Scooby Dooby Don't

I wasn’t the least bit surprised to come out of the shower and find Max and Ari in front of the TV, watching cartoons.

The same cannot be said for what came out of one of the cartoon character’s mouths.

Scooby Doo and Shaggy were (surprise) trying to get away from a creature. This time they were on a snow-covered mountain. And what I heard Shaggy say froze me in my tracks.

“We’ve got to get away from this bipolar polar bear,” he said.

Yep, you heard that right: bipolar polar bear.

I would like to know what purpose this particular rhyme served—other than offending people with and parents of children with bipolar disorder. I fit neither category and I was most definitely offended.

I know cartoon creators are cognizant of the adults that may be watching along with their kids. And I certainly appreciate when they include a joke or reference intended for someone in my age bracket. But is that what they had in mind when someone greenlighted “bipolar polar bear?”

As the mother of a most curious boy, who has his own set of behavioral issues and questions everything he sees and hears, I was most grateful that this line of dialogue went unnoticed. I didn’t want to have to attempt an explanation of the disorder that my eight-year-old would understand. I have enough trouble getting him to understand his own diagnoses without having to go through the entire DSM.

Our two kids have a laundry list of issues. I’m typically the first to try to find the humor in what is usually a very trying situation.

But I found nothing funny in the cheap shot and inappropriate reference trying to pass for a kid’s joke.