…but neither one of us wants to watch Barney.

Being the younger sister, CJ has had the benefit (or not, depending how you view it) of watching the same programs as her older sister Tacy. When in doubt, we screen the show geared toward the older child. That means a modest amount of Dora, very little Sesame Street, and absolutely no Barney.

Even when Tacy was younger, she didn’t watch Barney - mainly because Kyle and I couldn’t stand it. I actually don’t mind Barney himself that much; it’s BJ and Baby Bop that make me want to stick icepicks in my ears.

But we figured it was only fair to give CJ a shot at enjoying Barney, especially in the form of a DVD that contains two of her favorite things - letters (which she’s beginning to identify consistently) and animals (which she has always loved). Barney and Friends: Animal ABC’s was certainly our best bet at enticing CJ to watch that beloved big purple dinosaur.

And we tried. We screened it multiple times. We kept watching even when she had wandered away. We pointed out the animals and grooved along to the songs.

But it was all to no avail. SpongeBob Squarepants has taken away CJ’s innocence. Singing children and dancing dinosaurs hold no interest for her compared to a simpering yellow sponge and a smartypants squid.

If CJ had been the first child, and we’d shown her this DVD before ruining her with SpongeBob, I’m sure she would have loved it. As it is, my jaded three year-old has already moved on.

So long, Barney. We hardly knew ye.

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Want to win our Barney and Friends: Animal ABCs DVD? Send me an email at mothergoosemouse@gmail.com - lucky winner to be drawn at random!

And be sure to check out the other reviews of this DVD over at Parent Bloggers Network.