Numerous children shows are fine examples of Cultivation Theory at work.

Profess ors such as George Gerbner argued that Television is the source of the most broadly shared images and messages in history...Television cultivates from infancy the very predispositions and preferences that used to be acquired from other primary sources ... The repetitive pattern of television's mass-produced messages and i mages forms the mainstream of a common symbolic environment. Hence, this essay aims to show how the time that children spent watching these programmes are actually investments from the media to cultivate social sc ripts for children to adopt. The television shows selected to support this notio n are Blues' Clues, Barney and Friends, and Hi-5. However, it is also significan t to note that children do not only watch these programmes. They are also expose d to advertisements in between and during the breaks of these shows. Advertiseme nts from Koko Krunch and Hot Wheels take advantage of these time slots for their own benefits too. All these cultivate a social norms amongst children that will be explained further. The reason for selecting the above-mentioned television shows is because they cater to pre-school children. These programmes are engaging to these child ren due to the usage of songs and dances. It is easier for them to understand an d remember the lyrics when they are having fun. Children of that age are very ac tive and an interactive medium suits them. Nevertheless, they are different in their approaches. Barney and Friends has a lot of interaction amongst the characters of the show. However, it stops there. The characters do not engage the audience other than singing their songs. Blues' Clues, on the other hand, gets their audience involved. Steve, the main character of the show, will ask his audience for their opinions on how to solve certain problems he encounters. Moreover, there are children voices that prompt and reply to Steve's queries. These features of the show encourage participation from the audience to get these children more involved. They feel engaged and ha ppy when they get involved. Hi-5 has another approach on getting their audience interacting. They perform in front of a live children audience. There are snippe ts of those children having fun as they sing and dance along. These shows, get their audience motivated. The children will subconcious ly absorb the messages that the shows want to portray. They are generally educat ional shows that aim to promote and instil civic-mindedness to the children that watch these shows. They teach values such as appreciation and being helpful thr ough the songs they sing. They also encourage simple thinking skills by getting them involved in solving problems that the characters have. All these values are instilled to their audience. They become social scr ipts that will be developed so they will grow up to become responsible individua ls of society. It is more effective when these children learn their respective s ocial scripts at a young and impressionable age. Hence, television is the best m edium for it. Other than that, the advertisements shown during the time slots helped t o instil want and desire from their audience. Koko Krunch tend to exaggerate the making of their product. Even though it is not true, the animations of the adve rtisement appeal to the children. Koko Krunch looks even more delicious when mil k was poured on it. It taps into the children's desire of wanting to eat it. At the end of the ad, the bear got rewarded and it gives a sense that the children deserve to be rewarded with Koko Krunch. Another advertisement that takes advantage of their time slot position i s Hot Wheels. They have a song that is catchy for the children. Nice and impactf ul visuals and diagrams are very appealing to the boys. Moreover, the boys in th e advertisement look happy playing with their product. All these are ingredients

that effectively promote interest for children, especially boys, to get their h ands of the toy. These advertisement were successful in their aims of getting the childre n interested through fun visuals and interaction of the characters. Same goes wi th the shows. All these are effective tools in instilling social scripts for the se children to adopt. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wwpBpypayQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lba-P2SrPqQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btoDg4LVeCg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-keOVH_ivTg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NkWb9HTFhw