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There are still some good children's educational shows out there, especially on PBS. Sid the Science Kid, Super Why, Between the Lions, Wild Kratts, and for slightly older kids, Cyber Chase and Odd Squad.
I'm also a child of the '70s and grew up on Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers, Electronic Company, and Zoom.
I think the difference between now and then is that there is so much more children's programming in general, and a lot of it is junk. We didn't have much junk, but we didn't have much, period. So as a percentage, the number of quality shows is much lower now, but quantity-wise, there are actually more. You just have to wade through the drek to get to them.
My 3-year old likes Dora and Diego, and he likes Wild Kratts. Sesame Street does nothing for him - the new Sesame Street is not as engaging for preschoolers as it was when we were young, IMO. I showed him some clips from Youtube of classic Sesame Street, like "Ladybug Picnic" and he was absolutely enthralled. SS these days seems to try to be hip for the parents who are watching too, rather than catering to the kids.
If I were a more diligent parent (like I was for my older kids) I would only expose him to those programs that I consider quality, but they've worn me down, and he does watch robot killer crap on Netflix too, when Mama wants to play on City Data for a while.
First off, my qualifications--I'm a mother as well as former preschool teacher with a MS degree.
I feel that childrens' educational tv is dire now. As a kid (in the 1970s) we had Mr. Rogers (touchy feely, not too educational but 'nice'), Sesame Street (excellent), and the Electric Company (excellent).
Now, all the kids 'educational shows' seem to be about 'feelings,' 'being nice to each other', and 'possibly' learning about animals (Diego). There aren't as many 'numbers and letters' good shows out there.
I'm glad Reading Rainbow is still on PBS, and you can find Between the Lions but the rest seem all about 'feelings' and 'socialization.' Even Sesame Street is dumbed down to 2 year olds and full of nonsense. Nick Jr tries but still most of the programs are 'junky.'
What do you guys think?
I think you may be confusing age targeted cartoons (Dora, Diego, etc.) with educational shows. They are distinctly different.
Sesame Street is still on and have many of the same shorts and topics from when I was a kid (now 40s). Some other good shows are Super Why, Barney, Thomas and Friends, etc. Heck, even Yo Gabba Gabba is a great show.
I think its vitally important that kids learn about (what you call) "feelings", "being nice to each other" from educational shows. I totally disagree with you in your implying that teaching "feelings" and "socialization" are wrong/bad. Actually, its just as important as learning math, vocabulary, science, etc. What is needed even more are shows that promote critical thinking skills in kids and some that even incorporates yoga, meditation, and even chess.
Last edited by Kings Gambit; 01-20-2015 at 02:47 PM..
There are more children's shows than there used to be (A LOT MORE, there are several 24 hour preschool channels alone), plus, the recommended curriculum for a typical pre-school has expanded past just the academic. So the shows focus not just on math and literacy... they also focus on music appreciation, development of social skills, exercise, etc.
For older children, there are many more shows that are just for entertainment. Like I said, they have multiple networks dedicated just to kids now.
Unless you rely solely on TV to teach your kids it really shouldn't be a big deal. Just screen the shows and only let the kids watch the ones you deem appropriate to your needs.
2. Most parents are poor and can not afford a Digital TV.
3. Most people still own the regular TV ( at least to answer the original question ) and are unable to pick up air-waves.
4. If you can't tune into the station and internet cost less then -50 a month. Then why not just get internet.
5. Most people get free internet with their cell phone subscription. Without considering downloading or even uplaoding stuff. All they really do is stream. Phones ( like the razor phones ) aren't even built with tuners inside them anymore.
6. TV is yesterdays garbage and only elderly people watch it. I can't find anything but "depends" commercials on tv. TV is dead. Videogames is dead. and even to some extent, Comics, and film is dead. Books are also dead as well. People just use internet find an free source and do not care what privacy is being invaded on their iphone/zune/etc.
7. My phone can literally turn into an computer. With the right hook ups a keyboard and mouse, including VGA/HDMI adapter.
8. Computers and the internet was know it is dead.
I never watched a lot of early educational programming, but the loss of decent information on TV is certainly depressing. There is a lot I know now because of shows like Modern Marvels on the History Channel. Sadly, the History Channel doesn't air history anymore.
The push right now in education (as relates to technology in education), especially at the early childhood and lower elementary level, is for more interactive media. Children are more likely to be exposed to learning-based applications on tablets and computers than they are to be sitting and fairly passively watching television.
Some kids don't need "educational" TV and will do much better, even at younger ages (4th grade or less) watching the educational shows that adults watch. My kids absolutely loved any sort of animal and nature shows, and also liked some of the Weather Channel specials about extreme weather. They were young too when they started watching "Mythbusters" on the Discovery Channel -- though I could never get them into Bill Nye, the Science Guy. Sometimes they even got into watching the History Channel shows. Young boys, I guess, love stories of war and conquest, and they actually learned a bit from that and we talked about Genghis Khan or World War II or whatever the show was about.
Bottom line: there is a lot on TV that is educational for kids besides kids' shows.
I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I've found some Barney shows to be really good. My daughter takes away a good understanding of the dentist and the doctor, as well as counting. Some Barney is horrid, I've pre screened and loaded four or five approved ones.
I also like Play with Me Sesame a little better than the modern Sesame Street.
Totally agree that Curious George is a good selection.
Can't parents now get DVDs of their choice and say to hell with centralized television control?
psik
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