New guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics
Quick Summary for Busy Parents and Teachers
- Children’s media hasn’t always been fast, flashy, or overstimulating. Early programs were slower, calmer, and relationship based.
- Over time, children’s TV shifted toward quicker pacing and entertainment. Education became less central as commercialization increased.
- Today’s children are surrounded by media from birth. This is very different from how most parents grew up.
- Media use shapes attention, behavior, and expectations. It doesn’t just entertain; it teaches children how fast the world should move.
- New guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics encourages thoughtful, limited media use.
- Small changes matter. Being intentional about media by thinking in terms of what, when, and how much can make a real difference.
You don’t need to eliminate screens all together. You just need to use them with wisdom and common sense.
I’m bringing this topic up again because the American Academy of Pediatrics has released new policies and guidelines for children and media use.
If you just want the links to the policies, you can scroll to the bottom of the page.
But if you’re up for something you have probably never seen before, take a short virtual walk with me through the history of children’s media over the last six decades. With video links for examples!!!
Children’s media didn’t always look or feel the way it does today.
We’ll look at media that may have been available to you, your parents, you’re your grandparents, and possibly your great-grandparents. Assuming they had a television, they could receive a signal and lived in an area where these programs were broadcast.
When I was a young woman, before cable, we had five or six channels to choose from. We used a paper copy of the tv guide, or the one found in the newspaper to find out what and when shows were available. For instance, where I lived as a child, the Star Trek show was not available. Oh, my goodness!! Sorry Star Trek fans!
What children watch is shaped by promotions, technology, clicks/likes/views, information gathering, selling something, monetization, and culture; not just “what kids like.”
As you watch the short videos below, notice not only technology changes over time, but also the activities, the topics, changing to fast paced, loud, dramatic action with scene changes every few seconds.
Pace matters just as much as content.
If you ask any teacher who was around before the media changes and after the media changes they will tell you that there was a noticeable change in children’s behavior and engagement for the worse.
Changes in children’s attention span, behavior with their peers, teachers, and their parents. This happened around the time tv shows changed to promoting disobedient, disrespectful children and conflict in family dynamics as their focus.
Letting children watch content that does not match the behavior or information you want your children to have, means diligent attention to what they are exposed to.
Early Children’s Television: Slow, Simple, and Relationship-Based (1947–1957)
Children’s television programming began in 1947. Early shows were typically slower-paced, featured a friendly host, and focused on social-emotional topics and everyday life.
Early children’s TV was designed to connect, not overstimulate.
A few popular programs from this era include: Click on the YouTube link to go to the video. It will open up in a new browser window.
- 1947–1957: Kukla, Fran and Ollie
Puppet-based, social-emotional storytelling
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWyntdjqBhQ - 1952: Ding Dong School
Created by an early learning educator
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuavktC6lm0 - 1953–1990s: Romper Room
Classroom-style preschool program teaching manners, math, and spelling
https://youtu.be/SYuAarJTKoI?si=6PUmFXzB9GZvhiZY - 1957–1966: Wunda Wunda
Simple storytelling with props and music—rudimentary, but sweet
https://youtu.be/Inj7yazeZtY?si=lXT0SEu3XMRcHIAK
A Shift Toward Structured Learning (1960s–1970s)
The 1960s brought more intentional early learning content.
Educational goals became more deliberate and developmentally informed.
- 1968–2001: Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood
Social-emotional learning, kindness, imagination, and diversity
https://youtu.be/Mcq5oW0GvD8?si=W9aBRYu9n7IdU1Qc - 1969–Present: Sesame Street
Relationship-based learning that later shifted toward commercialization
https://youtu.be/4_AVVUq87FI?si=wea7Y0cmnESFEUqh - 1971–1977: The Electric Company
Reading and language for older children, influenced by pop culture
https://youtu.be/aF8BbfHDyf0?si=_-bIlf92Z3VHs-mL
Even educational media evolves based on funding, popularity, and market forces.
Faster Pace, More Cartoons (1980s–2000s)
From the 1980s through the 1990s, children’s programming shifted toward faster pacing and quicker scene changes.
Entertainment began to outweigh education.
Shows like Blue’s Clues, Dragon Tales, Franklin, Dora the Explorer, and Between the Lions became staples.
The 2000s continued this trend with Clifford the Big Red Dog, Peppa Pig, Little Einsteins, and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.
Bright colors and fast transitions became the norm, actual education less important.
Recent Trends (2010s–2020s)
The 2010s introduced highly commercialized, colorful cartoon and puppet-based programs such as Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, Dinosaur Train, and Bluey.
Modern children’s media is carefully branded and market driven.
The 2020s brought included overt societal themes, here are two examples:
- STEM and inquiry learning (Ada Twist, Scientist)
- Cultural awareness (Molly of Denali)
The pandemic saw a surge in preschool-style videos on social media as children stayed home with their family, friends or neighbors. With a captive audience as parents tried to adjust back to fulltime child-rearing, a few channels exploded and still dominate the social media market today. (2026)
Some initially focused on education but many quickly succumbed to marketing toys, services and merchandise, going back to fast paced, entertainment and dramatic representations. Most of those early learning channels that continued to focus on education before entertainment were slowly pushed in the background.
Young children became a constant, captive media audience.
Parenting and teaching styles reflect the media environments adults grew up in.
Today’s parents were raised with nearly constant media exposure. Society plays a role, but society itself is shaped by what we watch and consume.
Media doesn’t just entertain, it shapes expectations, attention, and habits.
After reading the American Academy of Pediatrics’ new policies on digital media and children, I hope you’ll take a moment to reflect on your own media use and consider limiting media exposure for the children in your care.
Or at least using media for a purpose, such as supporting their education. Not just to entertain or keep your children busy.
Thoughtful media use starts with informed, intentional adults.
Why This Matters
I began teaching early childhood education in 1975. In the 50 years since, I’ve seen dramatic shifts in how children are taught and how adults interact with them. Some good, some not so good.
Society has lost track in many ways, no longer understanding what children need to grow physically and emotionally healthy into successful adults. We need to start where they are developing cognitively and physically and supporting their progress. Through a child’s eyes and understanding.
We, grown-ups, need to keep societal trends and adult ideologies as far away from young children as possible. Let children learn, explore and grow in their own time and their own way. Let them be innocent as long as possible. Adulting will be hard enough when they get there.
From the American Academy of Pediatrics| Policy Statement| January 20 2026. Digital Ecosystems, Children, and Adolescents: Policy Statement
The 5 Cs of Media Use