It's My Screen Time Too It's My Screen Time Too

In our review of The Garfield Movie, Deborah mourns the absence of the fundamental pathos of the Garfield comic strip in this zany animated take on everyone’s favorite lazy tabby. Katie betrays her co-viewing values and dares to suggest this would make a good solo watch for kids. We talk product placement and adapting dated but beloved material for a modern audience.Previous episodes we mention:Kung Fu Panda 4 The Super Mario Bros Movie Garfield made us think of these movies and sho...

We discuss lawsuits filed by parents against video game companies for allegedly causing psychiatric disorders in children. Are lawsuits really the way forward in managing our anxieties about screens? We also catch up on what we’re watching during our grown up screen time.Things we mention in this episode:Kids Hooked on Video Games Prompt a Flurry of Lawsuits by Rachel Graf in Bloomberg Businessweek Instead of watching TV or movies with our kids this week, we’ve been:Listening to Phineas ...

We review the recently released movie IF. This might be the first kids movie of the summer season, but we question whether this Ryan Reynolds vehicle is really a kids movie at all. Is it just a sneaky way for us to confront our anxieties about parenthood while distracting our kids with goofy images of anthropomorphized marshmallows?Previous episodes we mention:Animal Crackers Spirited Duck Tales Goldie Hawn bemoaning her role as the mother in First Wives Club IF made us t...

There have been think pieces galore this past month about the approaching end of the beloved preschool series Bluey. We talk about the intense parental love for the series and how to move forward after the end of something we love. We also catch up on what we’re watching with our kids and in our grown-up screen time.Things we mention in this episode:Everything ends. Even Bluey by Bryan Walsh in Vox Raising Raffi by Keith Gessen What we’ve been watching with our kids:Phineas and Fer...

We review the reboot of Dora on Paramount Plus. Did this classic bilingual heroine really need a new look?Things we mentioned in this episode:McSweeney’s article “A Court-ordered Letter from Dora the Explorer’s Mother” How AI Is Already Transforming Moviemaking Previous episodes we mention: Dora and the Lost City of Gold Ms Rachel’s Songs for Littles Puffin Rock Snoopy Show Fraggle Rock Back to the Rock Creature Cases Dora made us think of these sh...

In this Screen Time in the News episode, we discuss a recent event in Massachusetts wherein a sixth grade student at Whitin Intermediate School took a state-required standardized test on a school issued Chromebook and suffered first degree burns and blisters.We also catch up on our family watch lists and what we’re watching once the kids go to bed.Things we mentioned in this episode:Today’s Screen Time in the News article: Uxbridge pulls laptops from service after student burned during MCAS t...