Am I the only adult in the United States who thinks after-school television (except on PBS!) is grossly inappropriate for children? (And, at the same time, who thinks talking vegetables are idiotic?) God, I certainly hope not! When I was in school, barring Presidential news conferences or some crisis warranting news coverage, I could pretty reliably crash after class & fold my laundry in front Looney Tunes, or Tom & Jerry, or Scooby Doo, or He-Man & the Masters of the Universe. (My youngest sibling is seven years my junior; he was still into cartoons when I was 21).

My youngest child is 10. When my now-21 year old was that age, I was leery of letting him watch any after-school TV fare. Thankfully my four all gravitate toward the PBS stuff when they're home at that hour! (Swim team practice starts at 3:00 for the youngest & runs until 6:30 for the older one, so the girls are seldom near a TV at that time.)

Maybe I'm a disco-era relic, but I don't understand how (nor why!) such ADULT twaddle as family squabbles about "baby daddies," divorce court hearings, & various judges' public hearings of other people airing dirty laundry found its way from prime time to the pre-news broadcast hour. Given my day job working with emotionally disturbed children whose families are perpetually in crisis, I don't find such fare entertaining, much less appropriate viewing for a child!

While I'm on the subject, as fond as I am of Jeopardy! and other quiz shows, what ever happened to 7:30 p.m. broadcasts of The Muppet Show? I can't count how many family suppers gravitated from the table to the living room so we could watch The Great Gonzo blow himself up (again!), or watch Dr. Teeth & the Electric Mayhem on stage with some guest human entertainer, or laugh at Veterinarian's Hospital, "the story of a quack who's gone to the dogs!"

BRING THE CHILDREN'S HOUR BACK!!!