Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Sesame Beginnings...
Have you heard about the new program from Sesame Workshop of Sesame Street fame called Sesame Beginnings? It is a research-based DVD series for parents and young children that encourages learning through parent-child interactions. Based on research that shows that young children learn best when experiences are shared with a loved one, these DVDs -- Sesame Beginnings -- are specially designed to help parents and caregivers encourage their child's curiosity and interest in learning during everyday interactions.
Sesame Beginnings offers age-appropriate content while entertaining, engaging and encouraging interaction between caregivers and their children. Featuring baby versions of the Sesame Street Muppets and their caregivers, these characters provide fun, engaging examples of these kinds of moments, while the various songs, activities and stories provide parents and caregivers with fresh material for interactions they can enjoy with their child throughout the day. The DVDs are also supplemented by a printed guide, offering parents additional tips for ways to extend the learning after viewing through activities such as feeding, bath time and playtime.
Thirty-six years ago, Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization that created Sesame Street, broke new ground in television by proving the medium to be a positive learning tool for preschoolers. Today, Sesame Street is considered to be the world's largest informal educator of children. Now research is revealing that millions of children under the age of two are watching TV and videos, including Sesame Street. Consequently, Sesame Workshop felt a responsibility to better serve the families of children under two by creating programming that is specially designed to be developmentally appropriate for this younger age group, as well as, model interaction between caregiver and child.
Sesame Beginnings content was developed in collaboration with an advisory board of child development and media experts and ZERO TO THREE, a national nonprofit organization comprised of pediatricians, child development experts and researchers dedicated to promoting the healthy development of infants and toddlers. ZERO TO THREE is the primary source for development of the parenting content in the program, as well as, accompanying print materials written specifically for parents and caregivers.
So this concept of developing a program for infants is great, right? Therein lies the controversy...
The production of DVDs and other screen-based media for children under the age of two is extremely controversial. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children under two be kept away from screen media and Sesame Beginnings has been criticized by a number of early childhood development experts who point to research suggesting that television viewing by babies can harm language development and sleep patterns. A March 21, 2006 article in The Washington Post quoted Harvard Medical School psychologist Susan Linn as saying "There is no evidence that media is beneficial for babies, and they are starting to find evidence that it may be harmful. Until we know for sure, we shouldn't risk putting them in front of the television."
Sesame Workshop has countered such criticism by pointing to their partnership with Zero to Three to produce the DVDs and also that they were extensively researched and tested by respected experts in childhood development. However, one of Zero to Three's original founders, noted pediatrian T. Berry Brazelton, was among the signatories of a letter of protest that was submitted to Zero to Three calling on the organization to disassociate itself with the project.
My take on this... Though I am definitely no expert on the effects of media and very young children, I am certainly against the usage of these DVD's if the intent is to simply to make the televison a primary caregiver for 1 to 2 hours. And honestly, the DVD's are probably not very beneficial to an infant's development. On the other hand, do I believe that watching a half hour of television will cause irrevocable damage to an infant? No. However, keep in mind that there is no substitute for the caregiver (parent) spending time and playing with an infant. This type of interactive relationship provides the most stimulation and best learning experience. In fact, a large part of the concept behind the DVD's are to show how and provide ideas for interacting with the child.
The clips that I have viewed are cute and I think that the children will find the music entertaining, though the concepts presented for learning opportunities are hardly groundbreaking. I think that the DVD's may be useful for inexperienced or first time parents, but beyond that, there will be limited benefit.
So spend time with the children... if you must watch tv, use common sense about what is being watched... and as with all things involving children (except love), moderation is the key.
Have you heard about the new program from Sesame Workshop of Sesame Street fame called Sesame Beginnings? It is a research-based DVD series for parents and young children that encourages learning through parent-child interactions. Based on research that shows that young children learn best when experiences are shared with a loved one, these DVDs -- Sesame Beginnings -- are specially designed to help parents and caregivers encourage their child's curiosity and interest in learning during everyday interactions.
Sesame Beginnings offers age-appropriate content while entertaining, engaging and encouraging interaction between caregivers and their children. Featuring baby versions of the Sesame Street Muppets and their caregivers, these characters provide fun, engaging examples of these kinds of moments, while the various songs, activities and stories provide parents and caregivers with fresh material for interactions they can enjoy with their child throughout the day. The DVDs are also supplemented by a printed guide, offering parents additional tips for ways to extend the learning after viewing through activities such as feeding, bath time and playtime.
Thirty-six years ago, Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization that created Sesame Street, broke new ground in television by proving the medium to be a positive learning tool for preschoolers. Today, Sesame Street is considered to be the world's largest informal educator of children. Now research is revealing that millions of children under the age of two are watching TV and videos, including Sesame Street. Consequently, Sesame Workshop felt a responsibility to better serve the families of children under two by creating programming that is specially designed to be developmentally appropriate for this younger age group, as well as, model interaction between caregiver and child.
Sesame Beginnings content was developed in collaboration with an advisory board of child development and media experts and ZERO TO THREE, a national nonprofit organization comprised of pediatricians, child development experts and researchers dedicated to promoting the healthy development of infants and toddlers. ZERO TO THREE is the primary source for development of the parenting content in the program, as well as, accompanying print materials written specifically for parents and caregivers.
So this concept of developing a program for infants is great, right? Therein lies the controversy...
The production of DVDs and other screen-based media for children under the age of two is extremely controversial. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children under two be kept away from screen media and Sesame Beginnings has been criticized by a number of early childhood development experts who point to research suggesting that television viewing by babies can harm language development and sleep patterns. A March 21, 2006 article in The Washington Post quoted Harvard Medical School psychologist Susan Linn as saying "There is no evidence that media is beneficial for babies, and they are starting to find evidence that it may be harmful. Until we know for sure, we shouldn't risk putting them in front of the television."
Sesame Workshop has countered such criticism by pointing to their partnership with Zero to Three to produce the DVDs and also that they were extensively researched and tested by respected experts in childhood development. However, one of Zero to Three's original founders, noted pediatrian T. Berry Brazelton, was among the signatories of a letter of protest that was submitted to Zero to Three calling on the organization to disassociate itself with the project.
My take on this... Though I am definitely no expert on the effects of media and very young children, I am certainly against the usage of these DVD's if the intent is to simply to make the televison a primary caregiver for 1 to 2 hours. And honestly, the DVD's are probably not very beneficial to an infant's development. On the other hand, do I believe that watching a half hour of television will cause irrevocable damage to an infant? No. However, keep in mind that there is no substitute for the caregiver (parent) spending time and playing with an infant. This type of interactive relationship provides the most stimulation and best learning experience. In fact, a large part of the concept behind the DVD's are to show how and provide ideas for interacting with the child.
The clips that I have viewed are cute and I think that the children will find the music entertaining, though the concepts presented for learning opportunities are hardly groundbreaking. I think that the DVD's may be useful for inexperienced or first time parents, but beyond that, there will be limited benefit.
So spend time with the children... if you must watch tv, use common sense about what is being watched... and as with all things involving children (except love), moderation is the key.
// posted by Tammy Wachter @ 7:00 PM 
