Homeschool, Parenting, Products we Love, Tech

Balancing Digital Entertainment for Kids

November 1, 2018April 14, 2020 by Kelly Dedeaux

This post is sponsored by the Mom It Forward Influencer Network on behalf of Explore, Discover & Grow. All opinions are mine alone.

Hubby and I were discussing the differences of when we were kids, and now our children’s youth. At school a lot of things were paper and pencil, not tablets. We had way more recess than schools now seem to, as electronic time is slowly taking over. Last year at school, there were so many days my kids would say ‘we didn’t do recess outside today, they had us stay inside and watch a movie’. And if you’re wondering the same thing I did, no it was not an educational movie, just a fun one that’s only purpose is to entertain. What about movement, or learning? This is why parents need to be mindful of Balancing Digital Entertainment for Kids – because although technology, movies, games and such are great and fine, there needs to be a balance with the kids actually being active and learning, too.

Growing up, the norm was for parents to send their kids outside to play – often times until the street lamps would turn on in the evening. Now, kids spend more and more time in front of a screen. Y’all know I love movies and games, especially with my family, but I also know how important it is to not overdo it. Television stations now aim for an 80/20 ratio, with 80% being just entertainment and 20% being education entertainment. If you ask Greg Page – known globally for his role as the original Yellow Wiggle from the children’s entertainment group, The Wiggles – he thinks it should be closer to 50/50. It’s all about balance! In an effort to bring more quality, educational fun to kids’ screen time, he’s leading a revival of children’s educational television with Explore, Discover & Grow.

Greg knows from his many years in early childhood studies and as a teacher that kids learn better by DOING. Too many shows just entertain while the child just sits there. But shows such as Dora the Explorer and Blue’s Clues have shown us how much more excited kids are when they can feel like a part of the show, and be active along with the characters. By involving the kids in the story or activities, they’re also more likely to LEARN and actually retain the information – plus have fun along the way! The more senses they use, the better what they learn is stored in the brain, plus the better they understand it. That’s why he’s been working hard to bring Explore, Discover & Grow to kids – this series of 104, ten-minute videos will be released directly to subscribers 2X per week, making it the perfect length for young kids’ attention spans.

Parents can help bring some balance to digital entertainment for kids with this great series, which will use music, movement, language and play – making it a great ‘edutainment‘ experience for young kiddos. Kids as young as 2 will enjoy the colors, sounds and active motions included, and preschool children will have fun, engaging and educational content that’s designed to teach the whole child. Since it’s created by a teacher with actual experience in applying educational theory in entertainment for over 27 years, you know it’ll be high quality and be perfectly catered to the learning abilities of these younger children.

And guess what? YOU can be a part of this amazing revival by backing their Indiegogo campaign – and you’ll get access to all of the content created! The campaign is now live, and they’re counting on parents like us to help them bring good, educational entertainment back to today’s kids. The closer to their funding goal they’re able to get, the higher quality they’ll be able to produce, so we’re trying hard to help raise awareness – not just here, but all over the world for English-speaking families! Greg’s determination is remarkable, and after having a really great chat with him (at 2am his time, since he’s in Australia – thank you Greg!) to learn more, I really believe this will be the next great screen time show for preschool kids! He’s working hard to make this a reality, and has already created about 60-70 songs for the series.

They have a full plan for the coming year to produce and release these great videos, and his hope is that if they can make the first year successful and as high-quality as planned (with your help by supporting their Indiegogo campaign), the second year can help open up possibilities for others out there with great ideas on quality, educational entertainment for today’s little ones. With more and more non-educational screen time being thrown at our youth all the time, this could really be the start of showing the world that us parents want better for our kids – that we WANT balance in digital entertainment for our children!

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