Did you hear the one about the kid who wanted to know everything about everything?

Have you ever watched the show, Sid the Science Kid on PBS?

We love Sid, and watch him regularly, but there are a few things about the show that irk me a bit.

First of all, Sid is never naughty. He wakes up every morning in a clean bedroom and entertains himself peacefully until his mom calls him downstairs for breakfast. His entire family eats together every morning; no one is rushed or running late to work. And Sid? He eats all of his food. And he never complains. And every morning he presents his parents with a wonderful opportunity to teach him something.

He’s a curious little stinker, that Sid.

When it’s time for school, Sid climbs willingly into his car seat and sings a song about how cool his mom is. And there is something to note at this point: Sid’s head is about a foot above the top of his car seat and almost touches the roof of the car which leads me to believe that Sid is really 15 years old and well above the 4’9″ booster seat recommendation.

When Sid gets to school, he performs a song and dance number with his friends May, Gabriela, and Gerald on the playground. They’re alright except for that Gerald. He’s sort of “out there,” and will probably have some social problems in adulthood.

Pretty soon, Teacher Susie comes outside to get the kids. She’s young, skinny, and hip, but she’s a bit of a pushover because she lets Sid dictate the subject matter of each lesson EVERY.SINGLE.DAY. 


Where is her curriculum? Her lesson plan?

Sid’s education is clearly a scam because, four kids in a class? Really?!? 

After school, Sid’s grandma picks him up and takes him home. Grandma has a nervous laugh that resembles mating wildebeests. She also makes other noises like, “Ahhhh-ah-ah-ah!” and “Oooo-ooo-ooo!” that make me uncomfortable.

At home, Sid tells everyone what he learned at school that day, and then the entire family plays, sings, or dances together.

The strangest thing about Sid, though, is that he has five fingers!

[PBS]

As a child, I thought it was really odd that cartoons usually only have four fingers. Now that I've seen Sid's furious five, I totally get it! It looks weeeiiiiiird!

Next up: my analysis of The Cat in the Hat Knows a lot About That, and why no mother should let her children travel via thingamajig.