A MODEST PROPOSAL

posted by James Reel

In the hallway outside my radio studio, there’s a big TV screen that displays six—count ’em, six—different KUAT/Arizona Public Media video feeds. One of them is devoted entirely to children’s programming, and the main broadcast channel devotes most of the morning to PBS kiddie shows. There are lots of non-PBS children’s shows on various cable channels, and as far as I know the commercial networks still devote Saturday mornings to cartoons.

Why?

What do children learn from sitting in front of a television that they couldn’t learn more thoroughly from interacting with other human beings? How can Barney or the denizens of Sesame Street or the departed Mr. Rogers teach kids about sharing if they don’t have anybody to share something with? Are commercial-network cartoons even entertaining? I didn’t think so when I was a kid, aside from old Warner Bros. efforts and maybe Roger Ramjet and Rocky & Bullwinkle.

Shows about things like Thomas the Tank Engine are good mainly for selling toys. Why should a child waste time watching the animated infomercial? The kid should just play with the damn toys, either alone (honing the individual imagination) or with other children (learning social interaction). Children also need more time with adults, parents, teachers and strangers who have no compunction about setting them straight when they get out of line. Kids I know spend so much time cavorting in front of the TV (not even watching it, really) that they have no idea how to behave appropriately around actual human beings.

So here’s an idea: End all children’s television programming. Let them read, run around, play with other kids, interact with adults, spend a limited amount of time with video games, help around the house—anything but watch TV. Then PBS and other networks could fill the mornings with programs that grownups could TiVo and use to keep themselves pacified and out of trouble at night.