What I have noticed about my older son (5) is that he wants to watch shows to fit in at school. I compromise on allowing him to read books about these characters. During vacation, he doesn't care about tv shows per se. Yet, I have seen he wants to be an expert on what the other boys at school think as cool. In absence of school, nature/ animal shows are all that would be requested. As parents, we watch all shows with the boys and no commercials. Love dvr.