Customer Reviews

Anytime Playdate: Inside the Preschool Entertainment Boom, or, How Television Became My Baby's Best Friend

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The idea of a media reporter looking into the business of creating TV shows for infants is fine--but this wishy-washy book draws few solid conclusions and the author uncovers his own lack of control over the tube.

The author was given access to some Nick Jr. show producers and the Baby Einstein creator. He observes them, interviews them, lets them speak for themselves and never really challenges them. Some of what he learns is interesting--such as the fact that producers of a show for kids under 2 say that children under 2 shouldn't be watching TV! Or that the creator of Baby Einstein did virtually no educational research before starting her supposedly educational product.

What comes through loud and clear is that TV shows and DVDs for kids ages zero to two are BIG BUSINESS and people who create these shows are merely making a product. After they create their idea they later worry about scrambling to find an educational basis for the show. And in many cases they have to stretch the truth in order to come up with any type of research that producers can use to claim the show is educational.

So that aspect of the book is good to read--but the author never takes the next step to report on the various studies that reveal the dangers involved in allowing small children to watch TV. He also misses a huge part of the market by narrowly focusing on only a couple of shows and totally skips Disney and most public TV programming for kids. His historical overview of kids TV is also very incomplete.

It's like the Wikipedia version of the subject, not properly researched nor completely objective.

The worst part is the author interjecting his own family stories--throughout the book he talks about allowing his newborn girl to watch TV, where she quickly gets addicted to whatever show he presents to her, she screams to be allowed to keep watching and he gives in. The sad end of the book is not a self-admission by the author that he should be a better parent and say "no" to the kid, but instead is the author allowing his second child to watch as a newborn.

Obviously the writer learned nothing from writing this because he chose his subjects narrowly and he believed what they told him instead of finding people who conduct valid studies to show the damages TV can do. Yes, he does talk to one doctor who used to work in the film industry, one who tells parents to take control of the TV. But that message doesn't stick with the author, who ends up using the book to do away with his own guilt for allowing his newborn children to watch TV.