Husky???

Jack and I sat down to watch "Arthur" today while Madam dozed for a bit.  We missed the first few minutes so I'm not sure how it started but when we tuned in, Arthur had to buy pants in the husky size.  There was a dream sequence where he blew up to be as roundly fat as if he'd swallowed a beach ball.  His friends told him that he needed to diet.  They kept saying "husky".  One of them even used the word "fat" although I can't remember the exact context now.  Another started reading diet tips that included eating foods like meat, eggs, cheese but specifically no bread.  Basically describing but not crediting by name The Atkins Diet.  At that point, I told Jack that the show was about something that kids don't need to hear.  I suggested that it was a boring show and he agreed.  Thank God for DVR -- we switched to Scooby Doo's Laff-Olympics instead.  I thought I'd dodged a bullet when Jack turned to me and said, "So 'husky' means 'fat.'  Did you know that?"  After realizing that my mouth was hanging open, I said, "Well, 'husky' is a word to describe a kid who is a little bigger around the middle.  It doesn't describe anyone we know and it's not a nice word.  Neither is 'fat' and using those words could hurt someone's feelings so let's put them on the bad word list with stupid, okay?"  Okay.  He is very sensitive to other's feelings so I don't think I'll be hearing those words again but man alive, this was not a topic I expected to tackle from a PBS children's show!

I'm all for promoting healthy eating habits.  The younger the audience, the better.  This is part of what I love about watching DVD with the kids -- no junk food commercials.  It's great that Cookie Monster has added a healthful variety to his diet while still maintaining his great love for cookies.  When he eats something good for him and then has a treat, he teaches kids moderation and it doesn't make anything forbidden and therefore tempting or desirable.  But today's program went in the exact opposite direction.  Giving kids negative labels to use on each other?  Promoting a fad diet that is unhealthy for adults, let alone growing children?  What in the fizzle is that all about???

"Arthur" is not a show we usually watch but it's one that I would have felt comfortable letting Jack watch without me since it is on PBS, a network I normally trust.  Not after today, though.  I'm going to check out the show's website, see if I can find the description for today's episode and share my feelings with the producers and my local PBS station.  In a time where skeletal starlets are portrayed as role models and eating disorders are starting in younger and younger girls, this kind of message in a children's show, one Moms and Dads regard as safe for their young ones to watch alone, is very, very dangerous.  I'm scared and angered by it.