Beyond Screen Time: How TV Content Affects Children’s Self-Control
- Keity Brito
- Aug 20
- 6 min read
Author: Keity Brito, LCSW - yourhonestselftherapy.com
What exactly are overstimulating or active TV shows? I’ve been reading about the different types of shows for children and their impact on executive function.
First, let’s define "executive function" as it relates to newborns and toddlers. Executive functioning is an umbrella term that encompasses a set of brain functions that help us regulate behavior and achieve goals. For children, this might look like the ability to stay seated at a desk for a specific period or to follow multi-step directions to complete a task.
Now that we've clarified a few terms, let's discuss TV shows. When examining research on children's programming, we often focus on how much time a child should spend watching TV, rather than on the content being consumed. It’s important to note that, while many shows today may include educational elements, they are primarily designed to entertain and keep the audience engaged. This distinction is crucial when comparing shows from over two decades ago to those being broadcasted now.
In the past, children's programming was limited to just a few channels, such as PBS, Nickelodeon, Disney, and a few others. Due to this limited selection, there wasn’t the same pressure to keep viewers captivated, much like how adults are drawn to TikTok, Instagram, and continuous, fast-paced feeds today.
Just like any other shows or movies, children’s programs feature varying frequencies of scene changes. For example, an action movie typically has rapid scene changes with multiple things happening simultaneously, while a romantic comedy often consists of longer, slower scenes with extensive dialogue. The same applies to children's shows regarding the pace of scene changes.
In fact, a study comparing fast-paced to educational children’s programming found that scenes in fast-paced shows changed on average every 11 seconds, whereas in educational shows, the average was stretched to 34 seconds.
Furthermore, this 2011 study discovered that four-year-olds who watched just 9 minutes of a fast-paced television show exhibited immediate impairments in their executive function across four tasks, compared to a control group that watched an educational cartoon.
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This isn’t to say that all television shows are bad or that they lack value. However, the reality is that not all shows are created equal, nor do they share the same moral compass or intentions.
You can further explore the examination of the impact of television on children's executive function, and here are a few additional articles on the topic.
Fast vs. Educational Children’s Programming
Citation: Lillard, A. S., Drell, M. B., Richey, E. M., Boguszewski, K., & Smith, E. D. (2015). Further examination of the immediate impact of television on children's executive function. Developmental Psychology, 51(6), 792–805. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0039097
Relevance: This study compared a fast-paced cartoon (scenes ~every 11 seconds) with an educational cartoon (scenes ~every 34 seconds), showing significant differences in children’s executive function immediately afterward.
Fast-Paced Shows and Cognitive Effects
Citation: Christakis, D. A., Zimmerman, F. J., DiGiuseppe, D. L., & McCarty, C. A. (2004). Early television exposure and subsequent attentional problems in children. Pediatrics, 113(4), 708–713. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.113.4.708
Relevance: While not only about scene changes, this article highlights how rapid-editing and overstimulation in TV shows correlate with later attention problems.
Television Pacing and Executive Function
Citation: Lillard, A. S., Li, H., & Boguszewski, K. (2015). Television and children’s executive function: Prosocial vs. antisocial content. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 4(4), 463–481. https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000046
Relevance: Examined how pacing and content interact; faster pacing was associated with worse short-term self-regulation in children.
With all that said, as the parent we can potentially taper off and replace the current shows with lesser stimulating shows. I've created a list of popular shows and where they land on the scale of Fast - Pace vs. Slower paced shows. I'd recommend taking a look at the list of shows and see what shows your child is watching more of and potentially swap with a slower category. The goal is to potentially avoid those in the more stimulating categories.
Lastly, below this table I've outlined the moderate paced and slow paced shows and where they currently stream. Hope it helps!
Category | Avg. Scene Length | Est. Scene Changes in 30 min | Examples (20 Shows) |
Ultra-Fast / Overstimulating | ~1–3 sec | ~600–1800 | 1. CoComelon 2. Little Baby Bum 3. Baby Shark’s Big Show 4. Pinkfong! Songs & Stories 5. ChuChu TV 6. Dave & Ava 7. Mother Goose Club 8. Bounce Patrol 9. Blippi Wonders (animated) 10. Ryan’s World Shorts 11. Baby Einstein (modern YouTube edits) 12. Super JoJo 13. KiiYii 14. Morphle 15. Mila and Morphle Adventures 16. Cocomelon Lane (spinoff) 17. LooLoo Kids 18. Vlad and Niki 19. Sunny Bunnies 20. BabyBus |
Fast-Paced Cartoons (Comedy / Action) | ~5–11 sec | ~160–360 | 1. SpongeBob SquarePants 2. The Fairly OddParents 3. Teen Titans Go! 4. Looney Tunes Cartoons (HBO Max revival) 5. Animaniacs (Hulu reboot) 6. Tom and Jerry (new shorts) 7. Adventure Time: Distant Lands 8. The Amazing World of Gumball 9. Regular Show 10. Craig of the Creek 11. Johnny Test (Netflix reboot) 12. Ren & Stimpy (classic) 13. DuckTales (2017 reboot) 14. Chip 'n Dale: Park Life 15. Phineas and Ferb 16. Big City Greens 17. Amphibia 18. The Owl House 19. Harvey Beaks 20. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Rise of TMNT) |
Moderate Pace (Balanced) | ~7–12 sec | ~150–260 | 1. Bluey 2. Peppa Pig 3. Dora (2024 reboot) 4. Paw Patrol 5. Bubble Guppies 6. Doc McStuffins 7. Sofia the First 8. Octonauts 9. Mickey Mouse Funhouse 10. Curious George (newer seasons) 11. Franklin and Friends 12. Go, Diego, Go! 13. Shimmer and Shine 14. Little Einsteins 15. Thomas & Friends (CGI era) 16. Jake and the Never Land Pirates 17. Clifford the Big Red Dog (new series) 18. My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic 19. Care Bears: Unlock the Magic 20. Wonder Pets! |
Slow / Educational | ~30+ sec | ~50–60 | 1. Shape Island (Apple TV+, 2023–) 2. Work It Out Wombats! (PBS Kids, 2023–) 3. Lyla in the Loop (PBS Kids, 2024–) 4. Barney’s World (2024 reboot) 5. Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood 6. Sesame Street (now on Max/Netflix depending on region) 7. Blue’s Clues & You! 8. Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum 9. The Magic School Bus Rides Again 10. Brainchild (Netflix) 11. Weird But True (Disney+) 12. Pocoyo 13. Numberblocks 14. Teletubbies (Netflix reboot) 15. Songs for Littles (Ms. Rachel) 16. Little Angel 17. Bebefinn 18. StoryBots: Laugh, Learn, Sing 19. The Who Was? Show 20. Dragon Tales (classic, still streaming PBS/Prime) |
🎬 Moderate Pace (Balanced Pacing Shows)
Show | Where to Stream (2025) |
Bluey | Disney+ (U.S.), BBC iPlayer (U.K.) |
Peppa Pig | Paramount+, Netflix (some regions) |
Dora the Explorer | Paramount+ |
Paw Patrol | Paramount+, Netflix (some seasons) |
Bubble Guppies | Paramount+ |
Doc McStuffins | Disney+ |
Sofia the First | Disney+ |
Octonauts | Netflix |
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse | Disney+ |
Curious George | Peacock, PBS Kids (older) |
Franklin and Friends | |
Go, Diego, Go! | Paramount+ |
Shimmer and Shine | Paramount+ |
Little Einsteins | Disney+ |
Thomas & Friends (CGI era) | Netflix, Amazon Prime |
Jake and the Never Land Pirates | Disney+ |
Clifford the Big Red Dog (new series) | Amazon Prime Video, PBS Kids |
My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic | Netflix, Amazon Prime Video |
Care Bears: Unlock the Magic | Boomeang, Amazon Prime Video |
Wonder Pets! | Paramount+ |
📚 Slow / Educational Shows
Show | Where to Stream (2025) |
Blue’s Clues & You! | Paramount+ (includes classic) |
Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood | PBS Kids (free), Amazon Prime |
Sesame Street | Max, PBS Kids |
Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood | PBS Kids, Amazon Prime |
Reading Rainbow | |
Postman Pat (classic) | Amazon Prime Video, BritBox |
Barney & Friends | Peacock |
The Big Comfy Couch | Amazon Prime Video (limited) |
VeggieTales | |
Lamb Chop’s Play-Along | |
Bear in the Big Blue House | Disney+ |
Zoom (PBS) | PBS Archives, YouTube |
Thomas & Friends (classic model era) | Amazon Prime Video, rotating Netflix |
Wishbone | Not officially streaming (PBS archives; YouTube unofficial uploads) |
Pocoyo | |
Between the Lions | PBS Kids, DVD/YouTube archives |
Arthur | PBS Kids, Amazon Prime |
Postcards from Buster | PBS Kids, Amazon Prime (limited) |
Dragon Tales | Amazon Prime Video, YouTube |
Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat | PBS Kids, Amazon Prime (limited) |
