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Is TV bad for kids?

There’s one question I’m always asked by parents: Is TV bad for kids? The truth is that I went into television because I didn’t like much of what I saw. My brother (who is fourteen years younger than I) grew up watching Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and kicked at the TV as he watched. Are you kidding me? If a television show can get kids to kick, couldn’t I create a modern show that got them to think, learn and interact?

There’s a lot of research about television and its effect on kids. One of the most famous studies is the “bobo doll experiment” conducted by Albert Bandura in 1961. Bandura videotaped adults (and later, an animated character) hitting, kicking and punching a bobo doll. He found that preschool children don’t differentiate between reality and fantasy and those who watched the tape imitated what they saw.

As a former researcher with a master’s degree in child development and education from Columbia University, I’ve devoted my career to using research such as this to create shows that educate while modeling positive behavior. Key areas revolve around conflict resolution, the development of “sticky” content (ensuring that main ideas are firmly rooted in the viewers’ minds) and interaction facilitated by the four-beat pause that gives children time to think and use important verbal, reasoning and math skills. It works.

Research from the University of Alabama for Blue’s Clues and the University of Pennsylvania for Super Why! finds that kids who watch our programs score higher on standardized tests than kids who don’t. We’re turning the dial on kids’ learning. If a show is created with a vision, curriculum and intent to teach, the medium of television can indeed provide an opportunity to educate kids. It’s all about choosing the right shows. Here are some rules that I follow when choosing appropriate shows for my children:

• TV Playdate!: Turning on a show should be thought of as having a playdate in your home. If the characters were real, would you want your kids hanging out with them?
• Monkey see, Monkey do: Watch an episode of a show and make sure that you don’t mind your kids imitating the behaviors that they see. Do they talk respectfully? Do they model positive approaches to friendships? What kind of humor is it? Respectful, silly or offensive?
• Is it really educational? So many shows, especially for preschoolers, say they are educational. But, what exactly is it teaching? Are your kids learning skills or strategies that they can use in their everyday life? Are they inspired to go places, explore things that they wouldn’t otherwise have been exposed to?
• What’s sticking? What’s the “sticky” part of the show that your kids are mimicking when the television is turned off? Is it drama or stress? Game play? Music? Figure out what aspect of the show is “sticking” with your kids and make sure you are okay with it.