Memories

Going Potty Over Kiddies TV

I find that I can get inspiration for these articles in the strangest of places. A little while ago I was having a dip in the pool at home when my eyes fell upon a feature in the surrounding garden.

A few years ago my wife and I had visited a local garden nursery and we saw little “flower pot men” for sale and we bought one to place in our garden. There is now a push from television stations for Australian made Children’s programming to be dropped from being mandatory. If this push is successful it will mean that they will no longer be compelled to produce and show Australian made Children’s television programmes. This little “flower pot man” reminds me of the early days of children’s programming on TV.

When TV first started in this country there was very little Australian programming shown. Some of the most popular Children’s programmes were imported from the UK. Shows like “Andy Pandy”, “The Flower Pot Men” and “Sooty” all came from the BBC and brought much joy to the young. Other programming came from the US which introduced us to “Quick Draw McGraw”, Warner Bros. “Fractured Fairy Tales” and “Mr. Magoo” which also added to the laughter and fun of the young.

I remember all of these from the past, but what of the Australian made Children’s television programmes. Shows like “Bananas in Pyjamas”, “Play School”, “Mr Squiggle”, “The Wiggles” or “Here’s Humphrey”? I am sure that many children, their parents and grandparents also enjoyed the antics and humour that these shows have generated over the years.

To see your child or grandchild dance along in front of the television to the music or try to sing along to a song is such a joy. How many home videos have been made of such things I wonder?

We get a laugh, when we think of seeing our now adult grandchild when as a toddler he would point to the television and shout out when the “Fat Controller” character appeared in “Thomas The Tank Engine” came on. We remember also the times when we would take him to a shopping centre to see “Bob The Builder” live and when Bob came over to him he would run off scared.

I think there is still a place for Australian Children’s shows on TV where you can hear Australian accents and sounds. Imported television shows are also fine except perhaps the spelling and sounds of words can perhaps be confusing such as Color or Colour, Zee or Zed.

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