The Electric Company rip-off

[ssetta]

But see, that's partially why they have to gear the show toward such a younger audience. See, when I was 21 months old, I wasn't watching TV yet. Most kids started watching it when they were like 2 or 3 years old. And then they continued to watch it into Kindergarten, 1st grade, and even further than that. But that's why they don't want all the gags and crazy and wild stuff. They want it to be for preschoolers and younger, which it is now.

 

[Hays]

My kid prefers the "old" Sesame Street characters, too - as a matter of fact, this season when Ernie and Elmo did "Share" he said "Elmo doesn't sing that! Cookie Monster is supposed to sing that!"

Even though the average age of kids watching has decreased, their TV sophistication is the same as the 5-year-olds from my day. When I was a kid, most kids didn't go to school knowing numbers and letters - now my son can sing the ABCs and count to 20 (with some mistakes) and he hasn't started preschool. He gets more of the "adult" humor, too. He enjoys the shows that are geared towards older kids (Zoom, Arthur) more than the "baby" ones.

I agree wholeheartedly with CookieFan - I HATE 'preschool "morality" stories' and I find the current batch of animated TV series on PBS horrifying. There isn't enough challenging TV out there; and there's so much more to learn about music, art, and science that even little kids will enjoy. I hope PBS cleans up its act soon and stops sermonizing!