Like many mothers, I begin summer with the best of intentions — nature walks, mornings in the park, afternoons by the pool, and lots and lots of backyard swing time. But this is Texas, and if the heat doesn't drive you inside by 11 a.m., the bugs most certainly do.
And so, by early July, my kids and I are mostly indoors, which inevitably means the television is on at least every now and again — a reality I concede and sometimes despise.
Still, thanks to sites like commonsensemedia.org, it isn't too difficult to screen programs and find some that meet your family's desires and needs. For us that usually means something animated, preferably with animal or fantasy creatures, that doesn't introduce age-inappropriate content or concepts my husband and I would prefer to introduce ourselves.
We've mostly had success in identifying shows we believe are worthwhile, although we never expect TV shows to educate our kids or impart values to them. That's our job.
But apparently our careful curation of preschool TV programs could never be careful enough, at least not in the "woke" world of children's television.
According to a new study by children's app company Hopster, titled "Is TV Making Your Child Prejudiced?" the lack of socioeconomic, minority and sexual identity diversity in kids' shows is turning our kids into Donald Trump.
The report took aim at shows like "PAW Patrol" over gender balance and "My Little Pony" for lacking in its portrayal of class distinctions. (Never mind that the latter made headlines recently for its inclusion of a same-sex pony couple.)
It also claimed that a third of content studied perpetuated gender stereotypes, showing "boys who fight" and "girls who are image-orientated" — stereotypes that the report authors seem to find entirely unfounded but that most moms I know probably would affirm.
