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Today there are many educational video programs, series, cartoons for children – for every taste and age. How to make a choice and what you need to pay attention to?
High-quality educational films can teach a child a lot. Some talk about how the world works, about the surrounding objects, cultural phenomena and wildlife. Others help to master reading and counting skills, introduce them to foreign languages. The best example of such a movie is the collection of educational films Baby Einstein, addressed to kids from 3 months to 4 years. They combine simple and colorful images of objects or animals with light classical music. Another well-thought-out educational program for children from 2 to 4 years old is the domestic animated series Alphabet, each episode of which is dedicated to a single letter. The child sees objects starting with this letter, touches them, they come to life and begin to move.
Of course, children should only watch high-quality video programs that are appropriate for their age and made professionally. But program producers, unfortunately, are not always known to a wide audience. And even more rarely the impact of these films is assessed by educators and psychologists, as it was with the international educational program Sesame Street. Over the long years of its existence (only in Russia it was released from 1996 to 2007), more than 1000 studies have been conducted that have shown that Sesame Street helps preschoolers achieve higher educational results compared to children who did not watch this show.1.
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trust yourself
So, what should parents be guided by when choosing educational films for children? First of all, the recommendations of friends and their own taste. The duration of the cartoon is also important: children under 6 years of age should look at the screen for no more than 40 minutes, children over 7 years of age – up to one and a half hours a day with breaks. But at the same time, it is much better for a child to watch a good movie for adults with their parents (of course, if it does not contain sex and violence) than one of the stamped animated series (although they are created specifically for children). But most importantly, no matter how wonderful educational films or cartoons that make you think, they are of little use if children look at the screen alone. Try not to leave a child under 7 years old alone with the TV. Carefully observe his reaction, explain and comment on what is happening on the screen. By listening to us, children learn to express their feelings. This contributes to the understanding of what is seen and builds trust between parents and children.
1 M.-L. Mares, Z. Pan «Pan effects of Sesame Street: A meta-analysis of children’s learning in 15 countries», Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 2013, vol. 34.