Thank You, Dan Schneider

I’d like to take this Thursday to thank kids’ show creator and producer Dan Schneider. Yes, I’m 24 years old. And yes, I still watch Nickelodeon. But I think being more educated and having more life experience than I did when I was a kid makes me appreciate the broader messages about family that are evident in three of Dan Schneider’s most recent Nickelodeon shows, Drake & Josh, Zoey 101, and iCarly.

There are two common factors in all three of these shows. The first is that all of the kids in these shows are exceptionally talented and intelligent (in one way or another). The other is that none of the characters live in a traditional family. Allow me to break it down.

Drake and Josh are stepbrothers with clashing personalities living with their loving stepparents. While both Drake and Josh have their shortcomings, they are still exceptional young men. Drake is a talented musician and songwriter, and Josh is one of the smartest students in his high school (who is still often upstaged in science by Mindy Crenshaw — bonus points for having a girl who is great at science on the show!).

In Zoey 101, Zoey is one of the first girls to be admitted to a newly co-educational science academy (more props for girls in science). She and her classmates act as a sort of surrogate family that takes care of each other while they’re away at boarding school. Granted, Zoey does have a mother and a father who are married, but they are not pivotal in the show since she is away at school most of the time. Her primary influences are her fellow classmates, and she still manages to get her work done.

iCarly has a slew of alternative families. Not a single traditional family is portrayed in this show. Carly is raised by her older brother while their father is in the Navy. Her friends, Sam and Freddie, both live in single-mother households. Their archenemy, Nevel, lives only with his mother as well. Yet, Carly, Sam and Freddie produce and star in their own web show that’s watched by hundreds of thousands of people around the world, while Nevel manages a popular website that gets millions of hits every month.

All of the teens in these shows are highly intelligent and creative without lacking average teenage qualities (naivety, competitiveness, and mischief). In other words, they’re exceptional and healthy kids without traditional families (shocker!) It surprises me that organizations like Focus on the Family have not been vocal about these kids’ shows, since they teach kids that you don’t need a mom and a dad to have a strong family that loves you and nurtures your gifts, which is antithetical to the bile that “pro-family” organizations perpetrate about most families. I guess since the kids are so successful in these shows, no one asks, “Where are these kids’ parents???”

Thank you, Dan Schneider, for positively portraying unconventional families and showing kids that love and strong families come in all different styles.

Disclaimer: This post was written by a Feministing Community user and does not necessarily reflect the views of any Feministing columnist, editor, or executive director.

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