One of the big things in both children's literature and tv shows/ movies is absent parents.  From  "The Secret Garden" through "The Chronicles of Narnia " to "Harry Potter"and beyond.

As far as I see it, M&R is just following this trend.

Other shows also have less than attentive parents.  Apart from Rolie Polie Olie and The Bernstain Bears , I'm finding it hard to think of current shows* in which the parents are less than shadowy figures. ANd even in RPO and BB , the parents may be part of the storyline but not the main drivers of it.

No-one bats an eye-lid at Dora or Diego heading off for an adventure in the company of wild and possibly dangerous animals. Or for that matter Emily and Little Bear or Barney and friends.

As we only see a "snap-shot"of each day, we should not make the assumption that there are "NO PARENTS' at all.

5 mins ago, had you looked in our bathroom, you would have seen DS(5) finishing his bath helped by DD2(8). NO parents in sight!  However DH is sitting in the home office which is part of our bedroom and I was in the kitchen , next to the other entrance to the bathroom.


* I'm aware these shows are no longer on Treehouse but YTV which is a sister station.

RadhaMcD:

We see their Grandmother, and we see that she does not live there... we NEVER see their parents.

For me it's not so much that it's more the way she treats her brother I don't like. I don't use TV to raise my daughter and son, I think it is important to monitor what they watch even if a show is rated G it doesnt mean I like the ideals they project. I think it is part of our responsibility as parents to make the choice in which shows are best. This show is not educational and doesn't even project a good childhood therefore I think it is not an appropriate show.

not every thing a child watches has to be educational .some kids ( like my own) love this show and would hate to see it go.when it comes on take off the tv,dont ruin it for other kids!

RadhaMcD:

We see their Grandmother, and we see that she does not live there... we NEVER see their parents.

There are a lot more of shows where parents are not visible too.

For me it's not so much that it's more the way she treats her brother I don't like.

In my experience, it's a very good approximation of how an older sibling treats a younger sib.

I don't use TV to raise my daughter and son, I think it is important to monitor what they watch even if a show is rated G it doesnt mean I like the ideals they project. I think it is part of our responsibility as parents to make the choice in which shows are best.

Indeed, not allowing our children to watch shows WE want them to watch is responsible and active parenting.

eta
And part of responsible parenting is to show our children there are things that can't be changed by us. Just like we can't change the weather when our children want to go to the park, likewise we shouldn't expect tv channels to change thier line-ups because (general) we don't one show.

This show is not educational and doesn't even project a good childhood therefore I think it is not an appropriate show.

No, I like this show. Please don't get rid of this show. I like it here.

ye i agree i found it weird that the two children live by themselves and the grandma sometimes occasionally visits .. but other then that my nefu loves it

when my daughter used to watch this show she got very saucy with us, once we banned that show her attitude changed for the better. It is not a good show and should not be allowed on treehouse!.

i know max and ruby is about a girl bossing a kid around but about there parents maybe there grandmother is watching them like it shows all the time and maybe their parents leave really early in the day time for work and come back really late and ruby is bossy but tell me is there not kid in the world who dosent boss there brother around and in the end max is always right!!! thats the good part  and also maybe there parents think ruby is responsiibal

Maybe they live alone because its a KID SHOW.their grandma is there. they wont get rid of a show that has been in the older kids lifes forever. they used to love these shows and it would just break their hearts knowing that it would never be on again

yes i do think they sould get rid of max and ruby.... tree house is for kids to learn so what is max and ruby doing making them think it's ok to baby sit when they are 6-7 years old and to bath him and feed him and every thing i think they really messed up when there put this show on. and need to take if off

black and yellow:

they wont get rid of a show that has been in the older kids lifes forever.

They did that to Tree Town }:

Max and Ruby is my daughter's favourite show.  She isn't paying attention to how their parents are never around.  There is however a picture of the whole family on the wall in the livingroom of the whole family.  You might notice it when they are using the telephone.  Please don't scrap this show :) 

Nicely put!
This is my son's Favorite show.  And his older sister doesn't watch it, however she is just as naggy and bossy with him.  Maybe it does teach him something!  As I don't see max hitting Ruby, biting kicking, or throwing tantrums, just trying to find different ways of communications.
And if my kids have questions, I am right there to answer them.  And we simply do not allow shows we think may effect them negatively at all.  I would say this though, should we start banning books like Huck Fin or Adventures of....
Maybe it would give an opportunity for you to talk about some of these issues with your children like being bossy.  Or maybe, look how lucky you are to have a mommy and or daddy to help you with these issue's