Horvath Post #5

I think subconsciously a lot of us knew that children programming is definitely on the raise in recent years. As our lives become more chaotic and busy, parents are always looking for a way to entertain their children so they can get things done without having to worry about what they are doing. And unfortunately for a lot of them, that means sitting their children in front of the television. If the children are watching television parents don’t feel like they have to worry about what the children are getting into or what potentially can happen to them, or so it seems to me. It also helps that a lot of children programming is also trying to move more into the educational aspect of television, which helps to make parents feel not so guilty about letting their child watch hours of television instead of playing outside.
I know personally that when my niece and nephew come over to my parents house while their parents are at work, they play outside for hours with the neighborhood kids and I feel like because of the area my parents live in you do not have to sit there and keep an eye on them at all times. But if when I am at their house and they are outside playing I feel like I have to have my eye on them at all times because I do not feel comfortable in the neighborhood they live in, so I would rather have them inside with me—even if that means they are watching the television.
I think Nickelodeon might dominate the market because they really focus on how they make the kids feel and what it means to them. It makes kids feel like their opinions matter, which in turn makes more kids want to be a part of that. I always felt like my opinion didn’t matter because I was “just a kid,” but Nickelodeon changes that and captures of the heart of children.