Your Children’s Neighborhood 
TV programming is more relevant than you think

by John P. Murray

Most discussions regarding children’s television involve a certain amount of angst or hand-wringing — about both the nature of programming that children view and the messages found in violent or exploitive TV shows that are designed for older audiences but also watched by children. 

The issue of violence and its effect on young viewers generally provokes the most debate. Indeed, the first public expression of concern occurred in the early 1950s with Congressional hearings on TV violence and juvenile delinquency. These concerns have persisted for more than half a century. However, such discussions often fail to recognize and praise the positive and helpful messages that can be found in programs specifically designed for children.

Sesame Street characters

Children are big fans of television — preschool youngsters watch about three or more hours each day, and they remember what they see. Programs such as Sesame Street and Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood are fashioned to support their intellectual and emotional development, and many studies have demonstrated that these programs are very effective in reaching and teaching young viewers.

To some extent, McLuhan was right when he suggested that the ‘medium is the message” in the sense that even very young children find the movement and pacing of a TV program to be enticing. They are influenced by the visual displays as well as the overt and covert messages that form the program. Young viewers (as well as their “older” companions) are affected by the smooth, slow, direct-to-the-camera approach of Fred Rogers, and they laugh and learn from The Count and the Cookie Monster.

Children also find Big Bird and Mr. Rogers to be sincere and helpful sources of information about the world. The characters project warmth, honesty and caring in their interactions with the young viewers on the other side of the screen; these and other characters are important and trusted members of the child’s “extended” family.

We know that children learn from television — all forms of programming. In our research on the effects of violent program content, I and my colleagues at Kansas State University, the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, have used Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to map the patterns of children’s brain activations while watching TV violence (see Psychiatric Times, October 2001). Our findings indicate that youngsters are very actively involved in processing the visual scene and work hard at understanding the meaning of what they see.

Very specialized areas of a child’s brain (such as the amygdala, which senses danger and signals the body to prepare for fight or flight) are engaged while processing violent vs. nonviolent messages. It is also likely that these messages are stored for long-term memory because an area of the brain known as the posterior cingulate, which is related to memory for traumatic events, is also activated. So, television does teach, and children do learn from it.

With regard to positive learning of important social messages, the recent announcement that the South African version of Sesame Street is introducing a character who is HIV positive has sparked an interesting debate. Is this character appropriate in the context of a children’s television program? Will the discussions of HIV/AIDS be meaningful and understandable to the young viewer? Is this an effective way to raise these issues for young children?

The short answer to all three questions above is, Yes.

Of course, the details remain to be seen in both the programming and the program outcomes, but it is very likely that the careful portrayal of an HIV-positive child will have a beneficial effect on children’s understanding of HIV/AIDS and the way it affects their friends and families. This is a very important issue in South Africa, given the extensive number of HIV-positive children and adults.

Talking about these issues and showing a character who is HIV positive interacting with the other characters on Sesame Street is a great way to reduce children’s fear of the disease and the stigma that is often attached to the afflicted child. This discussion and information can be presented in ways that help young viewers understand the disease and increase acceptance of other children.

Although there are no plans to introduce an HIV-positive character in the U.S. version of Sesame Street, the program has dealt with issues of death, loss and grief in the past and, more recently, with issues related to 9/11 fears. So too, Fred Rogers has often addressed issues of emotional significance to the youngsters in his audience. 

For example, following 9/11, Sesame Street developed four programs around the theme of “life’s lessons’ to address children’s fears. Though not directly focused on 9/11, the programs dealt with firefighters and fire safety; understanding and relating to others who may be different from you; and strategies for coping with loss and grief.

In this last program theme, for example, Big Bird “adopts’ a wild turtle, Seymour, who wanders into Big Bird’s nest one day. However, because the turtle is “wild” he does not stay long, and, while Big Bird is out gathering things to help the turtle live in his nest, Seymour wanders off and never returns. The other cast members help Big Bird deal with this loss and grief by talking about the event and providing emotional support. 

The storytelling and hugs help Big Bird to understand the loss and preserve the warm memories. Children recognize and respond to the feelings in this context and can use these experiences to think about their feelings that might be related to 9/11 and other times of loss or grief.

Television is an effective teacher. Established characters in children’s television programs have great credibility and can teach, comfort and console youngsters. The medium of television is ideally suited to teaching and learning, and society would be wise to use the medium for selling good, rather than just selling goods.

P O P   F O R U M
Discuss children’s television

John P. Murray is a professor of developmental psychology in the School of Family Studies and Human Services at Kansas State University. He is the author and co-author of numerous articles and books related to children’s television, including Big World, Small Screen: The Role of Television in American Society.

Related Sites
From PopPolitics, Alana Kumbier interviews Dr. Charlotte Frances Cole of the Sesame Workshop on the new HIV-positive character. Also, Jason Kelly wonders how much TV a parent should let his child watch.
The Center for Media Education provides resources on children and the media — including an opportunity to vote for your favorite educational program and to rate the children’s programming on your local station.
Check out the latest studies regarding children’s programming and other related articles from UPenn’s Annenberg Public Policy Center.
The FCC maintains this list of policies and rules concerning children’s programming.
Finally, don’t miss PopPolitics’ very own Kids Issue.