Entertainment Hiding Education: The Benefits of Children’s Programing

Think about a blue dog, a red monster that can talk, and a Spanish speaking girl who goes on an adventure every day. To a person who has not watched television those characters might be made up people. For a child, however, those characters are Blue from Blue’s Clues, Elmo from Sesame Street, and Dora from Dora the Explorer. These three shows air on networks that are based for children, and are what could be referred to as educational entertainment; they hide learning into an entertaining television show. Experts say that this technique, that children’s education television shows use, builds a foundation that children can use for a lifetime. Though some parents may argue that these programs do more harm than good, these shows have an educational value that other children series do not have. For a child that is watching these television shows, they are not aware of the learning component; rather, they believe that they are having fun. Even though some parents argue that children’s educational programs have little to no value, television that uses the entertaining education techniques in its programing can help children develop lifelong social and educational skills before, during, and after they start and finish preschool or kindergarten by developing their memory and mimicking appropriate social behaviors.

There are three main networks that children can watch television shows on that use entertaining education: (1) Disney Channel, (2) Nickelodeon, and (3) PBS. These three networks run episodes that are based just for children, each with its own unique educational strategy. These networks run programs in the morning aimed for children that are in preschool and kindergarten. They teach skills learned in the classroom along with sk...

... middle of paper ...

... skills in hopes that they would mimic what the character. Therefore, if they child saw the character sharing a toy with another character, they child would potentially mimic that action. These characters act like role models for children, in hopes that children observe the correct behavior and mimic them later.

Works Cited

Anderson, Daniel R., et al. Early Childhood Television Viewing and Adolescent Behavior. Ed. Willis F. Overton. Boston: Blackwell Publishers, 2001. Print.

Cullingford, Cedric. Children and Television. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1984. Print.

"Gina Adopts a Baby: Part 1." Episode #4130. Sesame Street. 6 Nov. 2006. Television.

Myers, David G. Psychology. Tenth ed. New York: Worth, 2013. Print.

Psychology. New York: SparkNotes LLC, 2002. Print.

SparkNotes Editors. “SparkNote on Memory.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2005. Web. 9 Apr. 2014.