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See Ya Never, Caillou: PBS Cancels the Show Parents Everywhere Despise

2 Minute Read

By Carolyn Moore

Gather round, fellow child-raisers, and join me for a moment of silence twenty-unbefreakinglievable-three years in the making:

That whiny, inexplicably bald, perpetually petulant preschooler Caillou has been canceled.

And all God’s parents said, “WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG?”

PBS casually dropped the news this week that the long-running children’s show (the first episode aired on television in 1997!) best known for torturing parents with a 4-year-old’s tantrums and incessant whining was getting the axe:

…It just means we get to say hello to something new!
Here are tips for what to do when your child's favorite media goes away: https://t.co/FM8bLI2gbS pic.twitter.com/n0PokaNIbb

— PBS KIDS (@PBSKIDS) January 5, 2021

I’m not exactly sure why we parents have such a visceral reaction to this seemingly innocent cartoon child—I don’t make the rules here (come to think of it, neither did Caillou’s parents). But it’s a universal truth: mention the name “Caillou” to parents of toddlers and they’ll recoil in instinctual horror. That voice . . . that theme song (“I’m just a kid who’s four/Each day I grow some more/I like exploring/I’m Caiiiiii-oooooo”) that constant whining.

Have I mentioned the constant whining?

I’m not lying when I say we actually banned any and all viewing of Caillou in our house.

The response to Caillou’s cancel was exactly what you’d expect from a weary bunch of parents who’ve basically had it up to here with absolutely everything in recent months.

The only way this news could be better was if it happened 10 YEARS AGO! This show was banned in my house and many of my friends! Why couldn’t this have happened when I had toddlers?! 😭 The scars of the whining are permanent.

— Katie Lloyd (@TeamPetit3) January 6, 2021

I just heard my husband cheer upstairs.

He just found out Caillou was cancelled. 😂

— Lauren (@stuckinspincycl) January 5, 2021

I'm a grown woman who is surprisingly happy about this.#ByeCaillou #StopWhining😏👋 https://t.co/YaQJ7Jz3ue

— Kate Merrill (@KateMerrill) January 6, 2021

Oh great something else for Caillou to whine to his parents about

— Dusty L. Canon (@BigKicksSam) January 6, 2021

I think I speak for all parents when I say just a few days into a new year that’s already told 2020, “Here, hold my beer,” we’ll take all the good news we can get.

See ya never, Caillou!

So God Made a Grandmother book by Leslie Means

If you liked this, you'll love our book, SO GOD MADE A GRANDMA

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Carolyn Moore

Carolyn has served as Editor-in-Chief of Her View From Home since 2017. A long time ago, she worked in local TV news and fell in love with telling stories—something she feels grateful to help women do every day at HVFH. She lives in flyover country with her husband and five kids but is really meant to be by the ocean with a good book and a McDonald's fountain Coke.

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See Ya Never, Caillou: PBS Cancels the Show Parents Everywhere Despise

That whiny, inexplicably bald, perpetually petulant preschooler Caillou has been canceled.

I’m not lying when I say we actually banned any and all viewing of Caillou in our house.

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See Ya Never, Caillou: PBS Cancels the Show Parents Everywhere Despise

That whiny, inexplicably bald, perpetually petulant preschooler Caillou has been canceled.

I’m not lying when I say we actually banned any and all viewing of Caillou in our house.

If you liked this, you'll love our book, SO GOD MADE A GRANDMA

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