WOMBLING ALONG THE SIDEWALK

19-04-2008

It’s been claimed that only 17% of children’s television shown in this country is home made. Lynn Hawthorne wonders if we’re just jaywalking up the wrong Sesame Street.

Throughout all the recent ‘Free Tibet’ protests which accompanied the progress of the Olympic Torch, one thing of significance emerged: high profile figures such as Sir Steve Redgrave and Konnie Huq, the former Blue Peter presenter, celebrated the fact that at least Britain is a place where you can still protest.

Put all the political posturing aside and just think about that for a moment – in Britain we still have choices.

The Government has, apparently, given much consideration to the concept of Britishness and has drawn up a kind of entrance exam for all immigrants so that they might know what it means to be British. The Government is also constantly encouraging us to be European.

We have St. George’s Day coming up, when celebrations of England’s patron saint will take place all around the country, and we will mark our national identity. Good. Diversity is good. Identity is good.

So imagine my horror when I caught an interview on BBC Breakfast recently with a chap from Save Kids TV (www.savekidstv.org.uk), an organisation that actively campaigns to protect and preserve the quality and quantity of children’s television in Britain. His assertion is that kids TV is becoming Americanised, which is having a detrimental effect on children’s development and of their association with their own culture.

I’ve long suspected that this is the case, when I’ve observed children in the classroom and the playground. A colleague of mine actually got rid of her cable TV package when her two little girls were regularly using American words like ‘diaper’ when playing with their dolls. They were even using American accents, they were so influenced by what they saw!

Parents think that there is a lot of children’s TV being broadcast, and with the growth of cable and satellite, there is, but are adults monitoring exactly what is being watched and when?

Statistics being bandied about in this interview were that of all children’s TV currently on air, including copious repeats, only 17% of it is home-made. Of all new children’s TV being produced, only 1% of it is of British origin. That’s alarming.

With seemingly little governance on what is actually aired, it was asserted that ITV1 is being allowed to get away with only broadcasting 2 hours per week of children’s TV, when it was easily that per day at one time.

The Save Kids TV group has some influential big guns on its panel and is linked with many other high profile organisations. Surely their campaign deserves our support? During our childhood, we were treated to some fabulous, magical programming and I cherish every episode of every series ever produced by Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin, for example.

Yes, the world has changed, but a return to imagination and fantasy, as well as teenage programming firmly aimed at issues confronting our youngsters, deserves air time. If we want our children to grow up with British values, British philosophy and, dare I say it, a British accent, we must invest in making our television for young people.

Gordon Brown is constantly reminding us that Every Child Matters and that our national identity matters, so he should be putting his money where his mouth is and making a commitment to providing tax breaks to British programme and film-makers and encouraging writers and producers to make quality television for the children’s market.

If you remain unconvinced by my argument, can I direct you towards the Americanised version of The Wombles made especially to add weight to this campaign? Seeing Orinoco demolishing his eggs over easy and responding to Great Uncle Bulgaria with a careless ‘Whatever,’ is enough to make your hair curl. Bring back National Treasure Bernard Cribbins immediately!

Should there be quotas for home made British television?  Leave a comment on The Stirrer Forum.