Tuesday, January 08, 2008
The Changing of Preschool Television...
This article is an interesting commentary on how the early childhood television staple, Sesame Street, has changed over the years... and the opinion that the change is not for the better.
Though I knew about it, I found the following information somewhat scary... the article states:
Makes me wonder why preschoolers would need 24 hour programming and who is utilizing it. There is no doubt that children get far too much exposure to television, even quality television. There used to be Sesame Street for an hour a day. Today, there are many programs on many channels for 24 hours a day... and this is progress?
This article is an interesting commentary on how the early childhood television staple, Sesame Street, has changed over the years... and the opinion that the change is not for the better.
The biggest difference between Sesame Street then and now is that the current version feels more like a lesson — albeit a humorous lesson — while the older version seemed more like fun with mild lessons tossed in for good measure.
Though I knew about it, I found the following information somewhat scary... the article states:
...simply take a moment to see how the industry to occupy the time of preschoolers has exploded. The cable channel Noggin, which calls itself “preschool on TV,” has, at the start of 2008, expanded its programming to 24 hours a day instead of turning off the tap at 5 p.m. That means the candy-colored episodes of Dora the Explorer, The Backyardigans, The Wonder Pets ! and many more are available to any toddlers who happen to have insomnia. This doesn’t even touch the content provided by Playhouse Disney with Little Einsteins, Handy Manny, My Friends Tigger and Pooh and on and on.
Makes me wonder why preschoolers would need 24 hour programming and who is utilizing it. There is no doubt that children get far too much exposure to television, even quality television. There used to be Sesame Street for an hour a day. Today, there are many programs on many channels for 24 hours a day... and this is progress?
// posted by Tammy Wachter @ 4:12 PM 
