New York Magazine - USA (2019-12-23)

42 new york | december 23, 2019–january 5, 2020

It’s Okay

to Let

Them

Watch TV.

Really.

Anya Kamenetz, author

of The Art of Screen

Time and an education

reporter for NPR,

explains the latest

social science.

How Much

Are Kids

Watching?

One survey found children

under 8 average one hour

and 40 minutes a day. For

those ages 8 to 12, it’s two

and a half hours. But parents

might be fudging. In 2015,

Nielsen, using a meter, found

that children ages 2 to 11

averaged 3.9 hours per day.

Sarah Domoff, a psychologist and

director of the Family Health Lab

at Central Michigan University,

and her colleagues have created

a nine-item questionnaire for

parents: Are your kids preoccupied

with TV? Are they always

scheming to get more? Does it

interfere with friendships, family

time, or schoolwork? If this sets

off alarm bells, Domoff suggests

talking to your pediatrician

or a child psychologist, as well

as the obvious: playing more

with your child.

How Much

Is Too Much?

uncommonly witty design. And while the

review notes that it will “delight viewers of

all ages,” that mild clause understates

what a rare, impressive achievement it is

for a children’s show to be equally engag-

ing for toddlers, grade-schoolers, and par-

ents. The “Is It Any Good?” review of

Wonder Park explains that the movie is

“darker” and “more intense” than kids

might expect. It doesn’t mention that the

movie is also quite bad.

W

HAT I’M MOST struck by,

after diving deep into the

language and structure of

Common Sense’s ratings,

is the irreconcilable gap between my critic

brain and my parent brain. My critic brain

tells me all of this is absurd. We all know

that some small group of real people is be-

hind the decision that Frozen 2 be desig-

nated as 6-plus and that such a decision is

a qualitative one, not just quantitative. And

especially when the ratings feel, if not con-

servative, then at least cautious, Common

Sense’s insistence on blurring the distinc-

tion between a human response and an

authoritative measurement sends up red

flares of warning. It almost offends me, or

at least the part of me that writes reviews

myself, the me that struggles weekly to bal-

ance my own response to a TV show with

what I imagine other viewers might feel.

It does not offend my parent brain. My

parent brain does not care about discus-

sions like “How should a critic respond to

art when ultimately all experiences are

subjective?” My parent brain values cer-

tainty and safety, and it appreciates rec-

ommendations from adults who have

already watched the best Minecraft Yo u -

Tube channels and point me toward the

ones that won’t terrify or red-pill my chil-

dren. When my now 5-year-old came

home one day mysteriously implanted

with the desire to watch “anything on Dis-

ney+,” I quickly found the relevant list on

Common Sense Media and steered her

away from LEGO Star Wars (7-plus) but

decided Spider-Man and His Amazing

Friends was probably fine (6-plus).

This is also what lots of Common Sense

users say. Teachers told me they use it to

make a video that will be okay for every

kid in the class from all kinds of back-

grounds. Parents of children with autism

told me they use it to screen for specific

content they know will upset their kids.

Parents told me they ignore the ratings

and just read the comments. Parents told

me they ignore the comments and just use

the ratings. They also told me stories of

failing to check Common Sense Media at

their peril and of older children who

started using Common Sense Media to

argue the case for why they should be

allowed to watch something. TV critic

Alan Sepinwall told me that, in his family,

his wife tends to consult Common Sense

Media as a tiebreaker when figuring out

what’s okay for the kids to watch, even

though, like me, filtering for quality TV

content is his job. The reality is that kids

are just as inundated by Peak TV as adults

are. Common Sense Media is the best

option for exhausted, overextended, con-

fused parents wondering what the hell is

up with Forky Asks a Question.

Since the 19th century at least, chil-

dren’s literature has been shaped by the

idea that books for kids should be good

for them and improve their moral char-

acter. It took time for children’s fiction to

adopt the idea that it could also be enter-

taining. The history of kids’ TV and mov-

ies has been the reverse arc, starting

from a baseline promise to be something

to occupy and entertain your children

and possibly also teach them the alpha-

bet. The idea that TV could instill values

is a relatively recent one, and only in the

past few decades has there been enough

variety in children’s TV programming

that parents can choose the titles that

reflect the world we want kids to aspire

to and be inspired by.

There are things I don’t want my kids

to see yet, but there are also lots of things

I want TV to show them: unusual ani-

mals, different places around the world,

kids cooperating with one another, char-

acters overcoming obstacles. Especially

now that there’s so much children’s media

available, I find myself longing for the

kind of personal, critical voice Common

Sense so studiously avoids. I want to know

not just if there are strong female charac-

ters but also if a show is beautiful, if it’s

innovative, if it has a thoughtful aesthetic,

what its sense of humor is like.

In other words, TV for children can be

both good for them and good. And these

days, parents have not only enough

choices but enough control over what

their children watch to aim higher. What

they still don’t have are the countless

hours necessary to wade through the

ocean of children’s programming for the

few gems. So we took it upon ourselves to

try, applying the sensibilities of Vulture’s

critics and contributors to programming

aimed at young children, mostly 3- to

7-year-olds, with a few notable shout-outs

for older kids. (Please don’t take what fol-

lows as a recommendation to show

Stranger Things to your kindergartner.)

Some of these shows are good enough

that you might even form a shared televi-

sion interest, and at the very least, we

have your next long car trip covered. ■

TRANSMITTED TRANSMITTED

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2619FEA_KidsTV_lay [Print]_36339551.indd 42 12/17/19 10:19 PM

42 newyork| december23,2019–january5, 2020

It’s Okay

to Let

Them

Watch TV.

Really.

AnyaKamenetz,author

ofTheArtof Screen

Timeandaneducation

reporterforNPR,

explainsthelatest

socialscience.

How Much

Are Kids

Watching?

One survey found children

under 8 averageonehour

and 40 minutesa day.For

those ages8 to 12,it’stwo

and a halfhours.Butparents

might befudging.In 2015,

Nielsen,usinga meter, found

thatchildrenages2 to 11

averaged3.9 hoursperday.

SarahDomoff,a psychologistand

directorof theFamilyHealthLab

at CentralMichiganUniversity,

andhercolleagueshavecreated

a nine-itemquestionnairefor

parents:Areyourkidspreoccupied

withTV?Aretheyalways

schemingtogetmore?Doesit

interferewithfriendships,family

time,orschoolwork?If thissets

offalarmbells,Domoffsuggests

talkingtoyourpediatrician

ora childpsychologist,aswell

astheobvious:playingmore

withyourchild.

How Much

Is Too Much?

uncommonly witty design. And while the
review notes that it will “delight viewers of
all ages,” that mild clause understates
what a rare, impressive achievement it is
for a children’s show to be equally engag-
ing for toddlers, grade-schoolers, and par-
ents. The “Is It Any Good?” review of
Wonder Park explains that the movie is
“darker” and “more intense” than kids
might expect. It doesn’t mention that the
movie is also quite bad.

W

HAT I’M MOST struck by,
after diving deep into the
language and structure of
Common Sense’s ratings,
is the irreconcilable gap between my critic
brain and my parent brain. My critic brain
tells me all of this is absurd. We all know
that some small group of real people is be-
hind the decision that Frozen 2 be desig-
nated as 6-plus and that such a decision is
a qualitative one, not just quantitative. And
especially when the ratings feel, if not con-
servative, then at least cautious, Common
Sense’s insistence on blurring the distinc-
tion between a human response and an
authoritative measurement sends up red
flares of warning. It almost offends me, or
at least the part of me that writes reviews
myself, the me that struggles weekly to bal-
ance my own response to a TV show with
what I imagine other viewers might feel.
It does not offend my parent brain. My
parent brain does not care about discus-
sions like “How should a critic respond to
art when ultimately all experiences are
subjective?” My parent brain values cer-
tainty and safety, and it appreciates rec-
ommendations from adults who have
already watched the best Minecraft Yo u -
Tube channels and point me toward the
ones that won’t terrify or red-pill my chil-
dren. When my now 5-year-old came
home one day mysteriously implanted
with the desire to watch “anything on Dis-
ney+,” I quickly found the relevant list on
Common Sense Media and steered her
away from LEGO Star Wars (7-plus) but
decided Spider-Man and His Amazing
Friends was probably fine (6-plus).
This is also what lots of Common Sense
users say. Teachers told me they use it to
make a video that will be okay for every
kid in the class from all kinds of back-
grounds. Parents of children with autism
told me they use it to screen for specific
content they know will upset their kids.
Parents told me they ignore the ratings
and just read the comments. Parents told
me they ignore the comments and just use
the ratings. They also told me stories of
failing to check Common Sense Media at
their peril and of older children who
started using Common Sense Media to

argue the case for why they should be

allowed to watch something. TV critic

Alan Sepinwall told me that, in his family,

his wife tends to consult Common Sense

Media as a tiebreaker when figuring out

what’s okay for the kids to watch, even

though, like me, filtering for quality TV

content is his job. The reality is that kids

are just as inundated by Peak TV as adults

are. Common Sense Media is the best

option for exhausted, overextended, con-

fused parents wondering what the hell is

up with Forky Asks a Question.

Since the 19th century at least, chil-

dren’s literature has been shaped by the

idea that books for kids should be good

for them and improve their moral char-

acter. It took time for children’s fiction to

adopt the idea that it could also be enter-

taining. The history of kids’ TV and mov-

ies has been the reverse arc, starting

from a baseline promise to be something

to occupy and entertain your children

and possibly also teach them the alpha-

bet. The idea that TV could instill values

is a relatively recent one, and only in the

past few decades has there been enough

variety in children’s TV programming

that parents can choose the titles that

reflect the world we want kids to aspire

to and be inspired by.

There are things I don’t want my kids

to see yet, but there are also lots of things

I want TV to show them: unusual ani-

mals, different places around the world,

kids cooperating with one another, char-

acters overcoming obstacles. Especially

now that there’s so much children’s media

available, I find myself longing for the

kind of personal, critical voice Common

Sense so studiously avoids. I want to know

not just if there are strong female charac-

ters but also if a show is beautiful, if it’s

innovative, if it has a thoughtful aesthetic,

what its sense of humor is like.

In other words, TV for children can be

both good for them and good. And these

days, parents have not only enough

choices but enough control over what

their children watch to aim higher. What

they still don’t have are the countless

hours necessary to wade through the

ocean of children’s programming for the

few gems. So we took it upon ourselves to

try, applying the sensibilities of Vulture’s

critics and contributors to programming

aimed at young children, mostly 3- to

7-year-olds, with a few notable shout-outs

for older kids. (Please don’t take what fol-

lows as a recommendation to show

Stranger Things to your kindergartner.)

Some of these shows are good enough

that you might even form a shared televi-

sion interest, and at the very least, we

have your next long car trip covered. ■