Do these shows actually Benefit Children?

[Mangahero18]

Not sure it this belongs here but here goes:

I was at home the other day and i walked into the living room of my home and found my younger sister watching one of those popular childrens TV shows called the Backyardigans...its like a next generation predecessor of those shows like Barney aimed at Toddlers and young children (My sister is 14 btw!) the premise of cartoons like these is to teach valuble life skills like sharing and even some educational basics like shapes and rudimentary math and prepare them for future education while entertaining them....the idea is to make sure there intrested so they learn while having fun.....( Maybe like brain washing?!). What i wanna know is besides the obvious basic skills like how to count are these mindless syndicated garbage programs actually aimed at preparing children for a better future?
Now we all know TV producers are only focusing at one thing when it comes to putting programs on the air....Money. I would think however that programs aimed at being benefitial would be at least that.....
But if these programs are Indeed Beneficial then why is the majority of our youth so darn depressed....the only reason shows like these even succeed is because Parents in over-developed countrys like the U.S. where i live are either too busy, to lazy, or sometimes both to properly instill morals and important life experiences in there OWN CHILDREN....people are too focused on there on lives so they let the TV babysit their kids...sad but true. What will become of the world with programs like these massproducing the next generation of hopes and dreams....with shows like these its nothin more than pure content...how can these children hope to develop dreams within there reach with experience other than what they see on Television in there lives.....if you ask me TV really is rotting out minds.

[SquishyNinja]

I agree. TV is rotting minds, especially in children. Unfortunately, I doubt there's anything we can do about it now. Television is such a familiar thing now. If we (the US) had realized this years ago, before the TV really became popular, we could have stopped this. There would be a drastic decrease of couch potatoes. Maybe the obesity crisis would have never happened. Unfortunately, society today is all about how to make life easier. We don't want to have to strain ourselves anymore. People have become lazy, compared to life back in the 1900's. TV is one of our most popular ways to get information, second only to the Internet. The fact that rich people decided to use it to get even more money at the cost of destroying millions of imaginations is the only thing stopping television from being a useful invention.

[Mangahero18]

Even i wouldnt say that TV cant be educational....i watch the discovery channel all the time....you can learn some really cool stuff that way....i learned how Plasma Screen Tvs were made just the other day for instance hehe....but some things on TV are just stupid, like Reality TV....How the heck is being stranded on an island and participating in pointless physical competitions anything like Reality?! Real reality wouldnt be entertaining now would it?

[SquishyNinja]

Reality TV? Oh how I love reality TV. The suffering of others makes me so happy! But reality TV is one of the worst types of programs.

[ko86]

American media usually gets pin-pointed because they take the lead in the media trade. This may be the case if you're outside the Internet, but in actual fact, it's deeper than that. Children programs are generally crap, it's like someone who's in trouble goes for help in a self-help book, self-defeating.

Shows are never beneficial, and if they ever are, they are subjective to the viewer. Moreover, this TV-rotting-minds thing is ancient news.

If you wanna help the kids around you, you gotta take them out, talk to them, explain things to them. I don't take early childhood studies, but i'm pretty sure everyone should know that TV programs are not to educate them, they are consumer goods like everything else, education cannot stand alone with just crappy men-in-creature-suits and hippie-sing-a-longs on the magic box.

[russj]

hmm i like ko's point..

somehow TV is not the real problem at all. if you expect it to be a substitute in a way for education, i'd have to say its a little close minded.. the reason why most parenting fails it because they treat TV like a baby sitter. which makes sense because its for entertainment. but i saw a 1 y.o. kid sitting one a cart in front of the television with dora.. now thats just plain dumb.

if kids arent staring blankly into the screen, theyre probably doing something to entertain themselves.. which is kinna the same thing. kiddie shows are for kids to emulate.. coz thats what they do, reenact what they see.. not just on TV. lets just hope they're watching the right stuff

the solution? its not to educate the kids, educate the parents how to educate their children

as for grown-ups, cant also blame TV for obesity. 80% of the cases are caused by genes. lack of exercise coz of TV? i dont think so. they will find something else to bum about. god, i do nothing all day but here i am 5'7 @ 110lbs..

i also disagree with Squishy's point about the our society is all about how to make life easier.. lol of course it is. thats why we dont live on caves anymore or go out and hunt for our food. making lives simpler is how our world should go, if not then we wont be any different from animals.

if we (not just US lol stop being self-centered US) realized this will happen, then more people would have invested on TV programs.haha thats how the world goes, everyone wants to get ahead of each other, one way or another.

i'd like to say more but it might be too long and boring.. my main point is, television is like a gun, or drug, or a sword, or a.. you know what i mean.. plus if not of the idiot box, you wouldnt be here looking for anime hahaha

will you stop your children when they start to explore the world of the vacuum tubes in the future? i cant say i wont....

[avich]

Even if they find a way to remove television, it wont solve the problem. Because the root of the problem is Family Core Values. If they establish that, then even though kids who watch alot of shows in the television, or even not television, anything that they might like, will still grow up to be a fine adult.

Its all about passing our values to our children, guide and teach them what the world is really all about and what really matter to us.

[Bindu1000]

I agree with Chiva and most everyone. The world is full of opportunities to make money and everyone will do their best to capapitalise on any new market that opens.

Right now, more and more parents are having children just because its the hip thing to do without realising the commitment needed. When they find out they cant have the freedom they want, TV becomes the free baby-sitter and of course the entrepreneurs out there will take advantage of the opportunity and come up brain dead shows to reel the children in

You cant blame the market or the creators of the shows - I blame the parents who are so caught up in the rat race that they dont spend time with their children and teach them the values needed to survive in this world

That said ...I still remember Sesame Street which actually had good programmes and actually taught some good lessons too ...:1:

[avich]

Teletubies still gives me nightmares to this day.

[Skoibi]

childrens shows are really messed up these days. like....some of them are greatly disturbing. like the wiggles. wtf. I do really like Phineas and Ferb though....but thats more for like the 10 year old range than toddler I would say.

[Njaaks]

From my point of view there are ofc good shows and bad shows for children ( and sick like teletubbeis but my brothers kid loves them)

what i mean is, for exaple lets take Naruto- all the killing and the fighting aside its a pit dramatic story about a boy who doest have anyone in hes life and he pulls it throug by will power and never giving up. He is goofy but he can be very responcible and mature when its neede. ( i think thats a good thing for kids) etc.

[FluffynpinK]

I don't think TV has anything to do with kids being depressed.
Those shows for toddlers are anything but depressing.
What I think is making these kids depressed are the parents.

Like you pointed out, the parents are too busy to give them attention, too busy to teach them etc. etc.
That is the reason why kids aren't happy! Kids need their parents.
I watched these shows all the time when I was younger and I couldn't be more happier.
I'm lucky that my parents show me love & attention every day.

I really do think it is the parents because my mother is a teacher & on a few occasions kids have started crying in her classroom.
So of course she took them outside and asked them what was wrong and the problem was always the parents.
The parents are never home, the parents never show them love, the parents are alcoholics, drug addicts, you name it!


And I agree with Njaaks about Naruto.

[ChippedFang]

some shows are always about the money thats why some shows like booba and teletubbies dont come on cuz they ar jus point less shows made to get money

[avich]

I agree with fluffypink, we all tend to choose something or someone other than ourselves to blame for the wrong things that happen around us. In this case, its the television.

[Skoibi]

television is the root of all evil

[Snoozy19]

HAHAHA.... The kid shows these days are screwed up...
Even though the producers are trying ways to educate the viewers the show itself is weird in ALOT of ways...
I still remember that show 'Blues Clues'.... *It makes me laugh so hard just thinking about it.....HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!

[Keir06]

Teletubies still gives me nightmares to this day.

Teletubies are Gay hahahaha >:))