I Want My Junior TV

Today I was watching TV, and something occurred to me. When it comes to children’s shows (and I’m talking toddler-age here), the media always provides wholesome and morally-“acceptable” programs. These shows teach lessons, ethics, math, grammar, phonics, and other educational subjects. Big deal, right? Well this wouldn’t be so important if not for the fact that this trend only lasts for a short time. As soon as the age bracket for these shows increases, the educational and moral features cease to exist. Consider shows like Barney & Friends, Bear in the Big Blue House, Eureka’s Castle, or whatever else is shown nowadays. These shows are intended to instruct toddlers and young children in a friendly and fun environment. The characters tell the primarily youth audience how special they are, how fun counting is, and why treating everyone nicely is enjoyable. Now consider shows like Yu-Gi-Oh, Pokemon, X-Men, Power Rangers, and Transformers (the most recent version). These shows teach no valuable lessons. They have no moral guidelines or educational bases. These shows are solely broadcast for entertainment, and, as sources of entertainment, they feature violence presented in a humorous and gratifying manner. Maybe there are salubrious television programs being broadcast, but odds are that they are being shown on obscure and unpopular channels in the seventies or eighties (when their favorite shows are on channels six, seven, ten, and thirteen). Why does the media feel it necessary to teach our toddlers beneficial things, only to then corrupt these children’s minds with images of violence and detrimental behavior?

Sure it is important to supplement a preschooler or kindergartener’s schooling with instructive shows (making them think that they are watching a fun TV show while unknowingly learning at the same time), but the children will forget these important lessons when their new favorite heroes skip school, use horrible grammar, and beat the shit out of each other, while laughing the whole time. The media might claim that the post-infancy period is a crucial age for mental development. Therefore, teaching children during this stage will have the most constructive and lasting effects. Good point, media. Nevertheless, the mind continues to mature and develop all through childhood until adolescence ends, which generally takes place around age twenty-one. So teaching children during a critical part of their early development will help them, but what is the point of no longer teaching them and distorting their principles at later vital period of maturity for them? If, as a child, I were raised on Barney telling me to love everyone and be excited to learn, I would most likely possess those values in some form as an adult. But if, as a twelve-year-old, I watched mutants and humans kill and hate each other and kids cut school to go on exciting adventures, I would probably lose those values and adopt ones like cutting school and hating “freaks” is cool. The point is that some pre-teens and young teens might know better, but there are also many more who will not. If the media is going to teach us as young children, it shouldn’t shirk the responsibility midway through our pre-adult lives. If you’re creating a picture, you don’t just sketch the framework and then ruin it by hurling black paint at the image. You carefully paint according to the framework to ensure that your earlier work was not in vain. It’s really not that hard of a concept to grasp.