[ido]

Don’t give kids YouTube access. More curated platforms like Netflix or Amazon Prime at least filter out the worst dreck.

I find German public tv (I live in Germany) actually has relatively high quality programming for kids. I rather have my kids watch TV than streaming (when they’re allowed screen time), we bought a TV after almost 20 years of not having one.

[SyneRyder]

> I find German public tv (I live in Germany) actually has relatively high quality programming for kids.

Die Sendung mit der Maus! I haven't watched it much, but as an Australian trying to learn German, I remember finding it a useful show. That, and I appreciate it being referenced in the Eisbrecher industrial metal song "This Is Deutsch".

[xg15]

That show is basically a national treasure in Germany today, so you'll find lots of references to it.

There also used to be a more ecology-centered show with a similar idea, Löwenzahn. It had the gimmick that after the end credits, the main character would directly address the viewers and tell them to turn the TV off NOW.

I'd at expect at least the same from that Toy Story movie.

[jimbob45]

I find the opposite to be true. It’s easier to curate YouTube than it is to vet Prime or Netflix because YouTube’s algorithm keeps recommendations pretty tight to what is currently being watched. If you seed it with benign enough content, it’s hard for your kid to get to the good stuff without effort that they may not know to apply.

[lionkor]

Maybe screen time should be limited to such a degree that a parent picks what to watch, not a recommendation engine.

[LearnYouALisp]

We need a big, big 'grassroots' effort and awareness battle

[lnsru]

Can you name something worthy from German public TV? Imho it’s too political with greenwashing and other shit I don’t want at home. We had a discussion at home for whole week after Checker Tobi complaining about deforestation in Brazil. Germans want to know it better for the whole world while their home country is not performing well at all. The quality is good, but the content should be curated better.

[lionkor]

KiKA is the program for children, it only runs (at least as far as I recall) during hours which kids should be awake anyway, and ends in the evening with some silly programming.

Germany is very political, and very "green" in its programming, everywhere. People have an acute awareness of the impact their actions have on the planet, and the ability to vote and cause change.

This might be quite foreign to foreigners (lol) especially from countries where voting makes no actual difference, but since we have so many political parties, so much choice, and your various elections actually make a meaningful difference, its good for kids to get involved and be aware early on.

If your kids' show talks about deforestation in Brazil, I don't see the issue with that. You can give your kids a balanced viewpoint by discussing other arguments, and teach them that way. It's not a bad thing to teach kids that things said on TV might not always tell the full story, and this seems like a harmless way to do that.

Only without intervention does TV indoctrinate. With intervention, such as discussions at dinner about current political topics, at least in families that aren't extreme/radical, discussions should yield pretty reasonable, varied results.

[ricardobeat]

That is not greenwashing. Germany and Norway are the largest supporters of anti-deforestation programs in Brazil, because there is not much they can do domestically, and it aligns with conservation goals. It is a real issue when you’re losing thousands of square km of forest every year to cattle farming and soy exports.

Nothing wrong in making kids aware that we have a duty as a species to preserve nature, and that this type of collaboration can happen across borders.

[ido]

Phoenix often has kid-appropriate documentaries, and sometimes ARD and ZDF. Phoenix is the channel they watch the most, by far.

[Biganon]

Yeah keep your kids unaware of the world issues so they don't bother you with them, great parenting.

[xg15]

Agree with you that there is a lot of hypocrisy and "holier-than-thou" in german TV. The question is what would be the alternative: Using this as a reason to stop talking about climate/eco issues at all, or instead highlighting where the own shortcomings are as well?