening to the character’s words, children are forced to look for other clues to the plot; most of this is due to facial expressions and body language. It’s a great tool for teaching them how we communicate with our body as well as our voice.
3. You can discuss everything
My son loves to talk about what is happening in everything he looks, he loves to point out things and expand this or that. And that’s okay, except that no one else can focus on what is being said on the screen. When we watch these shows, he can tell all his heart and soul, and I don’t have to fight the urge to shut him up every three minutes.
4. No annoying voices of characters.
There are certain shows that have voices that can get on your nerves. (You all know exactly what I’m talking about.) A show without dialogue is also a show without a whine, and they made the background noise in my house a little less annoying.