CABLE HARDLY NEEDS A PLUG : AS KIDS' TV GUIDES, PARENTS BEG TO DIFFER ON WHAT'S OK TO SEE.Byline: Keith Marder Daily News Television Writer When you wander in on your child, mesmerized in front of the television, what is he watching: ``Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'' or ``South Park''? After school, when they want a dose of TV before homework, do your children turn to ``Tiny Toon Adventures'' or ``Married ... With Children''? Knowing their choices might be more important than ever, because kids, even more than grown-ups, have embraced cable television. And the federal regulators aren't watching. While the Federal Communications Commission Federal Communications Commission (FCC), independent executive agency of the U.S. government established in 1934 to regulate interstate and foreign communications in the public interest. mandates that all broadcast channels - network and independent stations - offer at least three hours of children's educational programming per week, cable has no such regulation. Yet, those channels are where you're most likely to find young viewers today. Nickelodeon is dominant in reaching 2- to 11-year-olds, so dominant that the 20 top-rated shows among those viewers are all on that cable channel. Other channels, such as Disney, the Cartoon Network For Cartoon Network outside of the United States, see . Cartoon Network is a cable television network created by Turner Broadcasting which primarily shows animated programming. and the Fox Family Channel, are courting kids as well. But what's good and what's bad? What's right and what's wrong? There are some consensus picks among adults when it comes to what they will let their kids watch on television. Nickelodeon, the Disney Channel  Editing of this page by unregistered or newly registered users is currently disabled due to vandalism. and, of course, tried-and-true PBS PBSin full Public Broadcasting Service Private, nonprofit U.S. corporation of public television stations. PBS provides its member stations, which are supported by public funds and private contributions rather than by commercials, with educational, cultural, are safe havens Safe Havens is a comic strip drawn by cartoonist Bill Holbrook and syndicated by King Features Syndicate. Started in 1988, the strip is currently published in more than 50 newspapers. , parents will pretty much agree. But in a world where one parent's ``Sesame Street'' is another parent's ``X-Files,'' there isn't a correct answer. Some parents restrict viewing to less than an hour a day; others let their kids decide how much they want to watch. Some refuse to let their kids watch anything but educational shows; others allow their kids to watch ``South Park,'' an animated show on Comedy Central intended for mature audiences. Amazingly, 280,000 kids ages 2 to 11 (6 percent of its audience) watch the profane cartoon each week. ``I find that different families have different values,'' said E. Audrey Clark, professor of family relations and child development at California State University, Northridge CSUN offers a variety of programs leading to bachelor's degrees in 61 fields and master's degrees in 42 fields. The university has over 150,000 alumni. It's also home to a summer musical theater/theater program known as TADW (TeenAge Drama Workshop) that leads teenagers through an . ``They are going to choose according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. their own family values family values pl.n. The moral and social values traditionally maintained and affirmed within a family. .'' Parents speak If the choices of a handful of Valley mothers are any indication, there really is no one right way to monitor a child's television viewing habits. ``I don't really like television,'' said Pat Lopresti of Northridge. ``I'd rather have them doing some kind of creative play in another part of the house.'' The Lopresti children are limited to 30 to 60 minutes of television a day. And their channel choices mostly consist of Disney, Nickelodeon or PBS. ``TV is almost a treat in this house,'' she said. Lopresti, mom to 7-year-old Katie and 5-year-old Matthew, favors shows with music and movement. A big ``Barney'' fan, she also likes such shows as PBS' ``Sesame Street'' and Nickelodeon's ``Blue's Clues Blue's Clues is a children's show about a dog named Blue. It features live action one on one on paper-cutout animation. The series follows a dog named Blue through her everyday life, providing small children with fun and education. The show airs on both Nick Jr. and Noggin. .'' But she has a problem with some extremely popular shows, such as Nickelodeon's ``Rugrats'' and ``Rocko's Modern World.'' ``In those shows, children talk terribly to each other,'' Lopresti said. ``I don't allow words in my house like `dumb' and `stupid' and `butt.' They are common language in cartoons.'' Two of her guidelines: No ``Power Rangers'' and no ``Men in Black.'' Alicia Ashkar is a little more lenient when it comes to viewing choices for her children. Like most children, Alexandra, 10, and Johnny, 9, enjoy any shows about animals. The same goes for offerings on PBS. But their choices aren't limited to just children's programming. The family doesn't subscribe to Verb 1. subscribe to - receive or obtain regularly; "We take the Times every day" subscribe, take buy, purchase - obtain by purchase; acquire by means of a financial transaction; "The family purchased a new car"; "The conglomerate acquired a new company"; cable, so some adult fare - ``I Love Lucy I Love Lucy is a television situation comedy, starring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, also featuring Vivian Vance and William Frawley. The series originally ran from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, on CBS (181 episodes, including the "lost" Christmas episode and original ,'' ``The Simpsons'' and ``The X-Files'' - is on their short list. ``They think `The X-Files' is really cool, even though it was kind of gory go·ry adj. go·ri·er, go·ri·est 1. Covered or stained with gore; bloody. 2. Full of or characterized by bloodshed and violence. ,'' she said. Still, they know when they should be watching, and when they should find another preoccupation for their free time, she said. ``If they come home and we are in the middle of watching some steamy sex scene, they cover their eyes. They know right away,'' said Ashkar of Valley Glen. ``They go to parochial school parochial school (pərō`kēəl), school supported by a religious body. In the United States such schools are maintained by a number of religious groups, including Lutherans, Seventh-day Adventists, Orthodox Jews, Muslims, and and have Mass every day and Bible study Bible study may refer to:
Mighty Morphin mom Some parents find much more good in television than bad. Karen Kirsten of Northridge likes a lot of what she sees. She certainly likes the mainstream hits, but she can also find the positive in some shows that are almost universally disdained, including ``Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Mighty Morphin Power Rangers ("MMPR") is an American live-action television series, created for the American market, based on the sixteenth installment of the Japanese Super Sentai franchise, Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger. .'' ``If you take a look at `Power Rangers This article lists fictional characters from the Power Rangers universe who have served as Power Rangers. Unlike the List of Power Rangers characters, which lists serving Power Rangers alphabetically alongside other characters from the same fictional universe, this article lists only ,' first of all they have always shown the discipline that martial arts This is a list of martial arts, broken down by region and style. African martial arts Eritrea
Other pluses: They fight monsters - not unlike children's wish to defeat bogeymen or monsters that live under the bed. Yet there's never any blood. Females rescue males as often as males rescue females. ``It empowers young girls that they can take control.'' There's no sex. No beating up of other humans. No guns. Kirsten, mother of 6-year-old Ethan Aronson and 7-year-old Nicholas Aronson, studied early childhood development at California State University, Northridge, and possesses a teaching credential. She says that watching television with her kids often adds to the enrichment. The family watched a Charles Osgood special on the discovery of insulin together, and her sons were able to grasp the basic concepts. The civil-rights movie ``Ruby Bridges'' was an opportunity for Kirsten to watch with her kids and get their feelings on an intricate subject. Far from being troubled by the lack of good shows for kids, one of Kirsten's major complaints is that too many shows that would make excellent - and educational - viewing for kids air too late in the evening. ``Ruby Bridges'' and another recent special called ``Elmopalooza'' both ended at 9 p.m. ``My kids learn an awful lot from the medium of television,'' she said. Parents who only let their children watch videos are keeping their children from some great viewing opportunities, Kirsten said. Not that anybody should give a child free rein on the remote, she added. ``I don't think it's appropriate for them to watch adult programming,'' Kirsten said. ``I know little 7-year-old girls who can quote `Beverly Hills, 90210.' This is alarming to me. ``You have to empower children to walk away and say, `` This is too scary for me.' But don't throw away the baby with the bath water.'' CAPTION(S): 4 Photos PHOTO (1 -- color) On the cover: Karen Kirsten of Northridge enjoys watching TV with sons Nicholas Aronson, 7, and Ethan Aronson, 6. David Sprague/Daily News (2) Ethan , left, and Nicholas Aronson watch cartoons in their Northridge home. David Sprague/Daily News (3 -- 4) Children's TV fare runs the gamut from Nickelodeon's ``Rugrats,'' left, to PBS' ``Storytime,'' featuring such guest readers as John Ritter. |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion