I know that all the “good” parents keep their kids away from the terrible, awful, corrupting power of the television. But I must admit that my kids watch quite a lot of TV, especially in the winter months. I’m talking at least two hours a day, sometimes more if we get desperate enough to watch a movie in those twilight hours between dinner and bedtime. I’m kind of embarrassed about it, but there it is.

I hope I don’t sound defensive when I say that kids’ programming of today is quite different than when I was young, in a good way. There’s more than one channel that airs commercial-free kids shows all day long, and those shows are age-appropriate, sweet, and funny. They introduce the letters of the alphabet and cover basic scientific principles and teach counting and get you to buy many, many hundreds of dollars worth of toy trains. All good stuff, right?

One show that we hadn’t explored much before this fall was Caillou. My nephew Eric really loved it as a kid, and my mom does not hesitate to mention that Every. Single. Time. we see them, much to his total humiliation. But ‘ sister told us that the show was terrible and annoying because Caillou was really whiny, and that we should avoid it, so we did.

CJB and GS discovered it one day, though, when it happened to come on after something else they were watching, and now we all love it. Yes, Caillou can be whiny. But speaking as a parent of a 4-year-old — Caillou is 4 — the show is bang-on. Everything that comes out of Caillou’s mouth is something I’ve heard CJB say. The whining is true to life, but also short-lived, as Caillou learns how to deal with a new situation, or gets help from his parents.

Other kids’ shows, like Dora or Backyardigans or even Curious George, are about stimulating kids’ imaginations. They learn things like counting and how to say “jump” in Spanish, but the setting is fanciful and the characters can do pretty much anything they like. Parents are on the periphery, if shown at all, and there’s never any conflict between friends.

Caillou is one of the few shows I’ve seen that deals with actual situations that our kids will actually encounter. Caillou feels nervous about being left with a babysitter for the first time. Caillou feels frustrated when he can’t tie his shoes right away, then elated when he finally does it right. Caillou doesn’t feel like playing with his little sister when he has a friend over. Caillou has trouble sharing with his friends at the park. I think it’s great for CJB and GS to see a show that reflects and validates their own feelings, and shows them that it’s okay to feel that way sometimes.

Of course, the show offers a nice resolution to all these issues, and that’s why I personally like it too. Caillou’s parents are usually very patient, and although he does get into trouble sometimes, they rarely get really angry. Instead, they know just when to let him work things out on his own, and when to step in; when to push a situation and when to back off; and when to stand firm versus when to give in. It’s quite inspirational and it has given me lots of ideas on how to handle situations in my own home.

It may sound like I’m being facetious here, but I’m really quite serious. It’s a great show for illustrating a functional, happy family, in which all the members are treated with respect and talked to in calm voices. I know it’s only on TV, and I can’t be the TV mom all the time. I’ll still occasionally lose my temper or choose to read a magazine over dinner while the kids watch Caillou, instead of engaging them in meaningful conversation.

But sometimes, especially when there’s conflict, I think of the Caillou mom and try to be calm and understanding, like her. I try to realise that my 4-year-old and 3-year-old are perfectly normal, that they sometimes feel lost or scared or frustrated with everyday life, and it’s my job to help them through it.

So Caillou — thumbs up over here.