Watch & Learn

Don’t be too quick to write off TV for your children. Managed well, it can help boost their IQ and EQ

- Lisa Twang

It’s not called the goggle box for nothing; TV is typically thought of as a killer of kids’ imagination and intellect. Sure it’s no substitute for school learning, but there’s no need to ban it altogether.

“Some people are absolutely religious about having zero TV for their kids and they don’t even have a TV set for their kids in their house,” says Clarinda Choh, the principal of The Keys Academy, who also has a 13-year-old son.

“I feel we don’t need to be so hardcore about saying no to TV. Education can be greatly supported by TV, if it’s curated sensibly. There are some great performances out there now.”

Henrietta Hurford-Jones, Director of Children’s Content at BBC Worldwide, says when selecting programmes for kids to watch, “there should always be some form of nourishment.” Some shows are purely for entertainment or comedy, and others provide social and emotional learning opportunities, she says.

For Clarinda, TV shows for kids should cover a range of subjects and use good language. “Parents should also be concerned about the perspectives and values presented. We should educate children to sift through all the noise , and learn what bad content they should ignore.”

MAKING LEARNING FUN

Henrietta says kids’ TV programmes are often designed with the help of child development experts, who understand how to get children to learn through watching episodes.