Catherine Shoard has jumped on the “malign influence of TV” bandwagon (Is children’s TV raising a crop of raving narcissists?, 7 May). Does she really think that at 13 months her son is an empty vessel waiting for TV programmes to pour attitudes into his head that will then be fixed for life? I suggest she takes a closer look at what her son is actually doing as he watches In the Night Garden and Teletubbies – both of which present extraordinary, surreal worlds that stretch small children’s imaginations and invite repeated viewing. My research on toddlers’ viewing habits indicates that they invest immense amounts of energy in learning how to make sense of television: not just content, but also the rules of storytelling and genre. This is important learning and we shouldn’t belittle it. Don’t impose your adult assumptions on your son, Catherine: try to imagine what it’s like for him to watch these complex, vivid programmes!
Dr Cary Bazalgette
London
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