Dreams of a Six Year Old Girl
Have you ever spoken to a six year old girl? Seemingly the epitome of confidence,the world is her oyster, and she believes she can be anything:
An astronaut;
A ballet dancer;
The President;
All at the SAME TIME.
Moreover, young girls frequently do better than boys in elementary school, where their abilities to sit still and follow rules often makes their teachers give them plenty of gold stars.
The traditional thinking is that young girls’ confidence doesn’t drop until they hit puberty. But something else is happening during the ages of five to seven, as children develop cognitively, becoming aware that others are evaluating their behavior.
As a well designed experiment found, at five years of age, girls say that both genders are smart, but by six years old, they classify boys as belonging to the “really really smart” category at a higher rate. Thus, what children see and hear during this developmental stage shapes thinking in ways that adults may not always see or recognize.
In fact, even at younger ages, children quickly absorb the stereotypes we communicate about activities and skills associated with each gender. Children learn in the context of their social and cultural milieu and the messages they are given (from parents, media, teachers and other socialization agents) promote gender identities, sometimes with stereotypes attached to them.
The good news is that in the US, things may be starting to change. One study found that when asked to draw a scientist, kids in the United States increasingly draw women. Back in the sixties and seventies, when asked the same question, less than one percent of children drew a female scientist. Today the average is twenty eight percent. But still, as kids get older, they begin to draw more men in this role. At five or six girls draw the same number of men and women, but by seven and eight they begin to draw more men.
So there is still plenty of work to do. Luckily research has helped us become more aware of these biases. Moreover, companies who create media and product for kids are helping change entrenched patterns. Many companies are focusing on creating strong female characters, and their audience is responding – even boys!
What can you do to help encourage your child to dream big and help your girl recognize that boys and girls are equally “really really smart? One answer: Play! Play helps girls understand the possibilities because this is when children practice the gendered behaviors they see from role models. And young kids like to play with the objects that will teach them the most.
Here are a few ways caregivers can support their children so they start to internalize gender equality:
Choose media that highlight strong female role models.
Why? Because research shows that representation shapes the way we think.
2. Highlight real life female role models, including yourself if you are a woman.
Why? Because connecting to the real world helps make children understand what’s truly possible. And young girls focus on what their female caregiver is doing.
3. Encourage boys to diversify their play patterns. Support their play with dolls, and help them recognize that women are equally brilliant to men.
Why? Because until we recognize that boys can enjoy more “feminine” pursuits, masculine stereotypes of strength and brilliance will persist and undermine progress for women.
Yalda T. Uhls, Ph.D.
Founder and Executive Director of the Center for Scholars & Storytellers
Disclosure: This blog post was written independently and reflects the author’s own views. It was written in support of the Dream Gap project and was paid for by Barbie.
Movie Review: Monsters and Men
I had the privilege of attending the premiere of the new feature film, Monsters and Men, at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) on September 6th. Set in Brooklyn, Monsters and Men almost feels like three short films merged together, each following a separate protagonist’s storyline, woven together by a far too common scenario that has shaken us to our core the past few years — the unnecessary fatal shooting of a black man by a police officer.
All three protagonists are African-American. The first is a young dad who witnesses the shooting and captures it on tape, and subsequently experiences the unjust consequences of releasing the tape. The second is a police officer in the same division as the officer who shot the man, put in the position of having to defend his loyalty to his police community to his clearly hurting black community. And finally, the third is a teenager with a promising future with a baseball scholarship, who risks it all by getting involved with protest groups against police brutality, mirroring timely race issues within the NFL. All three storylines lack resolution, an unsettling yet realistic scenario for these characters and those in similar situations.
This thought-provoking film is a quintessential example of how media coupled with impactful storytelling can used to transport the viewer into not just another world, but someone else’s shoes. In Monsters and Men, this was achieved through director Reinaldo Marcus Green’s inclusion of first-person perspectives, and his brilliant script which imparts empathy for all three protagonists’ storylines.
Movies can undoubtedly influence and shape viewers perspectives, but this is particularly true for young audiences, due to their developing minds, worldviews, and morals. This is one reason why movies that perpetuate unhelpful stereotypes are particularly problematic. Therefore, when it comes to race, content creators should strive for responsibly embedded realistic portrayals and counter-stereotypical depictions.
Fictional movies that are inspired by current events, such as Monsters and Men, offer an ideal entrypoint for introducing your teenager to these sensitive topics which are both timely and important. The fictional storyline also removes part of the taboo nature that can prevent people from talking about race relations, and slightly cushions the topic for particularly sensitive young viewers.
As a content creator, imagine a teen and parents co-viewing this film . What a fantastic launching pad for families to discuss the movie’s content and its relation to real-world events. It’s good to make content that is great, but when it’s great and impactful… even better!
Colleen Russo Johnson, PhD; Senior Fellow of the Center for Scholars & Storytellers
For more information on Monsters and Men, which comes out September 28th, see TIFF’s Synopsis:https://www.tiff.net/tiff/monsters-and-men/
From Beer to Big Bird to Blue’s Clues: Research has Impact
What do selling beer and selling the alphabet have in common? They are forever tied together by the simple genius of Joan Ganz Cooney. Given the challenge to try to make something good out of television that could positively impact young lives, she first made one clear insight- kids loved to watch commercials. “Children all over the country were learning beer commercials so they were learning something, but could it teach something of potential use to children?” asked Cooney. Clearly, the songs, jingles, and production of the commercials kids were seeing were attracting a young audience, but Cooney didn’t stop there. She did what would lay the foundation for perhaps the most important kids show of all time. She did research.
In the summer of 1967 Cooney took a leave of absence from her job at WNDT and, funded by Carnegie Corporation, traveled the U.S. and Canada interviewing experts in child development, education, and television. At the end she had a document to work from: “The Potential Uses of Television in Preschool Education” and from that sprouted not only the show, “Sesame Street” but also the Children’s Television Workshop, a model for working and creating.
Research had impact.
Her research and work continues to impact children not only in America but worldwide. Doing research and really understanding her audience and their needs also ended up being great for business because the show really worked for kids. They were selling the alphabet and kids were buying in.
Fast forward a few decades to “Blue’s Clues,” another show that revolutionized television for kids. And like Sesame Street, the creators of Blue Clues also spent time before the creation of the show thinking about child development and how it plays into making content for kids. They did research.
Todd Kessler, Angela Santomero, and Traci Paige Johnson—the trio that developed Blue’s Clues—wanted the show to be entertaining as well as educational. Santomero held a master’s degree in child developmental psychology from Columbia University but the novice team also enlisted the help of educators and consultants to craft a format that reflected the latest research in early childhood development.
Integrating this research into every episode, the show emphasized problem solving skills and audience participation in a way no other children’s program has before. While “Sesame Street” used bite sized content to connect with the audience, “Blues’s Clues” used a narrative, and empowered preschoolers to help the host, Steve, figure out clues. Not surprising, Blues Clues was also a runaway success, both with kids and from a business view. .
So the next time you watch one of those catchy beer jingles online or on TV, we hope you think of Joan Ganz Cooney and her desire to “sell the alphabet to preschoolers” or think of the amazing creators of Blues Clues who changed the model for getting preschoolers to interact with the screen. Because for both, research had impact.
Kim Wilson
Media Advisor & Consultant of the Center for Scholars & Storytellers
From In Front to Behind the Camera
If you wander through Sinking Ship Entertainment during the summer months, you might think you’ve entered into an episode of Odd Squad, where the characters from multiple children’s TV show posters lining the walls have come to life in young adult form, working entry-level jobs right in front of your eyes.
But your eyes aren’t playing tricks on you. The unmistakable redhead sitting in the accounting office with laser focus is indeed the grown-up version of Daniel Cook, whom the world fell in love with over a decade ago when he starred in Sinking Ship’s very first show, “This is Daniel Cook”.
And the teenager with impeccable fashion that you see working away in the editing department is indeed the star of the show that took home the Daytime Emmy Award for best preschool program – Trek Buccino from Dino Dan: Trek’s Adventure.
The most convincing clue that you’re in an episode of Odd Squad, however, would be “Agent Oscar” (or Sean Kyer) sitting in the middle of the production department, working away with the same zest he had as the quirky scientist at Odd Squad’s headquarters.
But there’s more – if you were to step onto the set of Dino Dana, you might catch the sight of Annedroids star “Anne” (Addison Holley) shadowing various directors, or Annedroids’ “Nick” (Jadiel Dowlin) checking in on episodes he wrote (yes, you read that correctly, a teenage scriptwriter!).
Daniel was the first to return to Sinking Ship, and partner J.J. Johnson could not have been more thrilled that the little boy who inspired the start of the company was now “coming home” to work there as a young adult. Since then, J.J. has delighted in welcoming back several former cast members and helping them discover their passion. These talented young adults could be doing anything (including acting; in fact, 3 of the 5 mentioned are Emmy-nominated actors!), yet they have chosen to lend their talents behind the scenes, where they have a unique perspective and expertise to share. J.J. is not unconvinced that they’ll all be running the place some day!
See below for insight from 4 of these individuals on what surprised them from going in front to behind the camera, and some of their thoughts on children’s TV content!
Colleen Russo Johnson, PhD
A Senior Fellow of The Center for Scholars and Storytellers
*In addition to her role as a Senior Fellow of CSS, Colleen Russo Johnson is also the Director of Research at Sinking Ship Entertainment and married to Sinking Ship partner J.J. Johnson.
