Adios, Dora! Ni Hao, Kai-Lan!

Dora the Explorer became a regular on Nickelodeon in 2000 and has been immensely popular ever since. Its popularity spawned a male counterpart, Go, Diego, Go, for all the parents out there who couldn't stand the thought that their little boys idolized a girl. Both shows are a staple on the various Nickelodeon networks and are commercial gold mines. What many parents and preschoolers don't realize yet is that Ni Hao, Kai-Lan, introduced in 2008, is a far superior show.

Kai-Lan has the same appeal and likability of Dora and Diego. She is bilingual (English and Mandarin Chinese), teaches a new Chinese word and a little bit about Chinese culture every episode. She is easier to relate to because kids can identify with spending time with friends and family. Being easy to relate to means her lessons are easier to absorb. Most importantly, though, she helps "kids identify and cope with their feelings" according to the introduction on the Noggin Network. Preschoolers need lessons on feelings much more than they need lessons on map reading (Dora) or rainforest animals (Diego). The preschool years are difficult because kids feel emotions that they can't properly identify, describe or appropriately express. Kai-Lan and her friends Rintoo the tiger, Tolee the koala, Hoho the monkey and her grandpa Ye-Ye, address a different emotion each episode that any kid can identify with. Fear, anger, sadness, impatience, and frustration are the main emotions Kai-Lan and crew deal with; these are the same emotions most preschoolers feel every day.

The basic timeline of each show is the same: Kai-Lan tells us what she and her friends are up to that day and invites us to join them; then once they are involved in the activity one of the friends becomes upset; after that, Kai-Lan identifies the feeling and gives viewers and her friends a catchy advice-filled song on how to deal with that emotion; then she helps her friend feel better. Not only does the show teach kids about different emotions, it also demonstrates acceptable ways to express them, especially anger which is an emotion even adults have trouble expressing appropriately. There is no yelling, no hitting, no throwing, no name calling, and no rolling on the floor kicking and screaming.

Ni Hao, Kai-Lan teaches kids the ideas of sympathy and empathy. We all need lessons in sympathy and empathy, truth be told. Kai-Lan asks viewers how her friend is feeling by describing and showing the friend's behavior (ie, stomping and making fists, or crying), and once she identifies the feeling, she tries to understand why her friend feels that way by replaying what the friend said. After she figures out what the matter is, she sings her little song and goes to help her friend. Kai-Lan and company show kids how to be good, caring friends without being preachy about it. Her songs are very catchy and memorable. "When you cause a problem, here's what you should do: first you say you're sorry then you help to fix it too," or "When something's really scary, don't try it all at once: try it little, by little, by little!" are two examples of the songs.

Another very important idea that kids can learn from Kai-Lan is responsibility. In "Twirly Whirly Fliers" Tolee accidentally breaks the bridge in the ant village so he runs off and hides. In "Kai-Lan's Carnival" Rintoo and Hoho break their friend Stompy the Elephant's rollercoaster rocket car so they run off too. Kai-Lan figures out why her friends have run away and she convinces them that they need to confess, apologize and help fix the problem they caused. Accepting responsibility for one's actions is a universal difficulty. Kids (and adults!) fear punishment when they break something by mistake so they try to cover up what they've done; but Kai-Lan shows them that it's okay because they didn't mean to do it. She's nonjudgmental and totally neutral in her responses to mistakes, which also reassures kids that making a mistake isn't the end of the world.

The lessons that Ni Hao, Kai-Lan teaches are invaluable and practical for every day life. She and her friends deal with tough emotions and situations and show the positive outcome that results from coping with feelings and being a good friend. Dora and Diego fall flat when it comes to real life situations that kids can identify with, and no other show on television today consistently deals with emotions, being responsible and being a good friend.