History of Children’s Shows

Children spend much of their free time watching television and having contact with television influences the way children perceive the world around them. The United States debates whether program content is appropriate or not and also how television influences a child’s attitude, knowledge, and behavior. Television has changed throughout the years starting in 1950s to present day.

In the 1950s, children’s shows were beneficially in bringing the family together. Most of children’s shows were broadcasted during the afternoon and evening. But during the mid-1950s programs had aired Saturday morning. This started One Saturday morning shows, which still are on today.

The 1960s started animation shows. In the 1960s they reduced costs which led to limited action animation techniques. This cleared the appeal of cartoons to children, changed scheduling of programs, and the change of Saturday morning cartoons became complete. Some popular animated shows of the 1960s were The Flinstones, The Jetsons, Bullwinkle, and Space Ghost.

The 1970s have been considered as a video mosaic in which shows incorporated a number of segments under regular shows. Some of the shows were The New Super Friends Hour or Scooby Laff-a-Lympics. These helped with shows to increase audience flow across the entire morning.

In the 1980s children’s shows were influenced by the “television revolution” as the growth of cable and VCR began to erode audiences. Cartoons remained important, but live action shows began to increase. Cable networks such as Nickelodeon and Disney, devoted mostly to children. Other cable networks such as Discovery, Learning Channel, USA, TBS, the Family Channel, and Lifetime grew in having more shows that were programmed towards children. They produced live action shows, which included game shows, puppet shows, magazine format news and variety programs, as well as live action drama adventures shows.

The Children’s Television Act was influenced in the 1990s. This was because the educational shows were joining available programming. Since the 1990s, eight of the nine Peabody Awards for children’s programs were for informational or educational programs.

As the years have passed, people can see the change and growth of children’s shows. Children’s shows have improved and have become educational as well as teaching healthy ways to live a better life.

For more information about the changes in children’s television shows, go to this website:
http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/C/htmlC/childrenand/childrenand.htm

Violence and Children’s Television Shows

Television can be a major influence on shaping children’s behavior system. When children watch television that deals with violence, it can increase their aggression. Some children who can’t control their emotional or behavior problems might be easily influenced by television violence. The impact of television violence might affect the child immediately or it might show up years down the road.

What can parents do to make sure their child is watching a non-violent show? Well there is a solution.

~ Just like any adult, parents serve as role models. Children look up to their parents and want to do everything their parents do. If a parent reacts negatively to a show than most likely the child will as well. The parent should watch non-violent shows (or at least when the child is around) to show the child that they shouldn’t watch non-violent shows.
~ If the child is going to watch television, parents should take time and watch a show with them so the parent knows their son/daughter is watching an appropriate show.
~ Parents should set rules and stick to them when their child is at a young age. When rules are established at a young age, usually they tend to be easily followed.
~ Reduce the amount of television the child watches. Make it so the children can only watch television if they finish their homework or do their chores. This way it is more of a reward to watch television.
~ Watch movies instead of television. This way the parent knows what the child will be watching and knows that the show isn’t violent.
~ Give children exciting alternatives to television. Such as team sports, group crafts, or just baking with mom or dad.
~ Talk to children about television and how sometimes in real life it doesn’t turn out that way. Television is just a form of entertainment.

These are all possible ways parents or day care providers can help control how much violence children watch on television. It might be hard to make sure children watch shows that are violence because it is shown at least a little bit on most shows.
For more information click here.

Here are a few videos of shows that contain violence:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIlpYLIiZLE&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEwZrU_FnK4&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gg1Uf_gj4Nw&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_j0iICCPDP4&feature=PlayList&p=3F1BC82C70F325EB&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=3

The Bright Side of Children’s Television Shows

Everyday young children are glued to the television set and have no clue what is going on around them. Parents hoping and wishing that their son or daughter would just go outside and play or at least do something other than watch television. Parents want what is best for their children which might be being healthy and staying active. But hold on parents there is a bright side of your son or daughter watching television.
There are some shows that try to inspire children to be healthy and stay active. This could help your child start staying healthy since they are watching their favorite show which is always right and always tells the truth or at least that is what they think.
Sesame Street is always a great show for your child to watch. I remember watching this show when I was younger and now when I watch it I can’t believe I watched the show, even though it taught me a lot. The storyline of Sesame Street guides preschoolers through lessons that are based on healthy eating and the importance of active play and other important activities such as hygiene and rest. Sesame Street ties in songs to the show that deal with these important topics. Songs usually get stuck in everyone’s heads so the child will be singing the songs all day long which will help influence the child to make positive choices such as going outside and playing basketball.
Not only does PBS air shows that affect children in a positive way, but the Disney Channel also airs affective shows. The show “The Wiggles” counsels children to eat healthy food and promote good health with songs such as, “Fruit Salad, Yummy Yummy.” The show “Jo-Jo’s Circus” encourages kids to get up and move during the show. Children will also see cartoon shorts about choosing healthy snacks, such as eating a banana, over candy and other less healthy choices.
Nickelodeon also has shows that promote physical activity and healthy eating. “Dora the Explorer” encourages children to get up and move around during the show. “Lazy Town” is also another show that helps promote healthy habits. The main character of the show is an athlete who gets defeated if he eats sugar and the villain is known to be lazy so the show tries to teach children not to do this and show what happens if you do.
All these different networks provide educational reasons to watch the shows. The shows emphasize healthy eating and exercise, which is a great way to spark conversations with children about leading a healthy lifestyle. The plus side is that children get encouraged by their favorite characters to eat healthy foods.