children's video & dvd review

bear in the big blue house: potty time with bear 

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Product Overview
Bear is a large and gentle puppet character who makes an excellent "potty trainer" for young children in Bear in the Big Blue House: Potty Time With Bear. This video focuses on the social skills surrounding going potty in the magical and warm world of Bear in the Big Blue House.

Tutter is impatient during a game of checkers with Bear. Why? Because he has "to go". Bear reminds Tutter (and viewers) that there is no need to worry—taking a break from the game to go potty is just fine. Bear tells the audience that "everybody and every creature have to 'poop' sometimes". As he explains the process of moving from diapers to the potty, chunky illustrations pop onto the screen. Throughout the video, Bear reminds kids to listen to their bodies and stresses (always in a gentle manner) the importance of such things as wiping, washing hands — and flushing! Viewers see Tutter, the adorable little mouse, on his very own potty in his mouse hole and witness Ojo's distress when he "missed" (and the accompanying lesson that accidents are quite natural). The video also deals with concerns about what to do if you have to go potty in a "strange place", the idea that it is hard to get around with a diaper on ("diapers slow you down"), and the benefits of listening to your body (it's easier to concentrate when you do). The powerful and helpful messages delivered throughout the course of the video are nicely capped off and reinforced in the closing conversation between Bear and a very wise Full Moon.

Bear not only helps out and interacts with the adorable puppets in a real-life house, he looks directly at the camera to "talk" directly to little viewers. He reminds kids how "sweet" they must be, for example, by sniffing the screen and saying, "you smell like honey".

There are some fantastic musical numbers in this video, one of which is a very funky and psychedelic "Toileteers". A vignette featuring live-action kids talking about when they learned to go potty is included. The video is only 25 minutes long, but it's a fantastic 25 minutes that delivers the message that going potty is natural, necessary, and nothing to worry too much about. This video is best for reinforcing the concept of potty to kids who are a little older. Two-year-olds just learning about a potty may not be able to understand all of the conversation.

Dollar Value
The video and CD-ROM set retails for approximately $9.95 US; and the DVD edition is available for a suggested retail price of $14.95 US.

DVD edition:

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