I am a great believer in the vintage shows if only to mix up the attention span as picture books do. Favourites include: Bagpuss (for that quiet, 'Good Night Moon' vibe) the original Wind in the Willows series (which is faithful to the original but not completely in that no one is unpacking tongue-paste sandwiches for the picnic) and the Poddington Peas, a banger which is still available on YouTube. My eldest could not get enough of that one, back in the day and speaking of green veggies as we were lol. Great post, this, I thoroughly enjoyed it and that bit with the cat in the Litter-Lego tray was absolutely hysterical.
Fully up to speed on Poddington Peas theme now, thanks, Sue! I’m not sure how I missed that series at the time, as it would have been my daughters’ era. I was probably too busy showing them Watch With Mother videos!
I just watched the theme song for Poddington Peas on Youtube thanks to this, and I'm feeling so nostalgic. Off to see if I can find Greenclaws now too.
Yes, I remember Dogtanian, Dean! I agree with you about tech, but it is so hard to avoid it. My piece about playing out a few weeks ago harked back to simpler times and I want my grandchildren to have that outdoors experience, too.
Absolutely. I was a babysitter as a job for a while, and the temptation to plonk her in front of the TV, especially when she was being a pain, was mighty!
My favourite tv show was the Clangers, loved the noise they made too ! How toys and tv shows evolve is fascinating! Our minds develop and move on with the generations ! I love all tech , anything modern , I’d have it all if I had the money 😄 great post Wendy , love the pic of the grandkids watching tv
Yes we have the “Hey Google” problem here too. Ours has been asked such important questions as: “What was the world’s longest fart?” And “what is the world’s biggest chicken nugget?” 😂 thank you for recommending My Old Ass (not literally). I keep seeing it pop up and wondered if it’s worth a look 👀
Thanks, Margaret. That’s cute and funny of Alexa, darn it!
I was too busy teenagering by the ‘70s! I feel like I absorbed every decade of children’s telly, apart from that one. I’ll take a peek at those shows you’ve mentioned, if I can find them on YouTube or somewhere.
My mom used to give violin lessons to Kenny Loggins daughter. So he was always coming over to our house, with his beard. Recently, resenting the insidious invasion of internet TV in our lives, we announced to our kid that the internet "broke", got a DVD player, and started picking out quality stuff like Sesame St. from the library for him to watch instead. So far, so good!
Oh wow! Six degrees of separation (or fewer) from Kenny Loggins! I will share this intel with my daughter, thanks, Anna.
And ‘broken internet’ is a genius move.
When my son started secondary school (age 10 in the UK), his school started a trial where every child was issued an iPad Mini. It was meant to be just for learning and homework, but of course the children were welded to them. At the end of the year, they took them in and decided to stop the trial, thank goodness. My son grumbled for about five minutes and then admitted it had been too addictive. I was so relieved. It was hard to police something that was endorsed by school.
Thanks for sharing! You gave me time with a vicarious grandchild. You could track how your granddaughter interacts with the Alexa equivalent over time. Her teenage "asks" may be very different than "Hey, Google: Cats!"
Thanks for restacking, Julie, and for your comment. I’m sure the interactions will change! Sabotaging her mum’s playlist was a neat trick. They learn very fast. Good to “meet” you here.
Thanks for reading and commenting, Jeffrey. I’ve been really pleased to see that “offline” activities go down well. My granddaughter (2) was riding a scooter round the lanes while I walked the dog yesterday. She’s mastered that skill way before I did as a child. And once I suggested painting, it was hard to coax her away. So much depends on what's on offer, and what example we set. When I was a child, I was warned I'd get "square eyes" if I watched too much TV.
I was wondering who decides these generational names, but we've had Gen X, Millennials and Gen Z, so I guess we're just back to the start of the alphabet!
This made me laugh out loud in several places. In The Night Garden is even more surreal than Teletubbies (but less outré than the short lived ITV equivalent BooBah) but at the same time achingly sad. Iggle Piggle is adrift in a tiny boat on an endless sea, and I am convinced that the boat is his REAL LIFE and the Night Garden just his comforting dream. It's deep, man!
My daughter at ages 7 to - well, now - loved Horrible Histories and I'm Sorry I've Got No Head on CBBC.
We often use Sesame Street videos and songs as part of collective worship in the primary school where I work, which is lovely as I remember it from when I was a child, being mesmerized by the number song and the bits in Spanish.
If I don't do my retirement PhD in culinary history, it could well be on children's TV programmes 1978-2008...
Thanks, Fiona! In the Night Garden is surreal, and I agree it’s deep. When it was first shown on TV, I wondered whether it would be a hit, as it was so dreamlike and “jangly”.
My son (and I) adored Horrible Histories. I kept a shelf-full of the books, too. I was so pleased to see the cast come back in Ghosts on BBC. They're so talented.
Yes, Sesame Street was terrific. My daughters particularly loved The Count. It was a show I could watch alongside them and be genuinely entertained by. Good to know it's still used in schools!
Aw you sound like a lovely Nana! Lovely memories too. I never liked Thunderbirds - the Magic Roundabout was more my vibe. I find myself unable to comprehend most of what is on telly for kids now, though!
Thanks, Georgina. I loved The Magic Roundabout, too, and bought videos of it for my daughters when they were tots. Olivia asked for short hair when she was three, because she wanted to be like Florence!
God, I hated Thunderbirds! I could just about stomach Lady Penelope but the rest of it was ghastly. I loved Pogle's Wood, The Herbs, The Magic Roundabout and Hector's House when I was small and am still traumatised by The Singing Ringing Tree even though I loved it.
Thanks for reading and commenting, Bronwen. Great to connect here! Yes, that was intriguing. I wondered whether they were leaving room for a follow-up.
I don’t know about a sequel (is that the missing word?!) but lots more writers are referring to environmental issues even in films about other things. In that film there was a tie in of course with the cranberry farm. :)
I loved every bit of this. And look forward to watching my old ass.
We have Alexa in our front room. She actually just heard me call her name and is waiting for me to ask her something. My daughter Abi uses it all the time to find out, the time, to set the timer for baking.
A new and different world.
Yes, it does sound like you had the PhD childhood compared to what I have seen around now
Excellent writing
Thank you
Ps cool that your Substack writing world is merging with your real life world love it
Thank you, Prajna. My daughter Alex has the google one, to avoid confusion!
Glad you and Abi are finding yours invaluable.
My son reminded me that we had a no video games rule until the weekend, and that he had a ‘brick’ phone at first, like his older sisters. Glad I imposed some limits while he was growing up!
Yes, it’s lovely to get in real life comments at choir and Pilates. Word is getting around :D
Your Kenny Loggins anecdote made me laugh out loud.
When my boys were small, we went to the BBC at Salford and I suggested the tram there should be decorated to look like the Ninky Nonk. I still think they missed an opportunity.
Wendy, I just adore these reflections on some of our favorite, now (hopefully temporarily) disappeared things. My wife is a school librarian, so she took some of our massive containers of Lego to her school, so at least they're getting good use.
Thunderbirds looks amazing. We missed that one, despite spending lots of time with my English in-laws. In the Night Garden, though was a big hit in our house. I still remember our daughter, pre-verbal, clapping along to that drunken orchestra theme song, and having all the stuffed figures, Iggle Piggle and Upsy Daisy being her favorites. What a beautiful show. Glad you've revived it with the next generation.
Thanks, Rob. I confess I do have a soft spot for the Tombliboos, because they're (I presume) triplets! Even if they do leave their treehouse at a glacial pace. Actually, my daughters left the house at a glacial pace whenever I wanted to get anywhere fast when they were toddlers, so it's not that inaccurate!
Thunderbirds is such a classic. It's got nail-biting rescues, peril, rockets, submarines, interesting villains, stylish 1960s sets and fashions, the lot. I'm not surprised it keeps coming around on TV.
Glad you found a good home for the Lego. Technically, most of ours still belongs to my son, so I wouldn't part with any of it without checking with him first! He's delighted that his nieces and nephew are discovering it.
I think the Tombliboos are triplets! The glacial pace is very accurate. I'm still always coaxing our 16-year-old daughter to move a bit quicker toward the car, out of the car, etc.
We might need to check out some Thunderbirds. That sounds amazing.
Oh, and our Milo would never permanently part with his Lego. He was okay with it being a temporary loan only!
Love this. I have just the one grandchild, aged 11. We have a family saying due to something she said a few years ago: 'If you've got a Google you can look it up.'
We don't have Alexa in our house and until recently listened to story CDs in the car, which the granddaughter loved to hear again and again. New car; no CD player! What?
She was into Duolingo for quite a while, learning German and Yiddish. Random, as the previous generation would have said.
I am a great believer in the vintage shows if only to mix up the attention span as picture books do. Favourites include: Bagpuss (for that quiet, 'Good Night Moon' vibe) the original Wind in the Willows series (which is faithful to the original but not completely in that no one is unpacking tongue-paste sandwiches for the picnic) and the Poddington Peas, a banger which is still available on YouTube. My eldest could not get enough of that one, back in the day and speaking of green veggies as we were lol. Great post, this, I thoroughly enjoyed it and that bit with the cat in the Litter-Lego tray was absolutely hysterical.
Fully up to speed on Poddington Peas theme now, thanks, Sue! I’m not sure how I missed that series at the time, as it would have been my daughters’ era. I was probably too busy showing them Watch With Mother videos!
Never too late lol!
Thank you, Sue! And I will check out Poddington Peas in the morning!
I just watched the theme song for Poddington Peas on Youtube thanks to this, and I'm feeling so nostalgic. Off to see if I can find Greenclaws now too.
So pleased to hear!
My favourite kids show was Dogtanian and the Three Muskethounds, and the theme tune is such an ear worm! Maybe something for older kids though.
I'm a firm believer that technology should be used sparingly, whether for adults or children. They have to be literate, but not dependent.
I'm so grateful for the era I was born in.
Yes, I remember Dogtanian, Dean! I agree with you about tech, but it is so hard to avoid it. My piece about playing out a few weeks ago harked back to simpler times and I want my grandchildren to have that outdoors experience, too.
Absolutely. I was a babysitter as a job for a while, and the temptation to plonk her in front of the TV, especially when she was being a pain, was mighty!
Tune!
Haha!
My favourite tv show was the Clangers, loved the noise they made too ! How toys and tv shows evolve is fascinating! Our minds develop and move on with the generations ! I love all tech , anything modern , I’d have it all if I had the money 😄 great post Wendy , love the pic of the grandkids watching tv
Thanks, Francis. The Clangers is another of our inter-generational hits, pleased to say. It never goes off!
I was pretty keen on TV as a child. But you’d switch on and get the test card and have to wait for transmission to start!
Yes we have the “Hey Google” problem here too. Ours has been asked such important questions as: “What was the world’s longest fart?” And “what is the world’s biggest chicken nugget?” 😂 thank you for recommending My Old Ass (not literally). I keep seeing it pop up and wondered if it’s worth a look 👀
Haha, I can imagine how it goes, Sara, especially as the kids get older!
My Old Ass is terrific. I had low expectations from the title and knew nothing about it, but I think it'll become a bit of a classic.
Thanks Wendy. We have Alexa. If you tell Alexa ‘I love you’ she sings you a song. You can also ask her to fart. It is slightly addictive.
I loved The Phoenix and the Carpet, Kizzy The Diddakoi, v much a child of 70s tv.
I must get into the owl too. Another great read.
Thanks, Margaret. That’s cute and funny of Alexa, darn it!
I was too busy teenagering by the ‘70s! I feel like I absorbed every decade of children’s telly, apart from that one. I’ll take a peek at those shows you’ve mentioned, if I can find them on YouTube or somewhere.
My mom used to give violin lessons to Kenny Loggins daughter. So he was always coming over to our house, with his beard. Recently, resenting the insidious invasion of internet TV in our lives, we announced to our kid that the internet "broke", got a DVD player, and started picking out quality stuff like Sesame St. from the library for him to watch instead. So far, so good!
Oh wow! Six degrees of separation (or fewer) from Kenny Loggins! I will share this intel with my daughter, thanks, Anna.
And ‘broken internet’ is a genius move.
When my son started secondary school (age 10 in the UK), his school started a trial where every child was issued an iPad Mini. It was meant to be just for learning and homework, but of course the children were welded to them. At the end of the year, they took them in and decided to stop the trial, thank goodness. My son grumbled for about five minutes and then admitted it had been too addictive. I was so relieved. It was hard to police something that was endorsed by school.
Thanks for sharing! You gave me time with a vicarious grandchild. You could track how your granddaughter interacts with the Alexa equivalent over time. Her teenage "asks" may be very different than "Hey, Google: Cats!"
Thanks for restacking, Julie, and for your comment. I’m sure the interactions will change! Sabotaging her mum’s playlist was a neat trick. They learn very fast. Good to “meet” you here.
Great move with "Thunderbirds"!
I really enjoyed this, Wendy. But it feels faintly eerie to contemplate how life is now for the tiny tots, the Alphas... I feel out of touch!
Thanks for reading and commenting, Jeffrey. I’ve been really pleased to see that “offline” activities go down well. My granddaughter (2) was riding a scooter round the lanes while I walked the dog yesterday. She’s mastered that skill way before I did as a child. And once I suggested painting, it was hard to coax her away. So much depends on what's on offer, and what example we set. When I was a child, I was warned I'd get "square eyes" if I watched too much TV.
I was wondering who decides these generational names, but we've had Gen X, Millennials and Gen Z, so I guess we're just back to the start of the alphabet!
This made me laugh out loud in several places. In The Night Garden is even more surreal than Teletubbies (but less outré than the short lived ITV equivalent BooBah) but at the same time achingly sad. Iggle Piggle is adrift in a tiny boat on an endless sea, and I am convinced that the boat is his REAL LIFE and the Night Garden just his comforting dream. It's deep, man!
My daughter at ages 7 to - well, now - loved Horrible Histories and I'm Sorry I've Got No Head on CBBC.
We often use Sesame Street videos and songs as part of collective worship in the primary school where I work, which is lovely as I remember it from when I was a child, being mesmerized by the number song and the bits in Spanish.
If I don't do my retirement PhD in culinary history, it could well be on children's TV programmes 1978-2008...
Thanks, Fiona! In the Night Garden is surreal, and I agree it’s deep. When it was first shown on TV, I wondered whether it would be a hit, as it was so dreamlike and “jangly”.
My son (and I) adored Horrible Histories. I kept a shelf-full of the books, too. I was so pleased to see the cast come back in Ghosts on BBC. They're so talented.
Yes, Sesame Street was terrific. My daughters particularly loved The Count. It was a show I could watch alongside them and be genuinely entertained by. Good to know it's still used in schools!
Aw you sound like a lovely Nana! Lovely memories too. I never liked Thunderbirds - the Magic Roundabout was more my vibe. I find myself unable to comprehend most of what is on telly for kids now, though!
Thanks, Georgina. I loved The Magic Roundabout, too, and bought videos of it for my daughters when they were tots. Olivia asked for short hair when she was three, because she wanted to be like Florence!
So sweet! 🧡
God, I hated Thunderbirds! I could just about stomach Lady Penelope but the rest of it was ghastly. I loved Pogle's Wood, The Herbs, The Magic Roundabout and Hector's House when I was small and am still traumatised by The Singing Ringing Tree even though I loved it.
I loved all those as well, Rachael. Apart from The Singing Ringing Tree. I don’t remember that - I’ll look it up.
My older brother was Thunderbirds mad, which meant I was, too. Though my absolute favourite programme was Adam West era Batman.
I watched My Old Ass recently and really enjoyed it. Felt I’d like to know more about all the hints to environmental issues though :)
Thanks for reading and commenting, Bronwen. Great to connect here! Yes, that was intriguing. I wondered whether they were leaving room for a follow-up.
I don’t know about a sequel (is that the missing word?!) but lots more writers are referring to environmental issues even in films about other things. In that film there was a tie in of course with the cranberry farm. :)
Very true! And yes, sequel is a much better word! (Can you tell I'm very tired today?!)
Oh haha - I can see ‘follow-up’ now. It wasn’t showing before. :)
Wendy
I loved every bit of this. And look forward to watching my old ass.
We have Alexa in our front room. She actually just heard me call her name and is waiting for me to ask her something. My daughter Abi uses it all the time to find out, the time, to set the timer for baking.
A new and different world.
Yes, it does sound like you had the PhD childhood compared to what I have seen around now
Excellent writing
Thank you
Ps cool that your Substack writing world is merging with your real life world love it
Thank you, Prajna. My daughter Alex has the google one, to avoid confusion!
Glad you and Abi are finding yours invaluable.
My son reminded me that we had a no video games rule until the weekend, and that he had a ‘brick’ phone at first, like his older sisters. Glad I imposed some limits while he was growing up!
Yes, it’s lovely to get in real life comments at choir and Pilates. Word is getting around :D
Yahoo! You’re writing deserves a wide audience, I get so much from all of it: style, humor, history, raw honesty, intelligence…
Oh, really kind of you, Prajna, thank you 🙏
I saw My Old Ass at the cinema and loved it.
Your Kenny Loggins anecdote made me laugh out loud.
When my boys were small, we went to the BBC at Salford and I suggested the tram there should be decorated to look like the Ninky Nonk. I still think they missed an opportunity.
Thanks, Keris!
Glad you’re a fan of My Old Ass, *the movie*. I could easily watch it again.
Wendy, I just adore these reflections on some of our favorite, now (hopefully temporarily) disappeared things. My wife is a school librarian, so she took some of our massive containers of Lego to her school, so at least they're getting good use.
Thunderbirds looks amazing. We missed that one, despite spending lots of time with my English in-laws. In the Night Garden, though was a big hit in our house. I still remember our daughter, pre-verbal, clapping along to that drunken orchestra theme song, and having all the stuffed figures, Iggle Piggle and Upsy Daisy being her favorites. What a beautiful show. Glad you've revived it with the next generation.
Such a great post, as always.
Thanks, Rob. I confess I do have a soft spot for the Tombliboos, because they're (I presume) triplets! Even if they do leave their treehouse at a glacial pace. Actually, my daughters left the house at a glacial pace whenever I wanted to get anywhere fast when they were toddlers, so it's not that inaccurate!
Thunderbirds is such a classic. It's got nail-biting rescues, peril, rockets, submarines, interesting villains, stylish 1960s sets and fashions, the lot. I'm not surprised it keeps coming around on TV.
Glad you found a good home for the Lego. Technically, most of ours still belongs to my son, so I wouldn't part with any of it without checking with him first! He's delighted that his nieces and nephew are discovering it.
I think the Tombliboos are triplets! The glacial pace is very accurate. I'm still always coaxing our 16-year-old daughter to move a bit quicker toward the car, out of the car, etc.
We might need to check out some Thunderbirds. That sounds amazing.
Oh, and our Milo would never permanently part with his Lego. He was okay with it being a temporary loan only!
Ah, I did wonder – it seemed a very generous move to let Lego leave the house for good! Glad our Milos are aligned on that!
Love this. I have just the one grandchild, aged 11. We have a family saying due to something she said a few years ago: 'If you've got a Google you can look it up.'
We don't have Alexa in our house and until recently listened to story CDs in the car, which the granddaughter loved to hear again and again. New car; no CD player! What?
She was into Duolingo for quite a while, learning German and Yiddish. Random, as the previous generation would have said.
Thanks, Maria. That’s great! Yes! The demise of the car CD player.
It’s strange now to remember how much effort was involved in looking things up, pre-internet, pre-Google.
I’ve got a drawer full of story (and music) tapes, but the one cassette player we had that worked now mangles them, so I think that’s the end of that.