I can look back on nearly two decades of involvement with Barney, and feel pride in having been part of something which was unabashedly and unapologetically dedicated to giving kids life-lessons about safety, sharing, caring, self-esteem.and yes, love. And that's really what mattered most to me. Kids, and parents who could look through the eyes of their children, "got it." They embraced the character and the concepts and incorporated them into their daily lives. And then you needed to make it all look simple and fun. Writing an episode of Barney was hard, because you needed to consider the impact of every word, every image, every detail of child development. Yale University researchers Dorothy & Jerome Singer called the show the "model of what preschool television should be." In an average episode, we included something like 200 age-appropriate teaching points for the very young (guided, I must add, by the show's terrific researchers). Still others thought that the show was vapid and meaningless, presumably because they already knew their letters, numbers, and colors.even if they'd clearly forgotten their manners.īut Barney & Friends was filled with educational material for the very young. Other people thought that the show was "too sweet," as if saying positive, encouraging things to toddlers was a sin. And somehow, this was now deemed to be "controversial." At "Barney & Friends" we tried to present those same fundamental values in a way that made them meaningful and accessible to very, very young audiences. Back then (you young whippersnappers), TV shows included straightforward moral values for kids: telling the truth, being kind to others, being helpful. In 1991, I entered into the show as a parent who wanted to create wholesome entertainment for very small children like my daughter, and also as a "child of the 50's" who'd been brought up on shows like Captain Kangaroo, the Mickey Mouse Club, and Roy Rogers. These are my own personal thoughts and opinions, and I'm not speaking for anyone else, officially or unofficially. Before I go further with the career rundown, let me say a few words in general about Barney.
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