Yahoo Lifestyle Could TV Be Good For Kids?
Television is a bit of a guilty secret in our house. My son, who has just turned one, has been fascinated with the television from the moment he could lift his head to watch. In the early days he loved to watch the footy with his dad – he clearly had no idea what was going on, but despite his appearing to barrack for the wrong team from time to time, it turned into a good father-son bonding exercise.
Now that he’s a bit older, it’s become pretty clear to us that he likes to watch TV, which raises in our household a bit of a parenting dilemma. On the one hand, our little fella seems intrigued by various children’s shows, and loves to break into dance whenever there’s an up-beat tune on the box. He has a wow of a time. But on the other hand, there are the experts who tell us that television is a Bad Thing, and that we should deny our son any time in front of the telly until he’s at least two years old.
Let’s be honest, though – there’s probably only a small handful of parents that have never bought themselves a half-hour of ‘getting stuff done’ time by plonking their cherubs down in front of Play School and getting on with the housework.
Times have changed
In recent years, the quality of children’s television programming has come along in leaps and bounds. Gone are the days when it consisted purely of mindless cartoons, with the occasional moral lesson loosely tacked on at the end of a half-hour show.
These days, children’s television producers are keenly aware that they need to strive to meet a very important formula, creating shows that appeal not only to a child’s sense of wonder and interest, but that also satisfy a parent’s desire for programming that offers a tangible benefit to tots. It’s that sort of thinking that spurred the creation of ABC 4 Kids, a dedicated platform for screening children’s entertainment and educational programming from six in the morning until 7pm.
A shift in focus
One of the stand-out programs of the past few years has been the BBC’s In the Night Garden, which follows the adventures of Igglepiggle, Upsy Daisy and Makka Pakka. At first glance, the show might seem nonsensical, but according to the show’s creators, Andrew Davenport and Anne Wood, the series has been very carefully constructed to achieve a specific aim: making sleepytime easier.
“The one big subject that came up again and again was bedtime,” Anne says. “It’s the classic time for tension between children who want to stay up and parents who want them to go to bed.”
The show’s producers have also taken note of one particularly important aspect of TV watching: that it doesn’t need to be one-sided and solitary. In the Night Garden is “designed to be shared”, offering parents an opportunity to not only let their children be entertained, but to also be a part of the experience – and it’s that active involvement, along with parental inclusion, that can turn a passive television experience into something much richer and more rewarding for kids and parents alike.
The concept of turning TV time into a shared experience for kids and adults is something Nancy Kanter, Senior Vice President of Original Programming and General Manager of Disney Junior Worldwide, agrees with. “We know that there’s nothing more powerful for a child and nothing that helps them actually learn more than when their parents are involved in what they’re watching,” she says.
Learning lessons
In the Night Garden is, obviously, not the only program that has had such care applied to its creation. There are countless other shows designed to be both entertaining and educational, including kiddie faves Dora the Explorer and The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That!.
Australian-made children's shows have made a huge impact on the world stage, too. You would be hard-pressed to find anyone who hadn't heard of The Wiggles or High-5! The Wiggles TV shows are arguably among the most successful children's programs in the world, and the creators are listed among the wealthiest people in the Australian entertainment industry as a result.
But it wasn't dumb luck that led to the group's overwhelming success. Three of the founding Wiggles members are trained preschool educators, well-versed in both the theory and practice of helping youngsters develop language and movement skills. "A lot of what we do is communicate pretty directly to children, because we learned to do that as teachers," Red Wiggle Murray Cook said in a recent interview.
It's through that carefully managed approach that The Wiggles have managed to form a successful blend of entertainment and education – and why they're as much a hit with parents as they are with their younger, more boisterous fans.
TV critics
Television does have its critics, of course – and several experts have invested a lot of time and effort into researching the effects that TV can have on developing minds. A decades-long New Zealand study, for example, reported that in following more than 1000 people from early childhood into adulthood, there was a fairly clear link between watching television as a youngster and poor academic and professional performance later in life.
"It seems… for every extra hour of television you watch, on average, your chances of going on to get higher qualifications or even graduation from high school diminish," researcher Dr Bob Hancox told the ABC.
However, the research wasn't clear on the type of television the study participants had been exposed to – but considering the research project focused mainly on people born around 1973 to 1974, it's safe to assume that they didn't have access to the kind of specialised children's programming that is available today.
Everything in moderation
While some experts tell us that children, especially the under-twos, shouldn’t be watching TV at all, there’s something to be said for the key word of 'moderation'.
In their book Developmental Psychology: Childhood and Adolescence, authors Dr David Shaffer and Dr Katherine Kipp state that "watching TV in moderation is not likely to impair children's cognitive growth, academic achievement or peer relations."
What is clear from the research, however, is that prolonged periods of TV time for youngsters can be bad for a number of reasons – not the least of which are the effects of using leisure time for sedentary, passive pursuits, rather than being physically active and engaging in imaginative play.
How much TV is too much?
The National Heart Foundation of Australia states that children are spending far too much time sitting around, and that this is one of the major contributing factors to childhood obesity and other health problems. The Foundation has released a sets of guidelines that suggest children under the age of two should not spend any time in front of the TV, and children between two and five should be allowed
"less than one hour per day" of watching television or using other screen media (such as computers and game consoles).
According to the Australian Council on Children and the Media, there are no hard and fast rules – but it does recommend that for children under the age of two, screen-based media should occupy "very little" of their time and that for preschoolers, "an hour of TV a day is plenty".
A parent's choice
Ultimately, the choice as to whether your child watches TV or not lies with you, the parent. And despite the alarmist reports that TV will turn your child into a zombie, the prevalent wisdom on the issue is that a little bit of TV from time to time is quite okay. Provided that your little one is encouraged to not only consume what he’s watching, but to also interact, question and discuss the things he has seen, TV can be more than just an electronic babysitter in the corner of your living room.
BEST TV SHOWS FOR LITTLIES
AGE: 12 MONTHS+
IN THE NIGHT GARDEN: Loved by kids because of its dreamy style and engaging characters. Parents love it too, because its stated aim is to calm kids down, rather than gee them up.
AGE: 2 YEARS+
YO GABBA GABBA!: A high-energy, fun and funky show that encourages kids to get active in front of the TV as they learn about the important things in life, like being nice to each other, exercising and eating their vegetables.
PLAY SCHOOL: A long-time favourite, Play School encourages children to learn through interactive play, reading and using their imaginations. It’s estimated that roughly 80 per cent of preschoolers watch the show at least once a week.
WIGGLE AND LEARN: Chock-full of singing, dancing and learning fun with everyone's four favourite skivvy wearers, The Wiggles.
AGE: 3 YEARS+
SESAME STREET: Bright, colourful and unashamedly American, Sesame Street uses puppetry, animation and live action to teach kids the basics of literacy, numeracy and concepts such as kindness and cooperation.
LAZY TOWN: Another high-energy, cartoonish offering that's a hit with kids, thanks to the exuberant music and easy-to-follow plot lines.
DORA THE EXPLORER: Each episode of this fun animated series is based on a seven-point curriculum to get kids moving and learning.
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