Some use to claim that SpongeBob made kids gay because he holds hands with Patrick the Starfish while watching \u201cThe Adventures of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy\u201d. Of course I disagree with the homophobes. But now I have to admit that SpongeBob may not be good for my 7-year old. A new study published in the Journal Pediatrics says SpongeBob could ruin kids\u2019 ability to pay attention, delay gratification, and think. Four-year-old kids who watched just nine minutes of the frenetically paced SpongeBob cartoon (scenes change every 11 seconds) did worse at concentration and self-control than kids who colored or watched the slower-paced PBS show \u201cCaillou.\u201d In past years, critics claimed the cartoon made kids fat (his Nickelodeon ads pushed high fructose corn syrup).<\/p>\n