RESEARCH 40 20/2007/E

Sabrina Bachmann “That is really not necessary!”

Children’s television for preschoolers – what annoys parents?

From a parental point of view, vertising. They are said to be “much preschool programmes should show too young to understand, this is examples that help children deal advertising and they believe any- with the world in a fun (and not thing”. What is surprising about this frightening) way. Advertising as rejection is the wide reach of com- well as the scheduling and missing mercial networks. separation of shows are criticised. About 15 % of the programming block “Toggolino” on Super RTL, which targets toddlers, is made up of oday, 0- to 5-year-olds are al- advertising. However, in comparison lowed to watch television to others, the broadcaster holds the (cf. Götz et al.; in this issue), highest market share among the 3- T 3 but the programme selection is still to 6-year-olds in Germany. directed by the parents – and they Evidently, parents still accept the want a pedagogically sound pro- unloved advertising. Mothers are not One of the interviewed mothers with her gramme for their children. Good always as strict as Ms M. who de- daughters children’s television should be fun, mands: “Please don’t turn on Super informative and most of all non-vio- RTL (...) where there is this insane lent (Götz, 2001). This is also the pro- amount of advertising”. “Things we watched as children: Maja gramme makers’ promise1: humorous the Bee, Nils Holgersson, (…) those old shows that don’t frighten the little cartoons I always liked.” ones, playful learning, worlds that Realistic films In general, the affinity to realistic for- make you wonder, inspiration and in- instead of cartoons mats is higher, because the parents teraction – and the parents’ wishes are feel that their child can deal with his/ considered in programme acquisition. “... that there be less of this car- her real environment this way. Very However, there are many things about toon stuff, and more films and important to parents is the technical children’s television that parents are short films with real people.” realisation of preschool programmes. annoyed by. In August 2006, thirty- Many of the interviewed parents are Slow camera movements and few six mothers and two fathers in the annoyed by cartoon formats in cuts are favoured. This is what most Munich area (Germany) were asked children’s television. The shows are cartoons don’t offer: what they expect from children’s te- perceived as being too unrealistic levision programme makers.2 content-wise. In most cartoon shows “It can be animated, but maybe without parents don’t see any educational the fast, gaudy, the excessive (...). If I just value. Especially newer formats are look at it, I think: ‘Oh my God, I’m al- No commercials, please! rated negatively, not only by Ms L.: ready having a fit, imagine what the little “Doing without all the Japanese rub- ones think’.” “We very rarely watch RTL II, they bish because it doesn’t make any Children’s television in Germany al- show commercials non-stop.” sense to me”, while programmes that ready consisted of 60 % cartoons in Advertising in children’s programmes parents remember from their own 2000 (Bachmair/Hofmann, 2000). In is repeatedly referred to as annoying. childhood are often kept in fond the meantime, NICK Jr. joined the Parents believe preschool children memory: game, another channel which pre- and toddlers to be overstrained by ad- dominantly broadcasts in cartoon for- RESEARCH 20/2007/E 41 mat. In this respect the development content, parents are cautious of the “So that you can watch a programme and in Germany counteracts the parents’ audio-visual design of programmes. then say: ‘okay, and now we stop here’. wishes. Ms T. puts it this way, But children are not able to recognise the end of a programme anymore.” “Super RTL is at times hard to take (…), concerning the characters; they are some- Good role models, please! times so nasty to look at that kids just have In spite of programme makers’ efforts to be afraid. Why do you have to make to offer high-quality children’s tele- “For weeks after Anne watched some characters so extremely ugly?” vision for the young ones, from the Cinderella she was concerned parents’ perspective, there is much whether she was as beautiful. And The appearance of some TV char- left to be desired. Their agenda, how- she was only 4 years old!” acters bothers parents. Especially ever, is difficult to realise: commer- Parents want their children to learn younger children are afraid of animals cial-free and realistic films, evenly something from television in a play- or beings that look dangerous as well distributed over the day, that impart ful way. Factual knowledge is less as of creepy sounds (Cantor, 1998). social values and are not frightening. important than social role models for Parents report their children sleep And don’t forget the breaks! Still, the young ones. Children’s television, badly and that they have problems from the parents’ perspective, who from a parental point of view, should with what they saw. In those mo- express their wishes on grounds of not at all stress superficial values such ments, Ms B. would love to banish their responsibility for the children, as beauty or be cliché-ridden. Prais- television completely: “Sometimes I those are all legitimate demands. ed is the imparting of social skills, for think, why do I put up with it, why example by Ms W. about Barbapa- does my child have to deal with it?” pa: “There are statements in it how NOTES nice it would be to help the father.” Placement problems and 1 Panel discussion at the IZI conference 2006: Parents also worry about the possi- F. Beckmann (KI.KA), R. Gerhardt (Disney Play- ble negative influence of cartoons the wish for separation house), S. Grewenig (ARD/WDR), F. Klasen (Su- per RTL), S. Schosser (Junior TV). that trivialise violence, where “the 2 Cf. IZI study “Functions of TV among 0,5- to 5- one hits the other one on the head and “Everything for little children is year-olds from a parental point of view.” the children imitate it and, of course, on in the morning and that does 3 Source: Press Office Super RTL. they don’t have the understanding not help me at all. I would need it when they are 3 years old to know in the evenings past five o’clock.” REFERENCES that you shouldn’t do that”. Parents find fault with the fact that the programmes for younger children Bachmair, Ben; Hofmann, Ole (2000). Abschluss- bericht zur Bestandsaufnahme Kinderfernsehen. are shown only in the mornings and Gesamthochschule Kassel, unpublished research Fun instead of fear in the evenings before Unser Sand- report. männchen (transl.: Our Sandman). Cantor, Joanne (1998). “Mommy, I’m scared”. How Some – such as Ms C. – would like TV and movies frighten children and what we can “It is not necessary, this upheaval. do to protect them. New York: Harcourt Brace. the preschool programme to be Tom got nightmares after The Götz, Maya (2001). Kinder- und Familienfernsehen Lion King and Nina slept really spread out through the day: “At noon aus Sicht der Eltern. In: TelevIZIon, vol. 14, nr. 1, badly. She also wet her bed.” the ‘clientele’ is rather the 6- to 8- p. 41-48. Children must learn to deal with fear. year-olds, and these are simply pro- Parents are aware of that. But some grammes which the younger ones respondents think that children do don’t understand.” have to deal with enough negative Furthermore, the parents would like experiences and fears in their real to see an evening programme for THE AUTHOR environment and that television children who do not go to bed direct- should rather serve to relax. Ms G. is ly after watching Unser Sandmänn- Sabrina Bach- sceptical, if television is the right chen. Even more, parents want a clear mann, M. A., medium to deal with difficult topics: separation between the individual studied compar- “(…) through images that scurry over programmes within the programming ative literature, so- the screen”. Parents fear that their block in order to get the children ac- ciology and Eng- children are overburdened by strain- customed to a controlled use of the lish literature; doc- ing contents, especially on television, medium: toral candidate in sociology and because there is not enough time to freelancer at the IZI, Munich, Germany. process what they see. Apart from the