Children's Television Programs Are as Popular as Ever, but Are Kids Really Benefitting from Them?

Children's television programming and videos are a multi-million dollar business (just this year Hit Entertainment, which produces Barney, The Wiggles, and Bob the Builder among others, is being bought out for upwards of $1 billion). Many videos tout claims of being educational programs. While there are some moral lessons and educational materials in children's programs, parents and caregivers need to keep in mind that the main function of the shows is entertainment.

Videos like Baby Einstein, Baby Monet, and Baby Mozart, all by the Baby Einstein Company, feature segments with: classical music; bright, contrasting colors; and amusing toys and animation sequences. Although many babies and children find this highly entertaining, the educational value is very small. What the Baby Einstein Company calls "developmental programs" is more or less a hodge-podge of pseudo scientific developmental theories.
Some of these theories that I've seen in the Baby Einstein videos are: foreign languages, black/red/white visuals, and classical music. Foreign languages are said to be learned easiest by young children during what is usually referred to as the "window of opportunity". However, listening to snippets of several different languages while viewing sequences completely unrelated to the foreign narrative have not been proven to teach a young child anything. The black, red, and white contrasting images were thought to help infants develop their eye coordination and vision before it strengthens on its own naturally. An older child will gain nothing but amusement from this, and it's debatable whether infants will gain any focus or eye strength from this either. Classical music has been shown to temporarily increase test scores by students who listen to it directly before testing. The increase in intelligence has only shown to be temporary though.
Shows like Blue's Clues and Barney demonstrate social values such as sharing, turn taking, and helping out, but they are still passive learning experiences. Children may emulate Barney or Blue, but they still need to interact with peers to learn how to maneuver through real social situations.

My kids love all of the shows that I've talked about. I don't mind if they watch them now and again. However, I don't have any hopes of these programs teaching them valuable skills or academic lessons. If they pick up some good ideas and use them later in social settings or pretend play that's great. I just think that some parents are buying into the sales pitch that these videos aren't just entertainment, but rather are a sophisticated, educational device that will help our kids prepare for school and play.

If you really want to maximize what your child learns from these programs watch them with your child. Then talk about something you saw in the video. Better yet, try an activity that was in the video with your child. If Blue and Steve made a tornado tube, you and your child can make one. If Barney and his friends went had a picnic with healthful snacks you can do that too. These are active experiences that will build upon the passive lessons of the programs.