So, you thought TeleTubbies was freaky? Yeah, I thought so, too, but it looks like NickJr has taken the cake! The newish show “Yo Gabba Gabba” looks like something the 60s generation would have imagined when they were….well….you know what they were up to!

Yo Gabba Gabba has a cast of hybrid, interbred huge puppet-like characters- half dragon, half cat for instance- that kind of dance around in weird ways and shoot things out of their heads. Every once in a while, a character will fly around in a piece of a robot or a piece of a stuffed animal— never the whole robot or the whole stuffed animal, because, apparently, that would be too…normal… I guess. Honestly, the whole thing looks like the Dali painting I have hanging in my room, and come to think of it, my kids are intrigued by that, too.

Anyway, if you want to check out this strange, strange world, you may encounter stars and guests like the former head singer of DEVO (I kid you not) and skater dude Tony Hawk. So, apparently it’s a hip show. I was too disturbed by the puppets to notice the humans though. I just cannot understand how a show can be so strangely addicting and disconcerting all at once. But, if you’re looking to take a gander, it’s on at 10:30am on Nickelodeon.

In other TV news, Disney debuted High School Musical 2, a couple weeks ago and Diva Jr. promptly dubbed it a success and has played the CD in the car a total of 3,236 times.

The TV empire is obviously out to turn my kids brains to mush, so I gathered together these tips on kids and TV:

• Limit viewing time. (Diva commentary: Use the word LIMIT at my house, and you’re up for a fight. Instead of saying that “TV is over” outright, I tend to use the distraction method when TV time is done. Pull out the paints, clay, or toys from under the bed, and the TV is forgotten.)

• Choose your views. It is your right and responsibility as a parent to turn the channel OFF of Cartoon Network and on to Noggin, PBS or Nick Jr. TV execs are on to us anxious parents, and have responded by packing kids shows full of education and values based lessons. Dora and Diego teach Spanish. Lazytown teaches health awareness. Yo Gabba Gabba teaches us that Dali wasn’t the only one with a wacked out imagination.

• Combine Some Family Time. As kids get a little bit older, it starts to get easier to enjoy shows all together as a family. I know several families in which Harry Potter DVD time is sacred. I know others who let their kids watch Nacho Libre (but I’m not naming names honey). Those moms with babies at home don’t have to share the TV just yet, so just be sure to cuddle while you cozy up to the Young and the Restless (i’m kidding!).

Remember to view TV as a tool that you control, and not vice versa, and your children should turn out fine. Unless you let them watch Ya Gabba Gabba, in which case, I can’t make any guarantees.

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