Whether we like it or not, we’re getting more screen time than ever. In fact, we’re raising our average daily screen time faster than researchers can tell us to cut it out. So we may as well make sure we’re using that screen time in the best way possible — and that’s more important for young children than for anyone else. Children absorb all sorts of tiny details and social nuances from their TV programmes, and use those cues as models for their real-life behaviour. But to us grown-ups, these details can seem so small and insignificant, that most of us might not know what to look out for.

So what really makes a good children’s TV programme?

Why you need to care about what your child watches

It’s tempting to just let children watch whatever they want. But it’s really important that we give it more thought. With young children, the fine details of what they’re watching matter more than ever. Young children are sponges, soaking up everything they see and hear. They’re so influenced by what they’re watching — more so than they’ll be at any other point in their lives.

It’s much more than just teaching them about shapes and numbers. Children’s TV programmes are a great way to introduce little ones to life lessons, social and emotional concepts, and big ideas that they’ll use their whole lives. But there’s a lot of nuance that shapes exactly what children take away from their screen time. That’s why it matters that we pick carefully.

What makes a good children’s TV programme?

As it turns out, a good children’s TV programme doesn’t need to be educational. At least, not in the traditional sense.

Children absorb so many different layers of learning from television — from big things like the concrete lessons in an episode, to little things like the tone in which characters talk to each other. Because of this, those small details in how children’s programmes are written and presented can have big effects on what children learn from it.

In deciding what programmes are best for your children, it might help to ask these questions:

How is the programme paced? Slower, calmer programmes are easier to follow, and give children more time to reflect about what they’re seeing. Loud, colorful, fast-paced programmes are exciting for children, but they can become conditioned to this sort of overstimulation.
Does it encourage curiosity? Does the programme encourage children to actively explore and engage with the world around them, rather than just passively receiving information?
How do the characters treat each other? A good programme presents positive, realistic examples of how we handle problem solving and negotiations in our personal relationships.
Are the “bad characters” clear to children? Think about Oscar the Grouch from Sesame Street, or Gargamel from The Smurfs. It’s very clear to children that these are not good role models, so they shouldn’t follow their behaviour.
Does it reflect diverse identities? Children’s programmes should represent people of all backgrounds and identities in a positive light.
Are negative scenarios quickly and clearly resolved? If programmes focus too much on the problem, and not how to solve it, children might learn more about causing problems, not problem-solving.

Screen time during the coronavirus

We’re all using screens more than we’d like at the moment. But given the circumstances, a lot of us just don’t have much of a choice. Try not to worry too much - television isn’t quite the brain-rotting menace our parents warned us about! There are plenty of brilliant programmes out there and, especially when exploring the real world is a bit complicated, quality programming is a great way for children to learn more about the world around them.

This isn’t to say you should expect children to become geniuses just from watching TV! But with a bit of thought, you can make children’s screen time as positive as possible.

Helping children to get the most out of their screen time

Here are some top tips for making sure children’s screen time is as healthy and productive as possible:

Watch with them

The gold standard for children’s screen time is watching along with a parent. Children’s learning, engagement and understanding all get a big boost when they watch along with an adult caregiver. This way, children have the opportunity to pause, ask questions about the programme, and compare it to real life. The programme can prompt deep, rich conversations — much in the same way that you’d talk when reading a book to a child. Even if you can’t watch alongside your children, checking in from the other room is still beneficial for them. Just lend half an ear — chime in with the occasional, “Ooh, what’s happening now?”

Focus on the social and emotional learning

Every children’s TV programme sets out to be educational, but it matters what they’re trying to teach. It’s most important that the programmes set good examples of how to treat one another, and how to be a curious, thoughtful, considerate person.

Pick their options ahead of time

With any streaming platform, children should not have total control over what they’re choosing to watch. Even if a platform has a designated children’s section, children should always have parents or caregivers as a filter. If children are browsing through shows, you should sit with them and browse along. See what imagery, themes and characters they like. Watch some episodes with them, and decide whether it’s right or not. Putting a streaming device on airplane mode and offering children a selection of pre-downloaded TV shows is an easy, safe way of making sure they’ve got a carefully curated selection. This way, you’ll be more comfortable if you have to leave them alone as they watch.

The trouble with youtube

YouTube has eclipsed traditional television as the go-to place for children’s TV shows. That’s cause for concern. Here’s why you should think twice about leaving your child to browse freely on YouTube:

YouTube isn’t regulated like broadcast TV. Traditional broadcasters have to follow a whole host of rules about what they can show, especially for children’s channels and networks. YouTube’s content creators, as well as the platform itself, don’t have that same responsibility.
Children can easily come across disturbing content. Partially because of this lack of regulation, YouTube’s “watch next” algorithm has a worrying tendency to lead children toward inappropriate and disturbing content.
YouTube has a bad history with data privacy. In 2017, the US Federal Trade Commission fined YouTube $170 million to settle charges that it illegally collected children’s browsing data, in order to serve them tailored advertisements.

what if you just find the programme annoying?

Even if you’re sick of hearing the Paw Patrol theme song for the fourteenth time today, try to hold back your instinct to reach for the headphones. It’s important that you’re always able to listen in on what children are watching.

But given the wealth of good programming out there, you can find something else that both you and your child can agree on. And if you’re finding a certain programme irritating (I’m looking at you, Bing!), it might be a red flag that it’s time to find another children’s TV programme to watch.

Try to ask yourself what exactly is it that’s annoying. Is it the way a character talks, or how they treat someone else? TV is a huge influence for modelling behaviour to children, so if there is some behaviour on the show that you think is irritating, there’s a high chance children will start to imitate it. Especially right now, you don’t need to make your life harder than it needs to be!

Article adapted from ‘What Makes A Children’s TV Show Worth The Screen Time?’ by Aaron Hathaway (Famly Blog, 14th October 2020)