Yo Gabba Gabba. If any of you reading this are also friends of mine on Facebook, you will recall my many one liners of disdain for this show.

If you aren't familiar with the show, it was created by one of the band members of the Aquabats (a sub-par "punk" band) and promotes liberal ideology throughout the show. Many may snicker at this, but if you watch more than an episode or two, it is a very fair assessment. There's the episode that deals with being "green" and talks about the environment, there is an episode where the characters sing a song with lyrics like "Whats your talent, whats your skill" which stings of socialistic stylings, and of course has no educational value what-so-ever. None. No problem solving, no shape recognition, no counting...nothing. The entire show is dedicated to singing and dancing and loving one another. Which is great, don't get me wrong. Children should sing, and dance, and love each other. However, the show is junk programming that has lots of pretty colors and (halfway decent) children songs. The show also features guests, many smaller indy bands.

Micky's Clubhouse, however, blows Yo Gabba Gabba out of the water. Not only does Micky, and Minnie, and Daisy, and the rest of the Disney characters that we all know and love, promote having fun and dancing, they also incorporate a wide range or skills that children should be learning. For example, at the beginning of every episode, there is some kind of "mystery". In one episode the party hats that Minnie and Daisy had made are stolen. Micky and rest of the gang get 4 tools to take with them to use when needed, and follow clues to not only find the hats, but to discover who stole them as well.

During the adventure, the gang counts out how many hats are left, incorporate problem solving techniques to accomplish their mission, and use shape distinction to discover what sized head is needed for the socket to fix Goofy's skateboard! I mean, really! This show, versus Yo Gabba Gabba? As I said, the gang sings songs and dances, but only after their problem is solved and they have the time, which is a great example of good work ethic.

Am I over thinking this? I know I've asked that on several past posts regarding parenting and child rearing, and I never thought that I would become so interested in something that is seemingly mundane like which children shows my child should be watching, but I guess I ask because I am a new father. With all that said, I certainly don't keep Gage from watching Yo Gabba Gabba, however I make sure that Yo Gabba Gabba is being watched much less than Micky's Clubhouse. Yo Gabba Gabba is kind of like junk food, while Micky is more like the actual meal.

Regardless, I would love to hear from you all perhaps with other educational but entertaining children's shows, and preferably not ultra liberal with their ideology.