Cocomelon. That one portmanteau is enough to prick up the ears and eyes of children all over the world.
It’s a YouTube channel that specialises in 3D animation videos and features catchy children’s tunes.
In fact, as of last month, it’s the third most-subscribed and second most-watched YouTube channel in the world. One video alone – titled Bath Song – is its most-popular, which has racked up over 6.7billion views and counting.
Kids may be huge fans, but a number of parents are switching off their children’s devices and claiming the bright colours, earworm songs and quick-changing scenes are overstimulating.
A TikTok video posted by @taylor.raye_ earlier this week garnered over 2,000 comments from people concerned about their children.
From parents remarking how ‘angry’ it made their little sprogs when they weren’t watching it, to one child that ‘screams and freaks out’ when it’s on because it’s just so overwhelming.
While some parents have banned their children from watching it, others are sick of how guilty they’re made to feel for allowing kids the screen time.
Here, two women tell Metro.co.uk their thoughts on Cocomelon — and whether or not to call time on videos like Bath Time.
Kirsty Ketley, freelance journalist and parenting consultant, says:
In the throes of lockdown in 2020 – with a three-year-old and a seven-year-old to keep entertained – I am not ashamed to say that screen time became used as a bit of a digital babysitter. Rationed, of course.
I know this was the case in households up and down the country, too.
On a mission to make screen time a more educational experience though, I naively scrolled through YouTube and found Cocomelon for my son, Leo – then three.
I had heard lots of parents talking about it and raving about how their children sat, transfixed, learning about colours and lessons in toddler life. Having worked with young children for many years and seeing some pretty shocking behaviour after watching these kinds of programmes, I was sceptical but I thought ‘what the heck’.
Leo was instantly hooked; it really did make him stop and sit still, but by the end of the first song, I knew that I had made a mistake letting him watch it.
You see, Cocomelon is the type of programme that is fast-paced, repetitive, and for many kids over-stimulating – giving kids a ‘Cocomelon sugar high’.
Previously, we had found with Leo that these types of programmes – Peppa Pig, Paw Patrol, and other kids music shorts on YouTube – often led to him struggling to self-regulate after watching them.
It was like the dopamine hit was too intense, and he would have the hugest come down. He’d melt down, which was heartbreaking and left us feeling guilty.
So once that first song was over, I knew that the likelihood was that he would struggle to come away without it being emotional carnage. And I was right.
He watched just 20 minutes of Cocomelon and even with a countdown to it being switched off (giving warning can often help reduce the upset) he sobbed, was enraged, and kept asking for more.
This cemented to me that it was a programme to be banned in our house because it wasn’t worth the upset. And anyway, who the heck enjoys listening to a monkey singing that they like to eat ‘ay-ples and ba-nay-nays’ or yet another rip-off of the terrible Baby Shark?
Banning it was easy – parental controls on YouTube and just saying ‘no’ were all that were needed.
There is conflicting evidence as to whether these types of programmes are damaging to kids, and as a parenting specialist – with almost 30 years now working with young children – I would always advise parents to err on the side of caution.
Yes, it can be a great learning tool for some. But if, like Leo, the dopamine hit is just too much, then you have to think, is it really worth it?
There are lots of other ways for kids to learn without a screen. And all the songs that they watch can easily be found on your smart speaker to listen to – without the visuals.
So I’m going to keep the channel firmly on CBeebies.
Rosy Edwards, freelance journalist, says:
Another day, another exhausting thing for parents to think about – this time whether we should be letting our children watch the American animation, Cocomelon.
It depicts kids singing nursery rhymes and songs about such offensive topics as eating breakfast and brushing their teeth.
I want to cry. No, seriously.
It’s just another example of how parents cannot do anything right when it comes to raising (our own) children. We feed them too much processed food; we don’t play with them enough; we talk too much or too little about sex and gender – on and on it goes.
My son is three, he occasionally watches Cocomelon and I am fine with it. He is not (I think I’d notice) ‘addicted’ to Cocomelon. He watches a bit, drinks some juice, and then wanders off to play with his cars.
The implication – as with all these critiques levelled at parents – is that because I let my son watch Cocomelon, that is all I do. That I stick him in his sofa arse-groove and direct him at a screen from the moment he wakes until it’s time to plonk him in a bath, periodically throwing some toast and yoghurt his way.
Over the last 15 months, I have cared for my son all day, every day, because I couldn’t afford childcare. During this time, my husband and I also moved house, lost our daughter at 17 weeks, buried her, and both started new jobs.
Despite barely being able to function, I took my son to museums, soft plays, parks, zoos and gymnastics sessions; to visit friends, family and the doctor. I read with him, cooked with him, played with him and supported him through tantrums.
I am not sharing a sob sorry – nor am I in a minority. Every parent I know is juggling some combination of money, relationship or health problems with caring responsibilities – such as those for elderly family or SEND children – and often work.
Parenting is already hard, and frequently preceded by birth trauma; so why should parents also have to contend with vague yet pointed outrage that we are somehow – always – doing it all wrong?
We mortal parents dutifully wade through confusing, undermining parenting advice in a constant quest to be ‘better’. We switch off Cocomelon in favour of home-made, interactive ‘games’ using decorator tape and pom-poms. The last influencer I followed had some good ideas – which could all be mine for the thrifty sum of £30.
I don’t love Cocomelon – the kids are saccharine, the songs are grating and I don’t think it’s inspiring or interesting. I agree that all screen time for children should be monitored and restricted.
But Cocomelon? Really? Have you seen what other tripe is out there for kids to watch? Google ‘Peppa Pig backlash’ for a deep dive into how Peppa models rude, unhelpful behaviour (although snaps for its LGBTQ+ inclusivity).
I let my son indulge in sugar, plastic toys and yes, Cocomelon, all in moderation.
I don’t think I’m a bad parent; I don’t think I am Parent Of The Year.
I also don’t think that the odd blast of cartoon kids singing Wheels On The Bus with zoo animals will damage our children.
Constantly judging their parents might.
Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing [email protected].
Share your views in the comments below.
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