TPP 010a: Angela Santomero on How Children Can Grow SEL Skills Through Preschool TV

Ever wonder about the education value of the shows your kids watch? Curious to know if children can grow their SEL skills through preschool TV? On this episode, I’m talking with preschool television show creator, executive producer, writer, and show runner, Angela Santomero about just that. I first met Angela while working on Blue’s Clues, a show that she, incidentally, co-created, and we’ve been friends ever since. I wanted to bring Angela on the podcast because not only do we share a lot of core beliefs when it comes to parenting, but the shows she’s creating are having a powerful impact on young children who are wired differently. 

In this episode, Angela and I talk about why children’s TV can be so powerful as a tool for education, the merits of screen time for young kids, the research foundation behind all of Angela’s shows that ensure the lessons and messages are landing with kids the way they’re intended to, and why some children’s TV shows can be a great way to present social and emotional learning opportunities for differently-wired kids.

Angela Santomero is the cocreator, executive producer, and head writer for the award-winning Blue’s Clues and the creator and executive producer for the smash hit Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood and Super Why!, airing on PBS; Creative Galaxy and Wishenproof for Amazon Studios; and Charlie’s Colorforms City on Netflix. 

Things you’ll learn from this episode:

• What the research says about the merits of educational television programming and media for kids
• Why some social / emotional strategies on preschool programs are especially sticky for differently-wired kids
• How some shows are trying to incorporate social stories that can support differently-wired kids’ social thinking about things like friendship challenges, anxiety, and aggression

Resources mentioned for SEL and Preschool TV

• Angela Santomero’s website Angela’s Clues
• Preschool TV Creator Angela Santomero on Her New Book Preschool Clues (podcast episode)
• Preschool Clues: Raising Smart, Inspired, and Engaged Kids in a Screen-Filled World by Angela Santomero and Deborah Reber
• Radical Kindness: The Life Changing Power of Giving and Receiving by Angela Santomero
• Blue’s Clues (Nick Jr.)
• Super Why (PBS Kids)
• Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood (PBS Kids)

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