Barney & Friends

"[Children recognize that] Barney thinks like them ... He celebrates the child in childhood. ... We dont really think about what the parents are going to like and dislike."

"Barney and Friends is known for drawing the adoration of preschool viewers and the occasional joke or rolling of the eyes from parents and other adults due to its saccharin sweet content."

"The idea of a seance is at the forefront of almost every "Barney" program. On one show Mother Goose talks to the children from one of her books. Led by Barney, the children commune with Mother Goose and conduct a seance to bring her to them. As they sing and dance their little ditty she — poof! — appears in their presence. The Bible calls that necromancy and says a person who participates in such behavior is an abomination unto the Lord. This kind of occult activity fills the "Barney" material. Conjuring someone up is certainly not kids play!"

"Barney, the harmless, ever-so-lovable purple dinosaur who is the star of the highest-rated public TV show for children in the United States, Barney and Friends, becomes a fierce object of hate. A Barney lookalike was viciously attacked in a Texas shopping mall, and an "I Hate Barney Secret Society" has formed, turning Barneys "I Love You, You Love Me" theme song into "I Hate You, You Hate Me, Lets Go Out and Kill Barney!" ... Barney and Friends was envisioned as a toddler show. It was created in the late 1987 by Sheryl Leach, a young mother who wanted a simple program that would entertain her pre-school children. ... Kindergarteners often do still like Barney, but by grade school, most children have learned to disdain him. ... How one wields Barney (whether one "loves" him or "hates" him) is akin to riding a merry-go-round: one does it differently at different ages."

"I was always looking for products and programs that I felt good about and that would entertain my young son and hold his attention, because very few things would hold his attention. ... I started noticing what worked with him and what didn’t – the characters, music, pacing and so on — and I came up with a formula in my mind of what was needed in order to work with preschoolers."

"Barney is much more than just a fun creature of kids imaginations. He is a politically correct teacher of everything on the liberal lefts agenda, from New Age evolution to radical ecology. To many children Barney has become a guru of sorts. He teaches transcendental thought and mystical ideas. Nothing comes through Barneys teachings more clearly than the New Age idea of using our minds to create miracles. No one should deny that positive or negative thinking can tremendously affect our lives. But such powers are clearly physical and end with the normal experiences we enjoy. God alone is supernatural."