Leading the other four episodes contained on Kindness, Caring and Sharing is the first episode ever aired, "Messy Room." Brother and Sister aren't too worried about cleaning their room and their version of cleaning isn't getting good results. They realize that with a little effort, they'll have a nice, clean room, make their mother happy, and get to focus on the playtime they thought cleaning would distract them from in the first place. The "Go Fly A Kite" episode is classic hijinks, as only The Berenstain Bears can provide. Where Papa was smitten in "Comic Valentine" and making some very over-the-top efforts to demonstrate his affection, he now is convinced that flying a kite must be about getting the biggest kite possible up in the air. All he ends up with is trouble and irritated cubs, until he realizes that he might be making the whole kite flying process overly difficult. Focusing on fun and being happy with what you have is the centerpiece of this episode. The other two episodes, "Trouble With Friends" and "Too Much Birthday" are moving more toward that moralizing territory the Bears entered later in their run on television and in books. Friends are good, but the right kind of friends are better, we are told. Sister's birthday gets overblown and her parents try to help her get back on course.
The messages in this show are good. Instead of portraying wise-cracking, spoiled kids as stars, which we see too often on the new breed of children's television, The Berenstain Bears show us a kinder, gentler family dynamic. These children get in trouble and learn their lessons, and those lessons are unquestionably the variety that young kids will understand. Sharing, treating other people well, and keeping perspective on the difference between what we need and what we want... all these elements of the show are very friendly. The problem with the show's "too much" or "trouble with" aesthetic is that kids aren't monks. They don't live in some temple eating rice cakes and meditating all day. Stan and Jan Berenstain would say that the consumerist, superficial, greedy culture surrounding our kids today is exactly why an alternate message is needed. We'd agree to a point, but kids need something that speaks to them in a way that seems real. Perhaps The Berenstain Bears makes us nostalgic for simpler times and we regret that those times are gone? Whatever the case, kids are moving a little faster these days, and have bigger challenges than bossy neighbors. As a slice of history this collection is precious, but your kid may not be in the sweet spot for the show's message.
