Breaking News: Too much “Spongebob Squarepants” is bad for your kids. Yes, it’s true. The professionals have proven this.

Angeline Lillard and Jennifer Peterson from the University of Virginia’s department of psychology wanted to see “whether a fast paced television show immediately influences preschool-aged children’s executive function (eg. self-regulation, working memory).” The children who chose to watch “SpongeBob” instead of “Caillou” (a slow-paced cartoon on PBS meant for preschoolers) or drawing, performed poorly on tests, which included puzzles and counting backwards.

Of course Nickelodeon responded, and I agree with them. Why would these women choose “SpongeBob?” SpongeBob is not meant for preschoolers and therefore it’s not an appropriate show to use for a test. Plus the kids only saw nine minutes of the program. Shouldn’t they watch the entire episode? The researchers also polled the parents before and asked if their kids had a normal attention span. The Nickelodeon executive raises a good point when she wonders why any parent would admit their child doesn’t have a normal attention span. Honestly, I think I’d lie about that too.

Remember my post on “Sesame Street?” What’s the best way to push an agenda? CHILDREN. After all, how can you possibly argue when children are in danger? Dr. Dimitri Christakis says this study gives credence to the idea that media exposure is a public health issue. No, Doctor. Polio is a public health issue. Not “SpongeBob SquarePants.”

Guess what, Parents? Hollywood is NOT responsible for the children. YOU are responsible for your children. Have parents lost all their common sense when it comes to knowing what their children should watch? It seems as though too many adults have to be held by the hand when it comes to politics and being a parent. The media certainly doesn’t help by frantically covering studies like this. I decided to Google this study and found it reported in many outlets, including Forbes, where the woman writing the story said that news like this worries her. Really? A study that says too much TV for your preschooler is bad for them worries you? If you need a study to tell you too much TV is bad for your children, you are an idiot.

This kid loves to color. Maybe coloring leads to short attention spans?

I don’t know about you, but I’m sick of Hollywood being blamed for everything wrong with people — especially children. Can Hollywood be harmful or too influential? Yes, but they shouldn’t be held responsible. It’s incredibly simple: watch TV suited to your child’s age. Put a limit to it. Moderation is key.

Take responsibility for your kid. Stop blaming Hollywood.

Could it be that somewhere, someone is targeting our kids?  Not with bullets made of lead but with surgical strikes of agenda.  A scheme scripted and softly veiled (sometimes not) into the nonsensical programming they love so much.  As if the ridiculous plot points and mind-numbing hyperactivity aren’t bad enough, there is something else in play that’s even more contrived than their recycled storylines.  Some might think me hypersensitive, but consider this…  if you see it in media, it is on purpose.  It was written, rehearsed, shot, edited and delivered. 

If it’s in there, it’s intentional.  Never forget that.

How about a date?

So what, then, am I so tweaked about?  I’m a father of three children; ages six, eleven and thirteen.  For years, it has troubled me that a selection of children’s shows were laced with strains of propaganda and amoral thought.  Some suggest they have scientific proof that modern children’s programming dumbs one down.  But, it has the potential to be much more dangerous than that.  No matter what side of the political fence you are on, there is one thing upon which I think we can all agree.  We don’t want our children exposed to certain subject matter before they are ready, much less have someone else’s opinion subconsciously embedded in their minds.

I’m guessing by now you would like an example.  I’m cool with that.  As funny as the show can be, one of the repeat offenders is Nickelodeon’s iCarly.  They follow the standard “aimed at tweens” obsession with first kisses, gross-out gags, rebellion and celebrity status.  The show is full of small desensitizing moments that include a half-naked chubby boy, made up “cuss” words and disrespect for adults.  Not too long ago, an episode called iWant MY Website Back aired.  Spencer, Carly’s crazy adult brother, dressed in elderly drag in order to hoodwink the grating Nevel.  The affable Jerry Trainor, who plays Spencer, sold the gag and yes, it was funny when an older man was mistakenly taken with her… I mean him.  If it stopped there, fine.  Of course, it did not.  Later in the episode the doorbell rings, and it’s the old man.  With a desperate tone, he tells Spencer to put the wig back on, and they can try again.  At a minimum, this brings into question sexual orientation.  So many issues are layered in that moment that we almost have to applaud the writer’s skill at subtext (just kidding).  Still, should this content be couched in a primetime kids’ show on a kids’ network? 

Don’t answer yet.

I have an even more unsettling example.  Remember … if it’s in there, it is on purpose.

Disney just launched a new series called Kickin’ It.  (Speaking of new Disney series… Disney, please cancel A.N.T. Farm.  It just sucks.  I digress.)  The third episode of Kickin It contains a suggestion I would never have expected to see in a kids’ show.  Ever.  One of the characters, Jerry, claims to have the ability to talk to dogs.  Because he was raised by wolves.  In the episode, Dummy Dancing, Jerry distracts a police K-9 dog, so his friends can sneak into an office and steal a flash drive.  Jerry talks to the dog.  The dog just sits there, as you would expect.  Then, with romantic undertones, Jerry tells the dog, “My perfect day would end with a moonlit walk on the beach.”  Next, a policewoman walks up and the conversation goes like this…

POLICEWOMAN – What are you doing with my dog?
JERRY – I’m just getting to know her.
POLICEWOMAN – You know he’s a boy right?
JERRY – This is really awkward.
Cue the LAUGH TRACK
POLICEWOMAN – It is for all of us.

I agree.  Awkward.

Am I going to point to sexual orientation here?  No.  At least not the way you might think.  This moment in the story is nothing short of a subtle implication towards bestiality.  Call me crazy, but it’s in there.  It’s on purpose.  The suggestion is that if this dog were a female… maybe Jerry has a shot with her.  Liberal or conservative… this is wrong.  Not right.  With some people in this world trying to remove the stigma of pedophilia, I have no doubt there are those who have no limits.

Parents should not have to be on guard concerning children’s programming.  They should be able to feel comfortable about leaving their kids in front of the TV for thirty minutes.  I want to commend a couple of shows that, in my opinion, give them that.  Even though many times they follow the recipe of talking louder than the last person who spoke, shows like Good Luck Charlie, So Random and Spongebob Squarepants give parents that level of security.  At least for now.

We all have to be aware.  Turn it off it you deem it wrong for your family.  Don’t just accept it.  Demand better.  Support the good stuff.  Let the producers know what matters to you.  And, if this doesn’t matter to you… it should.

Full Episode of iCarly – iWant My Website Back

Full Episode of Kickin It – Dummy Dancing

An impressive commitment was shown to keeping the message of Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” as a battle cry for our youths’ participation in protecting Mother Earth from global warming and pollution. My children were enthusiastic. I was confused. Something bothered me, and I could not put my finger on why – until Memorial Day weekend.

It started on Saturday morning, when I took my 8-year-old son, Nicholas, who is a Cub Scout, to the Los Angeles National Cemetery. About 2,700 Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, from Cub to Eagle, convened to place flags on more than 84,000 gravesites of America’s finest. It was a moving, profound experience.

One would expect a lot of running and playing among these youngsters as they performed their task. But, no. At each site, they stood at attention, recited the name of the service member and then saluted. Within two hours, 84,000 flags proudly waved in the gentle breeze.

I have passed this cemetery for years and wondered who placed those flags, and how, from a sea of white stones, the Stars and Stripes overnight come and beautifully decorate this hallowed ground. All across this great nation, I picture the same scene and the beauty of these young boys and girls honoring those who have protected the privilege of our magnificent democracy and freedoms.

This Memorial Day, I had the honor of being part of the program at this cemetery. joining Robert Forster, Jon Voight, David Horowitz, Bill Sachs and Maj. Gen. JamesW. Comstock. The general had asked all to remember the first time he or she understood or felt patriotic. As I sat waiting my turn to speak, I reflected on mine. My father was a Navy gunner on a merchant marine ship during World War II. His ship was torpedoed in the Pacific, and he was in the water for three days. He lost some of his close friends and was awarded the Purple Heart.

My earliest recollections of my dad were that on every Memorial Day, Veterans Day and Independence Day until the day he died at age 57, he wore his Navy uniform and raised the flag in our front yard. I remember his solemn pride on those days. He also upset my mother a bit because he still fit in his uniform and had not gained any weight over the years. And, well, she had.

My father often talked of the pride he had for his father, who had come from Sicily and enlisted in the Infantry during World War I. His father also had been awarded the Purple Heart and the Oak Leaf Cluster, which is bestowed on military awards when exceptional conduct is recognized.

Looking out at the sea of faces on Memorial Day, the great beautiful faces of those who understand sacrifice and love our country, I could not help but think of the millions of families connected to the military either by serving or through family history. By contrast, neither President Obama nor Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. had a parent in the military.

In no way do I suggest that such a connection is a criterion for love of country, but it certainly can affect how one might feel about the military and its history. Certainly, the vice president does have the experience of having a son who is serving.

Interestingly, Mr. Obama’s maternal grandfather fought in World War II, but Mr. Obama often dismisses his grandfather’s beliefs in his book “Dreams From My Father,” saying his grandparents knew nothing of the real violence in the world. He wrote that his grandfather had never seen “real combat” and had a “tendency to rewrite history to conform to the image he wished for himself.”

During the election, however, many media outlets, including the New Republic, Time magazine and the Huffington Post, fawned over Mr. Obama’s “military pedigree” and “World War II connection,” though Mr. Obama himself casually dismissed his grandfather’s service.

Our fathers and mothers have a great deal of influence over our thinking. We must use their meaningful history and pride to appeal to the Hollywood community, to Nickelodeon, Disney, Universal, Paramount, Warner Bros. and others.

We should have the same unifying message for our youth today and educate them on the love, honor, sacrifice, pride and patriotism of the military with as much vim and vigor as on Earth Day and in the Big Green Help campaign.

We need a call to arms, like that of the Nickelodeon’s Kids’ Choice Awards, and spend from 10:30 a.m. until 9 p.m. with programming that would excite our children with the stirring message of our nation’s heroes and their powerful stories of honor and sacrifice.

They know enough about “going green,” so why not go red, white and blue for future Memorial Days? Let’s start on July Fourth, Independence Day, so that by next Memorial Day, perhaps Nickelodeon will heed our call and put together a program that will bring education, encouragement and patriotism to our youth.

Let’s make it as cool to plug-in to patriotism as it is to unplug to save energy.

Robert Davi is an actor-director best known for his roles in “Die Hard,” “License to Kill,” “The Goonies,” “Predator 2,” the series “Profiler” and “Stargate Atlantis” and his directorial debut of the award-winning film “The Dukes.” His new film, “Magic,” will be in theaters later this year.