Dora the Explorer is a great show for young kids. It is educational, fun, interactive and most importantly bilingual. As our children grow into adults in the evolving world of culture and technology, the ability to understand different cultures and languages is more important than ever. America is truly the melting pot of the world and speaking Spanish and understanding Spanish is very vital due to the large population of and Latin influence in America.

Dora and Diego are brilliant creations by Chris Gifford, Valerie Walsh, Rick Velleu and Eric Weiner. Chris Gifford has been involved with Children’s programming since the early 1980’s when he was a member of the cast of the cult TV hit show, the Great Space Coaster.

Here is a clip from the Great Space Coaster for all you retro lovers out there. Chris Gifford is the blond haired, white dude that gets picked up first by the spaceship.

Dora Marquez (AKA Dora), the main character, is a young, cheerful Latina girl who embarks on a trip in every episode in order to find something or help somebody do something. She gets the kids at home watching to interact and asks them to help her find new ways to reach places with the help of Map and her backpack. She also teaches viewers Spanish, introducing them to short words and phrases and is athletic and encourages kids to go out and play. Dora is also a musician, skilled at playing a wooden flute.

Here is a clip from the Christmas episode.

Dora has a positive view of the characters she meets, failing even to hold a grudge or be mad at the mischievous little fox Swiper, who is always trying to steal items from her. Dora has a sidekick named Boots the monkey. She is fond of Boots, who became her best friend when she saved his beloved red boots from being swiped by Swiper–and since has become her fun little sidekick.

Living in Southern California my family and I are surrounded by a huge Mexican influence and growing up in New York I was surrounded by a huge Puerto Rican influence. I’ve always had a love for Latin culture and I love seeing my 3.5 year old and my 2 year old speaking Spanish here and there. It’s pretty amazing to see young kids speak different languages. At this tender age, they really are able to pick it up much faster/better than an adult.

I endorse Dora as a fun, educational cartoon 100%. I am not a dad who thinks limiting TV is a bad thing but I also don’t feel like I need to be a Nazi and have no problem letting my kids watch a couple of hours of TV. Somewhere along the way TV got a bad rap but it doesn’t deserve it. If your child is overweight, eats tons of junk food and does nothing but watch TV, then you have a problem. . But if you’re sitting with your child, watching the show, participating and educating them, then there is no problem with it. TV is WAY better now then when we were kids. Thanks to stations like Nickelodeon and the Disney channel, kids have programming 24/7. We got stuck having to watch Days of Our Lives and Divorce Court until cartoons came back on at 2pm back in the 80’s. It’s funny how some view a TV and its programming as evil. Not in our house. We use the TV as a hub of education, culture and fun. And you should too. So to start, give them a little Dora!

Here are some links to a bunch of Dora stuff. She has great merchandise, DVDs and more. Enjoy! We love Dora and your daughter or son will love her too.

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