Where Are the Good Children's Television Programs?

Sure, most parents trust Sesame Street to send their kids the right message. But other standbys, like long-running PBS hit Reading Rainbow, have been dropped from the airwaves in recent years.

Now, only one-in-eight children's educational programs on broadcast TV offers highly educational content"and more than one-in-four contains highly aggressive behavior"according to a recent study by the advocacy organization Children Now.

That raises the question of whether today's children's programs are doing more harm than good. "¨
The answer seems to depend on the age group, says Daniel Anderson, professor emeritus of psychology at University of Massachusetts-Amherst: "There's quite a lot of good programming for preschool children. But there's much less good educational programming for older children, and there's very little indeed for adolescents."

"¨"¨It also depends on how you define "educational," as many offerings skip academics to focus on pro-social values like sharing, friendship, and caring. Those can be as important as educational content, says Dorothy Singer, senior research scientist at Yale University's Department of Psychology."¨"¨

Betsy Bozdech, executive editor of Common Sense Media, which rates children's programming, agrees: "What you should look for is mixing educational content with fun, engaging storylines and positive role models who may make mistakes but who learn from those mistakes.""¨

She recommends PBS Kids shows like Sid the Science Kid, CyberChase, Dinosaur Train, WordGirl, WordWorld and the reading program SuperWhy. Outside PBS, Bozdech says, programs like Disney's Imagination Movers and Nick Jr.'s The Fresh Beat Band get kids up and moving and interacting. 

As for older children and teens, virtually all designated programming forgoes "educational" content for social issues. That makes programs like the Degrassi or Saved by the Bell programs among the better options, says Singer, noting they do contain positive lessons. And after all, says Singer, "It has to be entertaining as well as educational, or children aren't going to watch it."

"¨Unfortunately, a dearth of educational content may be the least of parents' worries. Worse are programs that present poor role models like the sexed-up female Bratz or violent cartoon characters. Anderson says kids raised on a diet of violent cartoons are more likely to be impulsive, to defy teachers, to flout rules, to fight, and to be less liked by other kids.

"¨And parents need to limit not only what kids watch, but how much. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends a maximum of two hours of daily screen time for children"and virtually none for kids under two. Excessive TV watching in childhood and adolescence has been linked to everything from worsened academic performance to smoking, obesity, and depression in adulthood. Two hours may be arbitrary, says Singer: The key is to know your child and ensure he's getting enough exercise, eating well, completing schoolwork, and socializing.

"¨Quality programs are available, but parents need to be proactive"research programs, watch with their kids, and then discuss what they've watched and find out how their children interpreted it.

"¨"Television is a teacher, and even if you think of a show as light entertainment, it's still teaching your child something," Anderson says. "You won't have any idea what it's teaching your child unless you watch it, too." "¨

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