Kiss Cookie Monster, Elmo, Oscar and Big Bird good-bye kiddos because the American Academy of Pediatrics thinks that television for toddlers should be all but banned. But is banning television for youngsters really a solution? We live in a world completely saturated by the media so rather than isolating toddlers from media all together parents should be conscious of the types of programs and advertisements they expose their toddlers to.
The Academy’s initial announcement in 1999 “called on parents of young children to all but ban television watching for children under 2,” but after receiving much criticism from parents and the entertainment industry alike, this past week the Academy reissued their original announcement. While the new policy is a lot less restrictive the Academy is still sticking to their belief that “video screen time provides no educational benefits for children under age 2”. Furthermore, studies have shown that “children learn a lot more efficiently from real interactions – with people and things – than from situations appearing on video screens.” So the question remains, how can we change parent’s attitude towards their children’s media consumption? How does one separate from the 40- 60% of households who report having the TV on in the background during the whole day to those parents who put their kids in front of the TV only while they make dinner or take a shower? The problem is that there isn’t any long-term research on this topic, so until there is said research some parents will use the TV to entertain their youngsters instead of interacting with them.
But how interactive can parents be with the degree of media saturation in America today? According to The New York Times author Benedict Carey in his recent article “Parents Urged Again to Limit TV for Youngest”, states that nowadays an average household can have 10 or more screens in it so banning children’s media access is nearly impossible. Despite the copious programs for infants and toddler, the Academy has unwaveringly stated that there is “no such thing as an educational program for such young children.” But, who determines what is educational and what isn’t? It isn't just to rule out all types of entertainment as non-educational when the media plays such an huge role in day-to-day life.
However, parents must be wary when deeming programs educational. One must pay attention to not only the content but also to the advertisements presented along with the show. While networks such as PBS Kids and Nick Jr. are non-commercial, the same cannot be said for other children’s networks such a Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, and Disney. These stations air product ads that target the interests of the youngsters who watch the shows. For example, a young girl loves Dora the Explorer and watches it everyday. Parents think the show is harmless, even educational; it teaches kids Spanish, but they are wrong. This little girl is unknowingly becoming a consumer through the ads she is being shown. She learns how to want and need products such as the “Gourmet Cake Bakery Set” or “Swim with me Barbie.” It is scary to think that children are being treated as consumers from such an early age. While advertisements do not appear during shows for toddlers, who knows what’s next? The Academy would argue that children of such a young age do not have the capacity to understand what an advertisement is, but as soon as these toddlers learn how to form words or even just point, they are going to be pointing to what they see on the TV – and it won’t be Spanish words, it will be dolls, easy-bake ovens, and other useless products.
Despite the dangers of advertisements media should not be banned, but the content of the entire station should be evaluated. This can be done through a process known as Entertainment-Education. Entertainment education, a theory best described by author Martine Bouman in his essay "Turtles and Peacocks: Collaboration in Entertainment-Education Television". believes that media outlets and health providers can work together to promote awareness about social, cultural, and health related issues. Entertainment-Education can be seen on TV shows such as Scrubs in which they dedicate a whole episode to postpartum depression and provide contact information at the end of the episode. But can Entertainment-Education be reflected in programs for children? While the Academy would say no, the long terms love and appreciate of shows such as Sesame Street project a different answer.
Sesame Street is a program that teaches about life-long friendship, happiness, and promotes learning. While the show in a vacuum may not teach children under two these values, with reinforcement from parents, program like Sesame Street will have a positive effect on children. Media and entertainment is only growing more and more prevalent in today’s society and it is the duty of industry professionals to create more programs that stimulate young children and are free from advertisements. Do parents need to be grouchy like Oscar to get commercial free content? He doesn’t have advertisements in his trashcan!
This is a great post Katy! In my personal experience, while the TV shows I watched as a child didn't necessarily educate me in things like language, math, etc. you gain a lot from these shows in the values they promote. I was a huge Rugrats fan as a child, and a lot of the themes they portray on the show helped me better understand the difference between "right" and "wrong." Moreover, these shows have social worth; I can't count how many times the shows I watched as a child have come up in ordinary conversations. They are something people can relate to and bond over.
ReplyDeleteTV shows like Blues Clue and Sesame Street won't teach our kids science and math, but it helps children to understand relationships and values better and allows kids to gain the social skills they will need to bring with them as they grow up. This is a good a reason as any why they should stick around.
Coming from an advertisement background, the question always is, where do you draw the line with children? On one hand, I do believe children are a powerful tool for companies. Convince a child to want your product, and after a little begging and nagging, the child is happily holding it. On the other hand, I do not think advertising directly to children is the smartest (I would not want my future child boggled down by all the media!). At the end of the day, the parents are the ones with the money, are the ones buying the product so I think children marketing needs to lean more towards parent-friendly marketing. But this is much easier said than done.
ReplyDeleteI really don't know what my life would look like had I not grown up watching Sesame Street, as so many of my childhood memories include elements of the show--my sister watching "How Elmo Saved Christmas" over and over and over again one Christmas, my own affinity for "Sesame Street Christmas," that defined the Holiday Season circa 1993. We still watch these movies every year. I don't think that no screens are the answer when it comes to children because screens are so integrated as part of our daily lives. The advertising component is the issue, how do we protect our children's receptive minds from the damage that advertising does at such an early age? And how can we get advertisers on board with this agenda? Does this mean that educational programming for children will be limited exclusively to PBS or other publicly funded networks?
ReplyDeleteI absolutely think that children should have educational entertainment in their early childhood! Even though the information doesn't show immediate results, the remembrance of the shows and the information is going to stay in the minds of the children up to adult years. Today, I remember watching educational shows that I didnt really understand at the time but today I truly value the information I received from them.
ReplyDeleteYes, it is true that shows such as Sesame Street and Barney won't teach kids a thing or two about math or English. However, it does teach kids other things that math and English don't teach. If you knew me when I was kid, you would know that Barney and Sesame Street were two of my favorite shows. I remember learning the "clean up" song that was on Barney, and every time my parents would tell me to clean my room or put my toys away, that's the song that I would sing. Shows like this also teach kids about manner and the importance of sharing, along with the value of saying "please" and "thank you". Nevertheless, I think that "toddler shows" should stick around because it gives kids a different means to attain or establish cognitive skills.
ReplyDelete