Educational Children's TV

**★Bandiera Rossa☭** · November 09, 2009, 04:45 PM

Is there really any benefit? All I have seen it do is get kids to sing annoying songs which have nothing to do with education.. In fact some of these things seem counter productive.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WordWorld
The methods used in this show has made my little brother start stuttering out every word (which he didn't before) due to the way it sounds out the first part of the word every time.
Is this fusion of information and entertainment really working at all? Could this have serious consequences in educational development?

**CtrlAltDe1337** · November 09, 2009, 06:18 PM

Most kinds TV shows are utter garbage. They would be better off going outside and playing or reading a book.

**Nevins** · November 09, 2009, 07:45 PM

Its all BS eaten up by parents who would rather sit their children in front of a TV than spend time with them. Has anyone else here seen Baby Einstein? I mean, it might be educational while on an acid trip but otherwise not so much. Does it help? Probably. Would other ways to learn do much more in the same amount of time? Yes.

**Morkonan** · November 09, 2009, 07:53 PM

Originally Posted by Slurricane

...Is this fusion of information and entertainment really working at all? Could this have serious consequences in educational development?

I think that certain forms of televised children's programming are helpful. But, certainly not all forms. For instance:

Disney Offers Refund For Popular Children's DVD Series]

MADISON, Wis. -- The "Baby Einstein" brand of children's educational DVDs earns the Disney Corp. hundreds of millions of dollars every year, but the company is dropping the word "educational" from its marketing strategy.Disney is now offering parents a full refund on any "Baby Einstein" DVDs bought since 2004. Couple that with the American Academy of Pediatrics saying that children younger than 2 years old shouldn't be watching any TV at all and it's got some parents wondering whether television should play a role in parenting at all.

"Nothing's going to make my kid a genius, you know?" said Ackerman."There isn't a video out there that's going to make him a genius, so I don't expect him to walk away being the smartest kid in the world."

I think it's important to note that "nothing's going to make my kid a genius."

I do believe some things can be educational. Children's programming can be helpful. However, when that programming focuses more on entertainment than it does on transmitting a message of education, it's no longer educational, is it?

In any event, parents should never use the television as the sole education tool. Education, in order to be successful, requires active participation, not just passive learning.