Life Matters

Elmo or Power Rangers?

By Linda Petersen
Posted 6/6/18

My little granddaughter in California has only been allowed to watch PBS children's shows such as Sesame Street and Daniel the Tiger, (which is a cartoon reproduction of the Mister Roger's Show.) She loves these shows, and gets the paraphernalia for

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Life Matters

Elmo or Power Rangers?

Posted

My little granddaughter in California has only been allowed to watch PBS children’s shows such as Sesame Street and Daniel the Tiger, (which is a cartoon reproduction of the Mister Roger’s Show.) She loves these shows, and gets the paraphernalia for Christmas and birthdays; Tickle Me Elmo, the Daniel Trolley and tons of small characters with which to play. She chooses character clothing when shopping, such as Big Bird shirts and matching Bert and Ernie socks. Her play imitates what she has seen on television. Her characters sing, recite the alphabet, count, and dance. They get along with everyone, and welcome newcomers. They are a happy group, and she is a very happy girl.

My granddaughter who lives in Rhode Island, whom I love dearly, pooh poohs watching such shows at my house (even though they are all I allow.) She prefers to watch Power Rangers and Teen Titans, both of which show super heroes who have fun adventures and missions to destroy opponents. They jump, hit, kick and shoot weapons and it is all very colorful, frantic and exciting. She loves it! She is quite color, frantic and exciting herself, and often needs to calm down after her play in trying to punch imaginary opponents.

What struck me about the difference in these two girls was how they played with the Beanie Babies I gave them for their birthdays. California girl had them playing school and having fun adventures such as playing team games and cooperating. Rhode Island girl had equal fun with hers, but hers were on adventures to destroy their enemies. Her Beanie Babies could be seen jumping on an unexpecting Tonka truck in the corner, making loud punching sounds, laughing and enjoying herself.

It has been said many times and in many places that violence on television has increased violence in this generation of children. The fact is, little toddler brains are still developing. Psychology Today had an article on this topic that stated “neurons that fire together wire together.” This means that as toddler brains grow, what they see on television can be hard wired into their brain and imbedded as a response to life. The child who watches Sesame Street is more likely to share with their neighbor rather than try to overcome their neighbor to get an item they want. Children who push and shove are only doing what they have learned from television (and sometimes from home, of course.) Once neurologically “fixed” in their brains, they are traits that are difficult to overcome.

One scary example of this concept is of toddlers who were severely psychically abused and learned they could not count on their caregivers for comfort. Such children often have attachment issues, even when placed in a good home. Their brains are hard wired to be suspicious, untrusting and egocentric. Even with intensive services and humongous amounts of love, many of these children are unable to overcome this.

The truth is, children are educated by what they see and hear in their environment. If they spend hours watching TV (which is often used as a babysitting tool) they learn from what they are seeing. Those who watch pro-social, educational shows are more sociable and interested in learning. They tend to be better friends to others, accept others that are different than them, and are more apt to pay attention to educational concepts. Children who watch more violent cartoons, which parents may think are more active and interesting, are more often aggressive, need more stimulation, and intolerant of others.

The comment I found most foreboding from Psychology Today is “The child becomes what he eats, not just the food he digests but also the media diet he consumes.”

Parents need to be firm in enforcing good choices for their children, even if the child balks. The child may complain for now, but will be better off in the long fun. Good television viewing is a concept worth enforcing, and crucial to the future of this next generation.

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