This Grandma did not know. A grandchild wanted a SpongeBob plush toy. I was about to purchase it when the parent of the grandchild went crazy. Little did I know that SpongeBob is totally off limits with the parents of our grandchildren.
The new “SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water” just kicked American Sniper off the top of the list of top grossing movies this weekend. Our grandchildren were visiting but we would not even think of mentioning the movie. The reviewers gave it one star, and said that it had mild action and rude humor. One review in the Sun-Sentinel February 8, 2015 mentioned what we did not know as grandparents, “The 2011 University of Virginia study published in the Journal of Pediatrics points to the TV show and its probable causation of “short-term disruptions in mental function and attentions span” among preschool audiences.” The review also said that the Nickelodeon show had its debut in 1999. I wondered why Nickelodeon would keep the show, but then I read, “the series is the generator behind an $8 billion merchandising revenue stream.” Now, I know why.
But, I wanted to know more. My first line of defense with regard to information about children’s media is Common Sense Media, which the parents of our grandchildren say is very conservative. They give the new movie three stars and write:
“Parents need to know that The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie: Sponge Out of Water stars the most famous talking sponge in popular culture. Like the Nickelodeon cartoon series on which it’s based, the movie has occasional insult language (“jerk,” “stupid”) and exaggerated violence (basically everything Plankton does with weapons — like guns and cannons — and the threat of death to SpongeBob, who’s offered as a sacrifice at one point). Some of the movie’s humor will likely go over young kids’ head (like the way everyone in “post-apocalyptic Bikini Bottom” wears Mad Max-like leather costumes, or when one of the gang accidentally lands on a sunbathing woman’s back and she murmurs that it feels good), but kids will definitely get the bird poop and blowhole laser gags. SpongeBob isn’t known for being educational, but the movie, like most of the shows, does stress the importance of teamwork and friendship.”
The parents of our grandchildren say it has no educational value and promotes kids hitting each other and fighting. User reviews by parents and children give it four stars and say it is for children six and older. I guess they did not know about the study.
I next went searching for the study. I was disappointed there was no link on Common Sense Media nor did they mention any study.
The study was not only about SpongeBob! “The Immediate Impact of Different Types of Television on Young Children’s Executive Function,” by Angeline S. Lillard, PhD, Jennifer Peterson, BA, from the Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, was published in the September 2011 edition of the Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics. They write:
“Objective: The goal of this research was to study whether a fast-paced television show immediately influences preschool-aged children’s executive function (eg, self-regulation, working memory).”
“Methods: Sixty 4-year-olds were randomly assigned to watch a fast-paced television cartoon or an educational cartoon or draw for 9 minutes. They were then given 4 tasks tapping executive function, including the classic delay-of-gratification and Tower of Hanoi tasks. Parents completed surveys regarding television viewing and child’s attention.”
“Results: Children who watched the fast-paced television cartoon performed significantly worse on the executive function tasks than children in the other 2 groups when controlling for child attention, age, and television exposure.”
“Conclusions: Just 9 minutes of viewing a fast-paced television cartoon had immediate negative effects on 4-year-olds’ executive function. Parents should be aware that fast-paced television shows could at least temporarily impair young children’s executive function.”
This raised more questions for this Grandma. What is the definition of executive function?
The authors write:
“Preschool-aged children watch greater than 90 minutes of television daily, and correlational studies link early television viewing with deficits in executive function, (EF), a collection of prefrontal skills underlying goal-directed behavior, including attention, working memory, inhibitory control, problem solving, self-regulation, and delay of gratification. EF is increasingly recognized as key to positive social and cognitive functioning and is strongly associated with success in school.”
This is not good. But neither would it seem would be similar cartoons. NBC News September 12, 2011 on line seemed to agree with this Grandma:
“Led by University of Virginia psychologist Angeline Lillard, researchers randomly assigned 60 four-year-olds to three activities: drawing freely with markers for nine minutes; watching a slower-paced, PBS cartoon for that time; or watching SpongeBob SquarePants. Researchers chose SpongeBob for its frenetic pace: The show switches scenes on average every 11 seconds, as compared with the PBS cartoon, which switched only twice a minute.”
“Afterward the preschoolers were asked to do four different “executive function” tasks that test cognitive capability and impulse control, such as counting backwards, solving puzzles, and delaying gratification by waiting to eat a tasty snack until told to do so. Compared with those who were drawing and those watching PBS, the SpongeBob kids performed significantly worse on the tasks.”
“Study authors note that it’s hard to say what it was about the adventures of this friendly kitchen sponge that seemed to have such an immediate negative effect on kids, but they suspected it was the fantastical events and rapid pacing of the show. By contrast, the PBS show was slower and exhibited real life events about a preschool-age boy.”
“Parents and pediatricians have often commented that the frenzied pace of many kids’ cartoons today make kids distracted and kill their attention spans.”
“This is something we have known for quite sometime, but this is elegant research that puts science behind what we think,” says Dr. David Rosenberg, chief of child psychiatry and psychology at Wayne State University.”
“The blame shouldn’t fall exclusively on the square shoulders of his kindly sea sponge. All fast-paced, fantastical kids’ shows are called into question.”
Dr. Rosenberg is quoted at the end of the on line news feed:
“Putting reasonable limitations on hours spent watching TV is of course also important, notes Rosenberg. Parents need to “closely supervise” their child’s TV habits and “look for other opportunities to ‘exercise kids synapses’,” with engaging activities like reading, playing outside and engaging with others.”
This brings two things to mind. One, I am thrilled that the parents of our grandchildren pay attention and control some of the television the grandchildren watch. Two, again, I am glad I am not raising children in today’s world.
Should I buy the Pokemon plush toy that the younger grandchildren covet? That has not made the forbidden list. . . yet.
Joy,
Mema
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