Next month sees the launch of a new player in the increasingly competitive preschool TV market. BBC’s popular Cbeebies channel will join Nick Jnr, Playhouse Disney and ABC/ABC2 in showing content targeted at the under 6’s.
CBeebies, the UK’s number one children’s channel, will remain ad-free in Australia. Brendan Dahill, Director of Television, BBC Worldwide Channels Australasia at says it is a “bold move” but claims that it is important that the channel is a safe environment. “We want parents to feel safe leaving their children with us. They are trusting us with their most valuable possessions”.
This talk of TV as babysitter is not metaphorical — Australian children watch, on average, two hours of television a day. Some experts claim that this is too much &mdash France has banned television programmes aimed at the under three’s, and other experts warn of dire consequences for TV viewing, from short-sightedness and obesity to premature puberty and autism.
Others maintain that it is the quality, not the quantity of television that kids watch which makes the difference. Professor Catharine Lumby, director of the Journalism and Media Research Centre at the University of NSW and author of the book Why TV Is Good For Kids, says “judiciously used” good children’s television can promote literacy and familiarity with audio-visual communication.
“It’s not just traditional forms of education such as numeracy and the capacity to read but also narrative literacy — it helps children’s understanding of narrative or stories,” she says.
Dr Susan Roberts, senior lecturer at the Institute of Early Childhood at Macquarie University, says key features that parents can use to judge the suitability of a program include whether it is made for the preschool age group.
Lumby singles out Teletubbies — pretty much unintelligible to adults — as a fine example of toddler television “Teletubbies is exemplary when you read how they put the concept together,” she says. “It was one of the first shows designed by people who understand early childhood and aimed at appealing to children about 18 months old.”
To this end, Cbeebies maintains that it’s mantra of “learning through play” permeates through their programming, which in the UK includes such well-known programs as Bob the Builder, Charlie and Lola and In The Night Garden (made by the same production team as Teletubbies.
The line up here will be slightly different, with 80 per cent of programs new to the Australian market.
A couple to watch out for are Get Squiggling — an interactive Mr Squiggle for the 21st century, and 3rd & Bird, a visually stunning series featuring a unique photo-puppetry animation style.
Similar to the way the channel is broadcast in the UK, the shows are programmed loosely to correspond with different “energies” of the day — from active in the morning, to discovery and imagination in the afternoon and then a special “go to sleep” message at bedtime.
It all sounds vaguely Big Brother-y, yet Dahill insists that unlike some of the American kids channels which focus purely on entertainment, Cbeebies programmes are underpinned by learning values.
Linking the various TV shows together will be a London-based, Australian presenter Tara Colegrave, best known for her work presenting channel nine’s kids science show Y?
A qualified teacher, she is excited about the opportunity to be the face of the show. “I’m the fun friend they play with. I’m there to hold their hand and show them they’re having a good time.”
Her segments will help localise the content, ensuring Australian references filter through to the little ones. The approach will be interactive: Tara will encourage her “little learners” to sit down in front of the TV with arts and crafts.
“As a teacher I know how important it is to encourage learning in a fun, interactive and stimulating way” she says, urging parents to embrace Cbeebies has a friend. “Get involved and do it together, don’t be afraid.”
Her words are reassuring to parents who are more anxious than ever about the effect of TV on young minds.
CBeebies will launch on November 1 as part of the My Playtime package.
There are currently no comments.