posted
Since there was enough of a derail in a seperate post, I thought I'd give people a space to vent on this subject. That and I'm curious about what people think the difference is between children's now and 10 or 15 years ago. In my opinion, I think the main difference is that many parents have decided to let the TV do the work of paying attention to their kids. My reason for saying this is rooted in a response I recieved while criticizing the Teletubbies. The response was basically, "I let my child watch Teletubbies because it gives me 30 minutes to myself." Now, I'm not a parent, but for some reason, letting a peice of technology take over for solid human interaction for any period of time is just...wrong. I'll let you know, the person who said that to me was my sister, and it still bothers me that my neice is 5 years old and spends over 25% of her day in front of the television.
Posts: 3003 | Registered: Oct 2004
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posted
I hate Barney and Teletubbies simply because they're so annoying. Overly saccharine behaviors, inappropriate speech levels (especially Teletubbies). Even my kids disliked them from the beginning.
My younger daughter, who is ADHD and possibly schizophrenic (we're still debating that one) actually learns better from the type of repetition used in Teletubbies. We have to go over the same thing over and over again - much more than I ever did with her older sister or other parents seem to do - before it finally clicks. We've stocked up on Sesame Street videos and we use those as part of her at-home work. Yes Elmo is sticky sweet but he's nowhere near as bad, and Missy really clicked with Elmo early on. And I know that she's retaining the information appropriately instead of just rote recitation when she can read a word in a book or on a handwritten piece of paper that was shown on the TV earlier.
'Course we also use the "electronic babysitter" as mindless entertainment and as background noise... =)
Posts: 4515 | Registered: Jul 2004
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posted
I'm not a parent, but I bet kids want to watch those shows 50 times, the same tape, over and over. Probably drives a poor parent batty. I did used to watch Barney in Jr high for some reason. Perhaps I had nothing better to do at the time, but I have never seen teletubbies, it looks... rather...freaky because of the baby as the rising sun. Posts: 9942 | Registered: Mar 2003
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posted
Some little tykes *are* mesmerized by a baby sun and coo-ing oversized creatures. I'm not sure what it does for the kids but it's great for a mom (or dad) to have time for a shower, etc. when little Johnny is disracted away from discovering what ketchup might look like on the walls.
Posts: 26 | Registered: Jan 2005
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posted
I just can't stand all the cuddling. It feels like those shows are trying more to help the kids feel loved and special then in teaching them. I much prefer Seasame Street where they tend to lean more towards teaching the kids and leaving most of the loving to the parents to take care of.
I just feel the TV should just be used for eduacation and that it can't possibly replace the parants role in loving their kids and helping them establish good self esteem.
As far as getting a half hour to your self isn't that what they invented naps for?
Posts: 147 | Registered: Aug 2003
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quote: Since there was enough of a derail in a seperate post, I thought I'd give people a space to vent on this subject. That and I'm curious about what people think the difference is between children's now and 10 or 15 years ago. In my opinion, I think the main difference is that many parents have decided to let the TV do the work of paying attention to their kids. My reason for saying this is rooted in a response I recieved while criticizing the Teletubbies. The response was basically, "I let my child watch Teletubbies because it gives me 30 minutes to myself." Now, I'm not a parent, but for some reason, letting a peice of technology take over for solid human interaction for any period of time is just...wrong. I'll let you know, the person who said that to me was my sister, and it still bothers me that my neice is 5 years old and spends over 25% of her day in front of the television.
Hey Seflish, 30 minutes a day won't turn the kid into a retard. Being a parent is hard work and remember it's 24/7 job.
posted
I hate Barney because he's such a hypocrite.
Instead of saying: "Even though we might like chocolate more than other foods, it isn't healthy for us so we should make sure that we don't eat too much of it", Barney says: "Carrots are tastier. Chocolate is disgusting."
So where is that belly from, Barnabus????
Posts: 803 | Registered: Dec 2004
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posted
My problems with Barney and the like go much deeper.
Barney teaches kids that there are no bad emotions, no troubling problems. If we're all happy and sing songs together (in perfect lock-step) everythingis just fine! Follow Barney's suggestions and your life will be grand.
Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers acknowledge that bad feelings and emotions exist, and suggest ways to work through them. Sesame Street emphasizes problem-solving over Barney's group therapy.
posted
"Now, I'm not a parent, but for some reason, letting a peice of technology take over for solid human interaction for any period of time is just...wrong."
Please, Boris. Be careful of the things you say pre-parent. They often come back to seem really silly later on.
There is nothing wrong with children watching television, sorry. Barney made my child joyful. She is a brilliant, caring, beautiful ten year-old "pre-teen" now. And she still watches tlevision.
Posts: 10890 | Registered: May 2003
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quote:That and I'm curious about what people think the difference is between children's now and 10 or 15 years ago. In my opinion, I think the main difference is that many parents have decided to let the TV do the work of paying attention to their kids.
Of course, it's worth pointing out that 10 or 15 years ago people were saying exactly the same thing. It's not really a new issue.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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quote:Now, I'm not a parent, but for some reason, letting a peice of technology take over for solid human interaction for any period of time is just...wrong.
It is obvious that you aren't. Do you know what a life saver it is to have 30 minutes without the kids bugging you so that you can actually take a shower that day? No, you don't.
Of course it can be abused. But so can having spoons in the kitchen.
Posts: 16551 | Registered: Feb 2003
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posted
Chris, thank you for making my point so much better than I could have.
Now, I am a parent. And I think that there IS something damaging in letting kids watch television -- especially if it is more than 30-60 minutes per day. And it is SO hard to limit it to that!
I'm a TV addict (although of late my internet addiction is crowding that out ), but that doesn't mean my kids have to be.
Around here, the norm is to have no TV. I wish I could manage that, but I have not yet.
Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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posted
I think it is fine to have a no-tv philosophy. I do not think it is fine to imply that I am damaging my children by having it.
As for the deep psychological damage imparted by Barney on the children, I do not buy it. The fact is, I am the parent. When my child is hurt or angry, I acknowledge it, and help them work through it. They learn life from living it, and from watching other people. They are educated at school. Television in our house is used to entertain.
Posts: 10890 | Registered: May 2003
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posted
I have to admit that I don't get a lot of people's problems with children's tv. Sure, teletubbies don't appeal to me, but I'm pretty sure my favorite show, ER, doesn't appeal to everyone either. I think letting a child watch Barney for 30 minutes a day, even if you can't stand it, isn't going to harm them.
posted
I am a parent of a 2 year old and a month old.
A good way to get away from having the TV on is to not have cable, a dish or an antenna. It's kind of nice not to have the noise. We use are TV mostly for movies.
My 2 year old hasn't seen Barney, Teletubies, Mr. Rogers, or even Sesame Street.
Posts: 747 | Registered: Aug 2004
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quote:Now, I'm not a parent, but for some reason, letting a peice of technology take over for solid human interaction for any period of time is just...wrong.
I have to second what other parents have said, don't cast stones before you have kids. I watch our 5 month old son about 6 hours after work every day and all day on Saturday so my wife (his mom) can get out of the house and work a little.
I love the time I spend with my son, but I like to do the dishes, clean up the house, and take a shower. I can put in teletubbies, and he LOVES it. I put him in a jumper and I feel good about what he is seeing.
When I am done with my 40 minutes of choirs and clean up, I talk to him, read to him, and occasionaly we watch the Baby Einstien movies.
His favorite is Baby Galileo. He is enchanted, and I lay with him and point out all the objects. Apart from laying in bed on Sunday mornings and reading the Foundation series to him, Baby Galileo is one of my fondest experiences.
I LOVE the Boobahs. If I ever see their series on DVD, I will get it. It is a great way to keep the baby contained and focused on something so I can keep our house nice.
I do believe tv is abused, but I am a defender of it.
Pros: Non violent. Colors seem to stimulate my baby. Gives me room to breath and get stuff done. We can watch it together.
Cons: I have already seen Baby Galileo and Dance with the Teletubies more then I have Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon--which I saw 10+ times in the theater. It can be easily abused. Baby TV shows (which are different in content from shows like Sessme Street) tend to have everyone pandering to and taking away responsibility. Teletubies have the vacume cleaning up after them, Little Bear is the center of the Universe and his parents bend to his will every time, et cetera.
Posts: 2445 | Registered: Oct 2004
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posted
Another thing about the myth of kids being parented by tv is this: they get bored and would rather run around and undo the pile of folded laundry, anyway. It was never an issue trying to keep the kids away from the tv, nor is it an issue now. I say that's it, turn the TV off, and they go play Gameboy. (kidding!))I know of very few parents who can even get twenty minutes of babysitting time from the tv. I say, give kids more credit. The only kids I have seen totally sucked in are the kids of my friends who never let them watch it.
Posts: 10890 | Registered: May 2003
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posted
I was at supper with some friends an their 3 year old asked if I'd ever seen Bob the Builder. He was astounded that I hadn't. "Why not - it's a good show!"
This was very important to him. However, he runs around and plays as much as any kid I've ever seen.
quote: Please, Boris. Be careful of the things you say pre-parent. They often come back to seem really silly later on.
I would go so far as to say, God ( or deity of your choice) gets a kick out of humbling people who make judgements pre-parent. Like all those times I said I would never have a kid who threw tantrums in stores.
Now, I do myself have issues with a lot of children's TV. A recent UW study has linked TV watching in young children to ADHD:
I (try to) limit their TV to 1/2 an hour on weekdays during the winter, none during the summer, and two hours on Saturday AM's. We don't get cable so it's all PBS or videos. But, I am flexible. If I'm really sick, they may get TV for hours. Often we're too busy to watch TV at all.
Barney, Teletubbies, etc, I simply find insipid and we have never watched them.
Posts: 1021 | Registered: Sep 2004
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quote: I would go so far as to say, God ( or deity of your choice) gets a kick out of humbling people who make judgements pre-parent. Like all those times I said I would never have a kid who threw tantrums in stores.
I always said I'd never spank . . .
Now that he's almost as big as I am and twice as quick, it's all I can do to look threatening with a wooden spoon.
Nathan gets to watch an occasional movie - we have no cable, rabbit ears, etc. Consequently, I have a child with great taste in movies . . . Casablanca, the old Phantom of the Opera, Princess Bride, Anne of Green Gables, Pirates of the Caribbean, etc. He particularly likes old black-n-white swashbuckling hero types . . . dang - he's a cool kid!
Posts: 5609 | Registered: Jan 2003
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posted
One of the big problems I have with current kids TV is the repetitiveness. I understand that some children really benefit from that, like Goody Scrivner's daughter, but it just seems like *everyone* wants to do the structure-thang now. It's "in", "hip" whatever.
I miss the randomness of the old Sesame Street. It was like a box of chocolates--you never knew what you were gonna get. And yet, a lot of the little shorts were repeated. I loved that, because I would watch for my favorites. Now we've got "Journey to Ernie" and Teddy Bear's "Hero-guy", etc., EVERY STINKIN' TIME! Sorry for yelling, but it really gets on my nerves. Keep the last 15 minutes with "Elmo's World" if you must, but come on! Most of the repeated portions are just dumb. Have something different each time instead! Most children don't need *that* much structure!
Posts: 7050 | Registered: Feb 2004
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posted
Hasn't it been proven that children learn through repetition? They have to practice the same skill over and over and over before they master it. To me, that means that you can't say the sound "a" makes once and expect a child to get it - you have to say it over and over and over.
Maybe I'm totally misunderstanding what exactly you mean by "repetition" Bev.
posted
Okay, I appologize. I commented before thinking about what I was trying to say. I honestly think there are things better than Teletubbies for grabbing kids' attention. Baby Einstein comes to mind as one of the few new kids' shows I like. Teletubbies seriously doesn't seem like a good show for developing anything in a child. My point is that I think if you really need to have some time with the TV taking over, shouldn't you have something that's actually educational (I totally got it mixed up while typing. Mostly frustration with my sister, who spends more time with her friends than her child lately).
Posts: 3003 | Registered: Oct 2004
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These are the things i was going to do with my children:
No sugar. (lasted with child 1 until she was 2. Not even a chance with child 2)
I would, of course, continue playing soccer, while baby slept soundly on the sidelines. (Child 1 is 10 1/2, haven't kicked a ball. Yet!)
I would send the children to the Waldorf School. (couldn't afford it, ended up thinking it was better for them to go to school with kids in the neighborhood)
There are so many more I can't remember. Honestly, people do have their kids watch too much tv, but in the end, it is a close family with lots of love and conversation that wins the day in my book. Every family is different, which is why we are all differnt, thank goodness.
Posts: 10890 | Registered: May 2003
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quote: Hasn't it been proven that children learn through repetition? They have to practice the same skill over and over and over before they master it. To me, that means that you can't say the sound "a" makes once and expect a child to get it - you have to say it over and over and over.
Yeah, it's not what I meant. Perhaps "repetition" doesn't describe it. I don't have a problem with presenting "a" over and over, I just think it needs to be presented in different ways over and over. Have you watched Sesame Street lately? The whole thing is broken up into segments that are mostly the same day after day (the examples I gave above). And they aren't even well done. It seems more like laziness than anything else. It is predictable. Dribblingly predictable. Brain-cell-killing-ly predictable.
I would much rather have my kids watching reruns from the 70s because they would get far more interesting variety. That was what was *fun* about Sesame Street was the variety.
posted
Kids need variation. Maybe they water things down too much for children, thinking that they are not complex enough. I'm reminded of ABA used on autistic kids. I wonder how the kids feel about it.
Posts: 9942 | Registered: Mar 2003
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posted
Boris, I can understand you feeling that way about Teletubbies. The thing that was "groudbreaking" about Teletubbies is that it was made for a far younger age than any other kids show ever made. When you realize how young the target audience is, it makes a lot more sense. At that age, innane repitition is actually the way to go because the child is too young to process more complex information effectively.
Posts: 7050 | Registered: Feb 2004
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posted
I wonder if such shows just dull a kid's mind. Kids could probably totally learn languages easier than adults can for example.
Posts: 9942 | Registered: Mar 2003
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posted
beverly is correct about Teletubbies. It does a lot of things right. Just because a show is developed by an early childhood educator doesn't mean that it will be good or appropriate -- but Teletubbies gets a lot of things right.
I also agree with her Sesame Street analysis -- I'd ditch the current format -- except for Elmo's World -- and go back to the way it was. And this isn't nostalgia speaking. My guess is that the current format has more to do with cost-cutting than the idea that doing the same segments every day increases the "repetition" factor.
----- Regarding the ADHD study: From what I have read it's nowhere near as conclusive as people (journalist, parents, anti-TV activists) are making it out to be.
Posts: 3423 | Registered: Aug 2001
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posted
The thing that bothers me about shows such as Teletubbies and Boohbah (ever heard of that?), is that they're basically constructed by a bunch of PhD's who sit around in their offices away from the outside world and study the child psyche until they think they've dreamed a sort of "formula" that would make a good TV show. They do "studies" that show what it is that kids like and dislike, as opposed to just looking at a kid and figuring it out. And, IMO, it doesn't work. I've never seen a kid who likes Boohbah, and it was supposed to totally hypnotize them.
Mr. Rogers is amazing. The epitome of good kid's programming.
Posts: 48 | Registered: May 2003
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posted
I have never liked Barney. I found him very annoying, for some of the same reasons Chris cited.
We didn't let our kids watch TV until they were about 2 or 3, and then limited their TV time to one hour a day - usually Mr. Rogers and Sesame Street.
When they were older, they watched A Reading Rainbow, and still later they watched Where in the World is Carmen San Diego and GhostWriter (still with that one hour per day limit). All of these were good educational shows.
When Barney came out, my kids were almost past the age for it, but they watched it briefly.
What really irirtated me was a statement from an interview when the Barney show first came out. The person who developed the show stated that there were really no good educational programs on TV, and that's why Barney was developed. Since I felt that Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers were far superior, as educational TV, to Barney, this was an immediate turn-off, as well.
To this day, I can't stand the purple dinosaur.
Posts: 5771 | Registered: Nov 2000
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quote: Mr. Rogers is amazing. The epitome of good kid's programming.
You know, I watch that show now and it makes me cry sometimes what a good, sweet man he was. Of course, the fact that he is dead adds to my tearing up. But there is also the recognition that as a child I couldn't stand Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood. Maybe I still feel guilty, 'cause at the time I thought it was soooo dull and stupid. Except for The Land of Make Believe. I loved that.
Edit: Zal, you may be onto something about the cost cutting. But if that is their reasons (and even if it isn't) I think they need to cancel the show and show an abundance of reruns. Old reruns.
posted
The first impersonation I ever did was Ernie. I can still sing "Rubber Ducky" perfectly, and sound just like Ernie. I even have the laugh down Posts: 3003 | Registered: Oct 2004
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