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You might not know Dr. Laura Brown by name, but thanks in large part to her, the shows your preschoolers are watching are smart. Get an explanation (and read our interview with Laura) after the jump.
The director of research and curriculum for Little Airplane Productions in New York, Laura (who has a doctorate in school psychology) is responsible for putting together an appropriate curriculum and scrutinizing script content for one of your preschooler’s favorite shows, The Wonder Pets! She’s also worked on a number of our other fave kids’ shows, from the classic Little Bill to The Backyardigans to Nickelodeon’s brand-new Ni Hao, Kai-Lan. Check out her answers to our nosy questions.
How did you get into this line of work?
I’m a child psychologist by training; my doctorate is in school psychology. I became a practitioner but began consulting on Blue’s Clues. Fortuitously, Alice Wilder [Blue’s director of research and development] and I went to the same program…My name got passed around.
Can you explain the “Show and Tell” research method Little Airplane uses?
The research is based on the idea that if you put [the story] before children, you can find out what’s working and what’s not working. By the time we get to the second draft of the script, we basically make a little book of it, with images, then put it on the TV screen to approximate the viewing experience. That’s the show part. The tell part is, we bring in a group of three, four and five-year-olds to watch it. We have lots of interns to help us, with one assigned to each child. So second by second, we know what they’re laughing at, what they’re watching…Children this age are not so verbal. Their behavior sometimes tells us so much more.
Are you surprised at what the kids like or don’t understand? Or have you done this for so long that you can predict what’s working and what’s not?
Somewhere in the middle. I do frequently have an instinct about how things will work. But no matter how hard you try to make your brain a three or four-year-old brain, it’s impossible. You have so many other experiences built in. We did a Wonder Pets! story about a lost moth attracted to different, pretty lights and the Wonder Pets have to guide it back home. The kids couldn’t get their minds wrapped around the fact that the moths like light even though that basic premise was built into the script. We tried to “cute-ify” the moth – that’s what we call it when we make a character sweet – but it just didn’t work.
So because you work on Wonder Pets!, I have to ask you about Ming-Ming Duckling’s lisp. [For those not in the know, Ming-Ming can't say her "r's." Ever.] It elicits such a strong reaction from parents. Some think it’s cute. Some can’t stand it. What’s the reason for her speech impediment?
It’s not an education-based decision, but a creative one – just the way Josh [Selig – the creator of Wonder Pets!] wanted to write the character. If this was a show about language and literacy, I would have said something. But I’m always mindful of the balance between creativity and education. I felt it was an adorable choice and one that [resonates] with children. So many other TV characters on children’s shows have immature speech patterns as well. Look at Cookie Monster.
You have three kids between the ages of seven and thirteen. What TV-watching rules do you have in your house?
When my children were younger, they were allowed up to two hours of media a day, which included TV viewing, computer time and electronic games. I encouraged educational shows and, by and large, that’s what they watched because they liked them, too. As my children got older, they had increasing homework and extra-curricular activities…and decreasing media time during the school week by necessity. My ultimate goal, as the children mature, is to teach them how to manage their time themselves. So, I encourage them to schedule their time so they can get their [homework or responsibilities around the house] done each day and still have time to relax.
Are there any shows you encourage — or particularly discourage?
If I dislike a show, I tell them why I dislike it, but I don’t often rule out a show, unless it’s not appropriate for their age. I believe at a certain age, ruling things out only makes them more desirable. Also, I want my children to think critically on their own one day, so I model my own thoughts on the matter for them. Of course, some children need more guidance in this regard than others. You have to tailor the rules to the individual child, but the ultimate goal for me is to teach kids how to make good media choices.
How do you predict children’s TV programming will change over the next few years?
I imagine we’ll see themes, and even whole properties, focused on environmental concerns. Certainly, there will be more shows intended to get kids up and moving, too, focusing on health concerns, exercise, and nutrition. I think we’ll see new and interesting attempts to make shows more interactive as well.
Filed under General, Show and Tell, Six and Under
