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Tickle
U Is No
Laughing
Matter
By Josh Golin
Mothering.com,
September,
2005
“I will
be very proud
if moms treat
us as a baby
sitter.” -
Alice Cahn,
Cartoon
Network’s Vice
President for
Programming
and
Development.
Cartoon
Network
recently
unleashed the
latest
commercial
assault on
young children
in the form of
Tickle U, a
two-hour block
of preschool
programming
that will air
every weekday.
Sadly, there
is so much
commercial
media aimed at
young children
these days
that ten more
hours of
television per
week is hardly
news in and of
itself. What
is new,
however, are
the claims
that Cartoon
Network is
making about
the
educational
benefits of
its programs
and how the
programming is
being
marketed.
Cartoon
Network
maintains
Tickle U will
help develop a
child’s sense
of humor.
There is no
evidence,
however, that
television
aids in humor
development.
Nor is that an
area in which
children need
a lot of help.
As any parent
knows, early
childhood is
not exactly a
time devoid of
laughter,
humor or
jokes.
According to
Dr. Diane
Levin,
Professor of
Early
Education at
Wheelock
College and
author of
Remote Control
Childhood,
children’s
humor develops
from “play and
their natural
interactions
with the world
around them.”
For Dr. Levin,
Tickle U “is a
classic case
of marketers
trying to
create a need
where none
exists and to
dupe parents
into thinking
that watching
more TV is
good for their
children.”
Marketing for
Tickle U is
particularly
egregious
because it
twists sound
child
development
advice for
commercial
purposes.
Tickle U’s
marketing
emphasizes the
importance of
play and humor
to a child’s
development
and claims the
programming
bucks the
recent trend
to push kids
to excel
through
structured
learning. Yes,
play and humor
are extremely
important to a
child’s
development.
And yes, many
educators and
child
development
specialists
are
increasingly
worried about
the increased
emphasis on
structured
learning for
preschoolers
and the
academic
pressure being
placed on
children at a
younger and
younger age.
You’d be
hard-pressed,
however, to
find anyone
who isn’t a
network
executive or
marketer who
thinks the
solution is to
plop young
children in
front of the
television.
Many parents
struggle with
the issue of
how much
television
their children
should watch –
and for good
reason. There
is increasing
evidence that
television can
be harmful to
young
children.
Television
viewing is a
factor in
childhood
obesity.
Research also
suggests that
preschoolers
who are heavy
television
viewers score
lower on
academic and
intelligence
tests later in
life and are
more likely to
have attention
difficulties.
Thus when the
Cartoon
Network tells
parents to
lighten up and
turn on the TV
because it’s
good for kids
– a network
executive
calls the
American
Academy of
Pediatrics
recommendation
that children
under two not
watch any
television
“impractical”
– it’s not
only
deceptive,
it’s
dangerous.
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Dr. Susan
Linn, CCFC’s
co-founder,
and author of
Consuming
Kids, notes,
“There is
growing
concern about
how much time
children spend
watching TV.
We should not
be fooled by
network
executives’
claims about
the benefits
of this
commercial
venture.
Tickle U is
just the
latest attempt
to get young
children in
front of
screens -
which is
exactly where
marketers want
them.”
Commercials
will run
throughout
Tickle U,
including for
food of
questionable
nutritional
value (Chuck
E. Cheese is
already on
board) and
Disney videos
(promoting
even more
screen time
for kids). In
addition,
there are
plans to
license Tickle
U characters
to toys,
games,
apparel, and
food
products.
In order to
promote Tickle
U to young
children, the
Cartoon
Network is
bringing its
marketing to
places that
marketers
frankly don’t
belong. A
number of
hospitals
around the
country have
partnered with
Cartoon
Network to
hold Tickle U
Lifelong
Laughter
programs.
These events
are being
promoted as a
“celebration
of laughter
and fun”, but
it’s not hard
to imagine
what the real
take home
message will
be after kids
meet the
Tickle U
characters and
leave with
DVD’s, branded
stickers, and
stuffed
animals.
And it gets
worse. Cartoon
Network has
partnered with
Scholastic and
hopes to
market Tickle
U by sending
Tickle U
“curricula” to
20,000
preschool
teachers.
It’s bad
enough when
marketers
appropriate
the language
of child
development.
But when they
are assisted
in their
efforts by
trusted
institutions
that should
have
children’s
best interests
at heart, it
sends a
particularly
dangerous
message to
parents.
If you share
the Campaign
for a
Commercial-Free
Childhood’s
concerns about
Tickle U,
there are a
number of
things you do:
Become a
Tickle U
anti-viral
marketer.
Cartoon
Network is
enlisting moms
as viral
marketers to
promote Tickle
U. In exchange
for a Kenneth
Cole bag
filled with
goodies, moms
are asked to
spread the
word about
Tickle U to
their friends
and on blogs
and in chat
rooms. You too
can spread the
word - that
kids don’t
need
television to
develop a
sense of humor
and television
is potentially
harmful to
young
children. You
won’t get a
goodie bag –
but you will
be doing the
right thing
for kids.
If you see
Tickle U being
promoted at
your local
hospital or
preschool, ask
them to stop.
And if you
let us know
about it,
we’ll ask them
to stop too.
We've also
launched a
major campaign
to get
Scholastic to
end it's
partnership
with Tickle U.
Click
here to
tell
Scholastic to
stop marketing
television in
preschools.
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