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Sesame Street still quality leader in kids TV pack after 40 years
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Video, cable TV, personal computers, the Internet, were all in the future in 1969 when Sesame Street premiered on the Public Broadcasting System.
Today the landscape of childrens' programming is an unrecognizable 24/7 cacophony of shows like Wow Wow Wubsy and Yo Gabba Gabba. The only constants have been the perennial popularity of the Big Bird/Elmo duo and Sesame Street's continued commitment to research-based educational content.
The popular children's educational show celebrated its 40th year this week with an appearance by Michelle Obama , the first First Lady to grow up with Miss Piggy and Kermit. When Sesame Street began 40 years ago it was one of only two programs for the preschool set - the other was Mr. Roger's Neighborhood. Today there are 54 shows targeted at preschoolers on cable and satellite systems beamed down to multiple TV households around the clock.
"Today we're seeing dozens of programs aimed at the 2 to 5 age range and the quality is all over the place," said Lisa Guernsey, director of the Early Education Initiative at the New American Foundation.
"Sesame Street really has set the standard in terms of researching what is going on cognitively, how and what kids are understanding from what they see. Unfortunately not many other shows have done that." said Gurney, author of "Into the Minds of Babes: How Screentime Affects Children From Birth to Age Five."
The increasing exposure of younger children to more and more questionable content is concerning. A recent Nielsen study found that children between ages 2 and 5 watch 25 hours of television a week and spend 7 more in front of more screens watching DVDs or playing on computers.
Two factors are at work - societal pressures and the sheer volume of available programming, said Guernsey, herself a mother of two children ages 5 and 7. "What I see is parents and families who are stretched and looking for a break." More often these days with the range of program variety, it seems harmless to plop kids in front of the TV to get things done.
That 2- 5 year olds are vegging in front of the TV for 25 hours a week is alarming enough, but it gets worse. The Kaiser Family Foundation reports that children under age 2 (yes, toddlers and infants) are also being exposed to increasing amounts of TV and media. Fully 2 out of 3 of them watch TV every day and 1 in 3 of them have TVs in their rooms.
According to American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations -- children under age two should watch no TV. Zero. Children between 2 and 5 should be limited to up to 2 hours a day of quality programming.
What's the problem with a little electronic babysitting? In the past couple of years some entrepreneurs, including Disney's Baby Einstein, have been marketing their products by convincing parents that it is never too early to start watching screens. Packaging claimed positive effects on brain development.
It's been proven recently, however that rather than aiding brain development, passive watching of screens decreases the number of valuable human interactions the youngest children get, which leads to less stimulation and delayed verbal development.
Commercialization of children's programming is also at an all time high. Today marketing is an integral part of the program with characters so engaging that kids beg their parents for every product emblazoned with their favorite's image. "It takes a lot of discipline for parents not to give in to that today," Guernsey said.
Although Sesame Street received some flack for making a marketing deal with MacDonald's for the Tickle Me Elmo Meal, Gary Knell, president and CEO of Sesame Workshop, the non profit that produces Sesame Street, says the partnership funded their curriculum research. And that every year the program enlists the help of curriculum specialists to create meaningful messages that teach topics.
"Sesame Street is the only children's show that's produced every single year and every year we call it (another) experimental season," Knell said.
Sesame is now in 140 countries worldwide and produces 26 hours of US programming and 300 episodes of worldwide programming. This season the curriculum is on children, nature and healthy eating.
"We are very careful not to exploit very young children," he said. "We will never advertise to preschoolers and you will never see our characters promoting some sponsor's products."
MORE INFO The New America Foundation www.newamerica.net/programs/education_policy;
PBS for the whole interview with Jeffrey Brown: www.pbs.org/newshour/
Commercialization and children: www.commercialexploitation.org/
TV Effects: kidshealth.org/parent/positive/family/tv_affects_child.html
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