Move aside, “Sesame Street” and “Dora the Explorer.” Mothers want preschool television to be more about teaching children social skills and less about pushing clear academic goals — at least that’s what Disney executives say new internal research indicates.
For decades, most preschool programming has been built around an educational curriculum, whether that is numbers and letters (“Sesame Street”), language skills (“Dora”) or even math (Nickelodeon’s “Team Umizoomi”). Disney’s “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse” incorporates problem-solving and counting.
The reasons for the educational focus vary, but the approach serves one major goal: reassuring mothers about plunking their wee ones in front of the TV screen.
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Disney Junior marks a shift to focus on social values rather than education in children’s television
