Eli watched an episode of Dora the Explorer this morning in which her parents appear. This was a huge surprise for me, as I’d only ever seen episodes with her grandmother. In my mind, Dora was basically an orphan whose grandmother was present but couldn’t care for her.
Let’s be honest here. What kind of parent lets their kid run hither and yon like that? I mean, this isn’t like they let her walk to the park by herself or something. She climbs VOLCANOS. And gets in submarines captained by octopuses to go to the ocean floor. And goes into caves alone WITHOUT TELLING ANYONE.
And another thing. Dora is equipped with the most useless things on her loooooong trips: did her parents do this?! “Okay, dear, have a nice time with your monkey. Let’s put some supplies in your backpack for your apparently intercontinental trek. Food and drink are overrated. How about a roll of tape, and a yo-yo, and a handful of loose change that isn’t accepted as currency where you are going, and a ball. Oh, and if you run into any dangerous creatures, sing to them. That works every time. We’ll see you if you survive! Mwah.” This makes NO SENSE.
Now, if Dora packs her bag herself, it’s totally realistic. I tell Eli it’s time to go and he says, “Ok. I need these rocks and this toy shark and a block and this tambourine and my hard hat. Now I am ready.” The kid has no shoes on and it’s 20° outside but he’s all set to go.