The British Invasion

My kids love 'em some TV. Yeah, I said it. I mean, it's not like they're brainless imbeciles glued slack-jawed to the boob tube all day, but they do watch some shows. Usually their channel of choice is Nick Jr. - it's actually my channel of choice, too, because they actually learn something from most of the stuff they watch instead of just staring at some mindless cartoon.

But thanks to Colin's newfound ability to spell, and hence to look things up on the computer, he's discovered some new shows online. And one of the shows he's discovered is Charlie and Lola.

It's on the Disney channel here in the States, but it's a British show, so Charlie and Lola have these adorable English accents (I'm a sucker for accents). Charlie is Lola's very patient and tolerant older brother, always willing to help his little sister. And Colin loves pretending to be Charlie.

Do you understand what that means? Do you grasp the magnitude of this? Charlie is patient and tolerant and helpful. And obedient! Which means that when Colin is pretending to be Charlie, he is also all of these things (with a bonus adorable English accent - which he's actually really good at imitating!). Where normal Colin will drag his feet when I ask him to do something, "Charlie" will cheerfully - and immediately! - complete the task. So I'm taking advantage. Now, if I need something really urgently, I'll just cut to the chase and ask Charlie.

The only catch? When he's Charlie, I'm no longer his American "Mommy," but his British "Mummy" - which requires an accent on my part, too. It's fun, though. And as long as he's being sweet and cooperative, I have no problem speaking with an English accent for a substantial portion of the day.

It's just a phase, I'm sure, and the magic of Charlie will fade before I can say "tea and crumpets." But until my cheeky little chap decides to return, I'm going to enjoy our own brand of British invasion.






Comments

  1. Oh gosh, my sister is Obsessed with this show and she is forever in room watching it. "Annoying" does not even begin to describe my feelings towards it. ;)
    Xx

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  2. think of it as your practising an accent for when you go to england...

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  3. Hey, if role-playing and having a good time is the way to get kids moving and doing things, then I'm all for it. It beats screaming at the top of your lungs, or repeating yourself for the gazillionth time, or just doing it yourself.

    Now, if there was only a show like that that worked for teenagers. The only thing my teens like to pretend is, "When Mom Opens Her Mouth She Isn't Saying Anything So We Can Just Ignore Her."

    I miss little kids. :-)

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  4. The TV is on most of the day here too. Usually on PBS. I see nothing wrong with it either. :)

    P.S. I do like Charlie and Lola. It's very cute!

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  5. I love Charlie and Lola. My kids love Playhouse Disney, which I don't understand, because the shows are not as good as they were a few years ago, plus everything is a re-run. But change the channel to Sprout, Noggin, or PBS kids, and there is a revolt.

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  6. That's brilliant! How fun for you two!

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  7. That is so sweet. Love a split personality disorder kid when the personalities are well mannered and well behaved. Maybe you can encourage him to become Charlie! What an interesting story that would be when you're explaining his accent to folks.

    JK! Very lovely. I wish I'd thought of that one, when the girls were young.

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  8. Indy used to LOVE this show. Sadly, we don't get it in Germany. I liked Charlie and Lola too.

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  9. I have never heard of the show, but any show that gets that kind of behavior out of a kid has to be worth it!

    (side note. My daughter CANNOT say Harry Potter without a Brit accent. Thank you Jim Dale!)

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  10. That is awesome. I kind of wish my kids would have picked up on this show. Right now they only thing they get is Spanish from Diego.

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  11. This is the one show that I was hoping my daughter would love as much as I do. Not so much... she would rather watch Yo Gabba Gabba. Now THAT is annoying!

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  12. That's awesome. I wish we had that channel!

    I don't know what it is, but a British accent always makes me want to sit up and behave too!

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  13. I mostly love that you get to speak in an English accent with your kid. That's the coolest thing ever! Hmmm, maybe I'll just start using one, see what Miss Sassypants does.
    Cute story, I love kids and what they find entertaining.

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  14. LOL You can never tell what Colin will think of next! You also used accents a lot when you were little and we had a lot of fun with that. It just shows what good imaginations our kids have. I approve of any TV show that sets a good example!

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  15. I love Charlie and Lola. I kinda force the kids to watch it.

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  16. That is so funny! My take is - whatever works! Your kid is one smart cookie!!

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  17. My sentiments exactly! We found Charlie and Lola about a year ago and I have loved it for the same reasons - Charlie's kind tolerance and even enjoyment of his silly little sister is a great model for my almost-6 and 3 year olds. And the accents make my ears happy to have it on!

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  18. bah! you are right to take FULL ADVANTAGE of this fantastic situation! charlie, you are on deck!

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  19. Wow.... Lol.. Well I guess its whatever works for Colin to get something that you ask him to done. xD

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  20. This is so cute and fun. I absolutely love Colin's personality!

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  21. We were introduced to Charlie and Lola 2 years ago, when my mom gave all her grandkids the first season DVDs for Christmas. I love it, too, for teaching patience and tolerance, as well as creativity and imagination.

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