The Influence of Children's Programming on Children
"The first five years are pivotal in the
development of a child's ability to learn and create, to love, to trust, and
to develop a strong sense of self," ("Children and TV Violence")
all of which are important for the child to become a productive, resilient,
compassionate, and confident adult. The average child, from ages 2 to 11, watches
28 hours of television per week (Barry 237). Regardless whether the content
is positive or negative, a young child who watches a lot of television is likely
to adopt the behavior demonstrated in the programs. In studying programming
for young children on public and commercial television, a surprisingly large
amount of quality shows were found during the after school time slot.
The public television channel shows a variety
of programs, broadcasting mostly children's cartoons in the afternoon when kids
get home from school. "Clifford the Big Red Dog," airs at four o'clock,
and followed by "Dragon Tales" at four thirty. "Clifford"
is a cartoon about a young girl named Emily Elizabeth and her pet Clifford,
who is a giant red dog. The episode also includes their friends Cleo, T-bone,
and Max, who are dogs, and Jenna, Emily Elizabeth's best friend. The particular
episode centered around the issue of stealing, after the medal Jenna won in
a spelling bee disappeared. Jenna immediately accused Emily Elizabeth of taking
the medal because she lost to Jenna in the contest on the last word. Emily Elizabeth
denies Jenna's claim, and offers to help her look for the medal. Clifford, dismayed
about the attacks made towards Emily Elizabeth, rallies the other dogs to do
their own detective work and find the real thief. Throughout the episode, Jenna
continues to question Emily Elizabeth who exclaims, "It hurts my feelings
that you don't believe me. I don't take things that don't belong to me."
In the end, T-Bone realizes that a seagull stole the medal because it was attracted
to the shiny metal. Jenna apologizes, claiming, "I shouldn't have thought
it was you if I didn't know for sure." Emily Elizabeth accepts, and then
thanks Clifford for his loyal friendship since he never doubted her innocence.
The program's content would affect children positively because it demonstrates
problem management with fun storyline. The cartoon reinforced the value of true
friends, the importance of knowing the facts before accusing someone, and the
ideal apologetic technique while presenting an exciting detective story at the
same time.
"Dragon Tales," the next program,
which illustrates the adventures of a young brother and sister who visit a magical
dragon land, is another example of positive programming. In the episode entitled,
"Knock, knock, who's there?" Emy and Max are playing in their room
when they decide to visit Dragon Land, chanting together, "I wish, I wish,
with all my heart, to fly with dragons in a land apart." They fall in the
midst of several dragons, one of which is Emy's friend, Tassie. As the two girls
play "pick up sticks" near a tree, a knodling (a dwarf-like animal)
steals two of the sticks and retreats underground through a hole in the tree.
Tassie and Emy contemplate following him underground, but are worried they will
get lost in all of the underground caverns. Emy convinces Tassie to go, claiming
she is good at remembering things, and the two jump down a nearby hole. Tassie
decides to help Emy's memory by sticking the leftover "pick up sticks"
in the dirt walls as markers. The girls continue along, following the knodling's
whistle, marveling at the objects they see along the way. As the show continues,
the conversation between Tassie and Emy address the most important things to
do if you get lost. This includes themes such as, "stay calm and think,"
stay together, look for recognizable objects, and ask for directions. Similar
to "Clifford," "Dragon Tales," is a positive program because
it teaches children important everyday lessons and problem solving. Emy and
Max's loving relationship also represents strong family values because they
openly care and look out for one another.
On Nickelodeon, children's programming is on
continuously, but in the afternoon, "Cat Dog" airs at three o'clock,
and "Rugrats," is televised at four. In "Cat Dog," the main
character is a cat's head and a dog's head that share the same body. They live
together in a house that is shaped like a dog bone on one side, and a tuna fish
on the other. This cartoon was the most violent of the four, and most of the
brutal acts were random, and went unpunished. The plot evolved around Cat's
attempt to find Dog a girlfriend. He composes a letter on Dog's behalf and sends
it to Shriek, the female poodle who lives nearby. The two arrange to meet near
a bridge, which Cat stretches behind in order to give Dog advice when he talks
to Shriek. Shriek is the most aggressive character, using rough language like
"spit it out," "what are you yappin' about?' and "catch
me you goop." Shriek is also violent, for example, she kicks over a birdbath,
and frequently bullies Cat and Dog around. A mean bulldog, Shriek's dad, is
also hostile and pressures Dog to marry Shriek and make an "honest dog"
out of her. A romantic theme arises at the wedding, and the preacher makes comments
such as "down boy," to Dog, and "you may slobber all over the
bride," followed by a swirl of tongues as the two dogs lick one another.
The violence continues, when Shriek's entire family moves into Cat and Dog's
house, and Shriek's dad takes out his frustration on Cat. One example, is during
"cat poundin' time," when Cat is hit over the head by a mallet as
his eyes pop out. "Cat Dog" is also lacking the instructional aspect
found in the programs on public television. Instead, at the end of "Cat
Dog," Cat realizes the entire story was a bad dream, so he persuades Dog
to speak harshly to Shriek. The episode ends with Shriek hammering Cat, who
is deliriously happy because her family is not actually moving into the house.
Although the episode's violence is not on the same level as a reality program
or a children's show that uses live characters, a child may still imitate the
behavior. Young children may be unable to distinguish between real life and
animation and could seriously injure themselves or another child if any of the
violent acts in "Cat Dog" were mimicked.
"Rugrats," which airs at four o'clock
on Nickelodeon, is less violent than "Cat Dog," but still lacks the
gentleness of the programs on public television. In an episode entitled, "Angelica
nose best," the babies, Tommy, Chucky, Lil, and Phil, teach Angelica, who
is their older cousin, a lesson about lying after their grandfather reads them
the story of Pinocchio. Angelica tells lies constantly in order to stay out
of trouble, which are often it is at the babies' expense. Tommy and the other
babies warn that her nose will grow increasingly longer if she continues to
lie, but she informs them that it's just a "silly baby story." That
night, a mosquito bites Angelica, and a large bump appears on her nose. When
she wakes up, Angelica tries to ask her mom about it, but her mom is too busy
talking on the phone about work to pay attention to her daughter. Ironically,
she is wearing a hat that say "#1 Mom!" Angelica turns to the babies
for help, fearing she will never be able to tell the truth, so they set up an
interrogation room that is reminiscent of the FBI. After endless questioning,
Angelica can finally admit that she had lied, exclaiming, "I'm gonna go
out there and tell the truth til my nose goes back to normal." She struggles
to confess everything to her mom, but surprisingly, is consoled afterwards.
The "Rugrats" episode does illustrate the negative effects of lying,
and persuades children that it is most beneficial to tell the truth, but a few
themes are still above a child's level of comprehension. Angelica's work-a-holmic
mom and the interrogation, heavily influenced by a stereotypical FBI, are examples
that give the program an adult theme not found on public television.
Of the four programs, only "Cat Dog" contained material, like Shriek's aggressive behavior, that could affect children negatively. "Children who view shows in which violence is very realistic, frequently repeated, or unpunished, are more likely to imitate what they see" ("Children and TV Violence"). "Rugrats," although more forceful than the cartoons on public television, contained little violent programming. The general tone, however, was harsher including scenes such as Angelica's emotional outbursts. The programming on public television was the most suitable for young children because it was entertaining and educational at the same time. This reflects the results of a survey from the Center for Media Educations, which states, "more than four in five adults believe there is not enough educational programming on commercial broadcast television" ("In a new poll,). At such a young age, children learn their behavior through modeling the actions of others (Gibson 2/7), making "Clifford" and "Dragon Tales" ideal because they depict example of politeness, solid family values, problem solving, and friendship.
Works Cited
Barry, David. "Growing Up Violent."
Media and Values, summer 1993. Rpt. in
Impact of Mass Media: Current Issues. Ed. Ray Eldon Hiebert. New York,
1999. 237-241.
NA. "Children and TV Violence" Parenthood
6 Mar. 2002.
(www.parenthoodweb.com/parent_cfmfiles/pros.cfm?n=247)
NA. "In new poll, public backs more educational
television for kids." Center for
Media Education Press Release. 5 Oct. 1995. 6 Mar. 2002.
(www.cme.org/press/ctapolls.html).