The images of childhood television broadcasts remain with them as central parts of their childhood memories. In this way, television has been said to define generational subgroups in the culture, spanning socioeconomic status, geographic location or intellectual ability.

Although television is a central form of communication, few children are trained to be literate in that medium. They are taught reading, writing, and speech, but not TV production techniques and special effects, the methods and impacts of advertising, and responsible viewing habits. Those are precisely the skills that have been shown to counteract the negative

So what can parents, teachers and others who care about young children do? First, take advantage of the ability of television to unite children across geographic and social barriers. Use allusions to current programs to create a common reference point among children from different backgrounds. But move beyond the broadcasts themselves. Have children speculate how TV characters might react in situations that have never been represented on the program and talk about how "real life" is different from that character's experience.

Your participation can help children realize that they have ties with one another beyond their common media history. Talk about how common feelings, abilities, and successes and failures unite human beings, whether or not they have seen Pee-wee Herman on Saturday morning TV.