My daughter sent a photo of her younger daughter, Madi, then 21 months old. She was in her car seat, clutching something crocheted to her chest and her eyes were glowing.
She was holding toy versions of the stars of the animated program, “Puffin Rock.”
I was 3 when my father bought the Motorola with a small screen, about the size of today’s tablets. When the installer left, my mother turned it on and I saw Gabby Hayes. That was my first television experience.
During my childhood, nearly all children’s shows were hosted by adults, who either taught something, participated in comedic sketches, or both. Ranging from the various Misses who hosted “Romper Room;” to the Big Mouseketeers, known as Jimmy, Roy and Bob; to “Captain Kangaroo,” and Soupy Sales in Detroit, the hosts were generally genial.
Ours was a small, post-World War II house that originally had four rooms down and an unfinished second floor. The living room and the “eat-in” kitchen were both cramped. My parents set up a folding table in the living room and served our food there, ostensibly so we could watch “The Howdy Doody Show” and “Kukla, Fran and Ollie.” I was too old for Howdy, but appreciative of Fran and the unruly puppets she tried to corral. I also understood my parents wanted time alone.
As an adult, I decided to raise my children without television. Instead, we would read together. My husband, unlike my friends, had a television and so my plan incorporated “Sesame Street” and “Mr. Rogers,” as well as books. The kids sat on the floor, playing with blocks while watching their favorites, Burt and Ernie. My daughter called them, “UhrnieBert,” creating one name for the pair.
As they grew, we watched documentaries on PBS as a family. Later, our television was on a cart that we wheeled into the dining room every Tuesday night to watch “Nova” together — our can’t miss program.
Although my daughter vowed there would be “no screens before age 2,” somehow, at 18 months, her first born, Cate, had her own tablet. Soon she was playing learning games from the “Endless” series, a subscription site offering the alphabet, math, word play, reading and Spanish — all prefaced with Endless. Playful little monsters run enthusiastically through complete words, knocking them over. A new screen then offers the word in outline form, while the colorful letters dance, pronouncing their phonetic sounds, waiting for the child to nudge them into place.
Cate, as she turned 2, loved monsters so much that her memere painted a name sign for her, featuring the little monsters picking flowers and climbing trees.
Three generations of family watched with her as her interests grew. She loved Peppa, a preschool girl pig, created by English animators. Gone were the adults who served as hosts for kids’ shows. In Peppa’s world, her parents and grandparents, as well as those of her classmates, are loving, but not infallible. In fact, the parents make mistakes or do ridiculous things, like hire a helicopter to rescue the “tortoise” who climbed a tree. The kids talk like kids. Peppa’s toddler brother, George, seems to speak one word, dinosaur, as he holds up his stuffed animal T-Rex.
But the show that really filled Cate’s heart was “The Octonauts,” the continuing story of cute animal scientists and engineers who save sea creatures. Cate’s crocheted stuffie is Dashie Dog, the girl communication’s officer and photographer for the group.
Madi came along when Cate was 4 and Cate introduced her to many things, including the joy of building with blocks, horses and fairies, “Endless Word Play,” “Peppa Pig,” and, best of all, “Puffin Rock.”
This is an Irish production which tells of a happy family — Mama, Papa, Una who is just fledged, and Baba who still has his baby feathers — of puffins who live on a tiny island off the Irish coast. There is some nature instruction, given in voice over by the host, a return to the earlier style of broadcasting for children, but, in a less intrusive way. There are also adventures as the young birds learn to fly, dive, guard the nest and carry fish home. But, sometimes, the show is simply a meditation as when the birds stay up all night to view the super moon.
Memere painted a Puffin-themed sign with Madi’s name on it. No wonder Madi’s eyes were shining when she hugged her new friends. How nice to appreciate the moon with someone you can hug.
A native of Michigan, Susan Wozniak belongs to three alumni associations with at least one other woman named Susan Wozniak ineach. She is not related to Steve.