Children’s Media Outgrows Its Infancy

“Sock puppets don't cut it anymore.” — Heather Maclean, Little Laureate Inc.

Over the past few years, the children’s media market has been growing at an astounding pace. The new companies entering the arena have expanded well beyond teaching kids their ABCs and 123s.

TDmonthly Magazine asked manufacturers why parents and educators prefer to use computer monitors and television sets to present new ideas and teach skills to the next generation. And where is the market headed?

“Video is better at teaching skills/information because it can incorporate so many tools — live images, computer-generated images, animation, dialog, sound and music,” said David Kuperschmid, president of ConsumerVision Inc. (ToyDirectory) “Young kids learn by watching others. When they see Glenn the Bear in our 'No More Diapers' DVD they get excited about wearing big kid underwear. They want to wear it too.”

And Wynne Williams, pediatric speech pathologist and creator of The Baby Society (ToyShow), added, "We now know that babies learn vocabulary and language concepts when they are actively engaged and interested. ... A great DVD can provide that in a way no flash card possibly could!"

Still, in many cases, manufacturers pointed out, DVDs and software should not be the only tool used in educating. However, if available, they can be used to reinforce certain ideas. In some cases, they may be essential.

“With schools drastically cutting back on all but the core reading/writing/arithmetic, parents know that if their children have special interests beyond ABCs and numbers, DVDs are a fantastic way to educate and engage them,” pointed out Shoshana Zisk, CEO of KiddieVillage.

Greg Scheinman, CEO of Team Baby Entertainment (ToyDirectory), noted that videos and DVDs are becoming de rigueur for baby. As far as parents are concerned, “there’s a stigma if you’re not starting kids on this product,” he said. “The thought is you’re not giving them enough of a jump on their education.” He added that Team Baby DVDs “are a great way to encourage activity, movement and interests beyond the television."

Kathleen Waidhofer, creative director of Baby Hands Productions, added, "Parents are looking for resources to provide their babies with an educational and emotional head start as well as ways in which to help make child rearing easier and less frustrating."

Enticing and stimulating material is a key element of this education. New media for babies and young children is focusing more and more on interactivity. As Heather Maclean, president of Little Laureate Inc. pointed out, “Sock puppets don't cut it anymore.”

Daryl Ragsdale of Kids Juke Box Inc. (ToyShow) noted that personalized products, such as his CD Story Books, are a great way to engage children in the learning process. "Everything we have helps build self-esteem, name recognition and is just all around fun," he said.

Furthermore, rather than wait for television shows to air at a certain time, video and computer software puts parents in charge of the learning material. Maclean noted that “consumers can purchase titles about subject matter they are interested in and play them at will.”

Teresa Hoffman, co-president of Baby Dance Productions (ToyShow), added, “In this busy world of overextended schedules, DVDs like Baby Dance! give parents an opportunity to interact and educate their child on their own time.”

The pool of available DVDs keeps growing. Katherine Dines, of Hunk-Ta-Bunk-Ta (ToyDirectory), said she still believes strongly in the CD market for education. “[CDs] encourage listening and communication — arts that are fast disappearing in our hectic world.” But even she will soon be releasing a DVD called Hunk-Ta-Bunk-Ta HOLIDAYS: Traditional Celebrations from Around the World in early 2007.

As the market becomes more specialized, it not only allows parents to educate on their own time but in their own way and on multiple subjects. Liz Milwe, president and director of choreography at Jumping Fish Productions, said that even the nation’s problem with obesity and sedentary youths can be helped through the DVD format. She explained, “there’s many great ways to exercise, but kids who don’t have a sport or who love to dance find [exercise DVDs] a flexible way to get moving.”

Encouraging such beneficial activities at an early age can help to build solid habits that help a person throughout life. Many manufacturers feel that it is most effective to teach some skills — such as learning a second language — from an early age.

“Children learn cognitive skills at an amazing rate in the first five years of life,” Jeanne Keene M.Ed. of Fiesta Friends LLC (ToyShow) told TDmonthly. “For too many years, our country has fallen behind by not putting more of an importance on second language introduction at an early age.”

MaryBeth Sigler-Garcia, founder and CEO of Cantarima Multimedia, feels that Spanish language education will continue to play an important role in children’s media products for many years. “The fast growth of the Hispanic population will continue to fuel DVD content growth in this area,” she said.

And that’s not all: Some manufacturers say computer software is the next big thing for little ones.

“The computer has become as common in the household as a toaster,” reasoned Tim Leverett, president and founder of software provider Leveractive. “Classrooms have computers for students beginning as young as preschool, and some school districts and schools are actually providing laptops to their students now.”

And the future? Here’s a look at where babies are headed when they get a little older:

“I believe the use of technology and the Internet as a way to communicate and share information will continue to move forward,” predicted Mona Westhaver, president of Inspiration Software Inc. “I believe there is an expanding market in tools that enable better interaction and help make sense of information and data.”

And the sooner the movers and shakers of tomorrow become comfortable with the means to access and interpret this data, the better off the whole world may be. At least, that’s what the manufacturers of children’s media products are depending upon.

The following is more information on children’s media products.