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give TV a thumbs up Survey finds most see it as an educational tool Jun 22, 2007 Great numbers of teachers, researchers and crusaders for kids are wont to blame television for everything from the nation’s childhood obesity crisis to the alarming growth in the number of autistic children. But that's not always so with parents, as it turns out. Surprisingly large numbers see TV as an important force in educating their children. They believe it does a good job, and it's not just educational television, either. “While some parents are still concerned about a lot of what they see in the media, most are surprisingly confident that they’ve got a handle on what their own kids are seeing,” says Vicky Rideout, vice president and director of Kaiser Family Foundation’s Program for the Study of Entertainment Media and Health, which is out with a new study on kids and TV. The study found that more than half of parents believe TV prepares young children to learn in a school setting. Parents think that television provides a good number of quality educational shows. Two-thirds of parents of kids 2-13 say that they are very or somewhat satisfied with the number and quality of educational programs aimed at kids, with just 9 percent not at all satisfied. This raises an interesting question: Are parents simply fooling themselves, out of guilt, say, for allowing the TV set to serve as the family's electronic babysitter? Are they simply aiming to mislead the survey takers? Or do they really believe it? Parents told researchers they feel TV offers good role models for young children, with can-do characters such as Dora the Explorer teaching them the importance of self esteem. One mom cited the social lessons offered on television, saying a storyline about divorce sparked a conversation with her teenage daughter about a friend’s parents who were getting a divorce. In fact, some parents even think that TV can help kids learn about dicey subjects like sex. Forty percent say that exposure to sexual content on television and other media helps a lot in educating kids about how to make healthy choices about sexual activity. Meanwhile, in other younger viewer ratings for the week ending June 17: Among teens 12-17: Fox was first with a 1.4 rating and 6 share, followed by NBC at 1.1/5, ABC at 1.1/4, Univision and CW at 0.9/4, CBS at 0.7/3, Telemundo and Telefutura at 0.2/1, and Azteca at 0.0/0. Among kids 2-11: Univision led with a 1.2/6, followed by Fox at 1.0/4, NBC at 0.8/4, ABC at 0.7/3, CBS at 0.6/3, CW at 0.5/2, Telemundo at 0.3/1, Telefutura at 0.2/1, and Azteca at 0.0/0. The top five shows among kids 2-5: 1. “Wonder Pets” (Nickelodeon, Thursday 11 a.m.); 2. “Dora the Explorer” (Nickelodeon, Thursday 11:30 a.m.); 3. “Go, Diego, Go” (Nickelodeon, Tuesday noon); 4. “The Backyardigans” (Nickelodeon, Tuesday 1 p.m.); 5. “Go, Diego, Go” (Nickelodeon, Friday 9:30 a.m.) The top five shows among kids 6-11: 1. “Spongebob The Movie” (Nickelodeon, Saturday 9 a.m.); 2. “Spongebob The Movie” (Nickelodeon, Friday 8 p.m.); 3. “The Suite Life of Zack & Cody” (Disney, Friday 7:30 p.m.); 4. “DC Games Opening Ceremonies” (Disney, Friday 8 p.m.); 5. “Hannah Montana” (Disney, Wednesday 7 p.m.)
The top five shows among kids 9-14: 1. “The Suite Life of Zack & Cody” (Disney, Tuesday 3:30 p.m.); 2. “The Suite Life of Zack & Cody” (Disney, Friday 7:30 p.m.); 3. “DC Games Opening Ceremonies” (Disney, Friday 8 p.m.); 4. “Spongebob The Movie” (Nickelodeon, Saturday 9 a.m.); 5. “The Suite Life of Zack & Cody” (Disney, Saturday 7:30 p.m.)
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