Early Childhood Education Major Discusses the Impact of Children’s Films
By Hannah Bennett | Observer Contributor
Allyssa Johnson, first year Early Childhood Education major, has yet to interact with many of the children who go to the Garrison Center for daycare, but she is learning about fostering healthy childhood learning and development. At the Garrison Center, she learns what factors have the greatest impact on early childhood development.
Currently, Johnson is learning about the importance of parental involvement in the early stages of childhood development. This fosters “family engagement”, which is crucial to the healthy development of children. One assignment on this subject was a half hour movie that parents watched with their children. Then they created a project based on how the movie made them feel.
“Mainly, it’s bonding time, sitting down with the parents,” said Johnson.
This is a function of many kids’ movies. Parents sit down with their children and watch a movie like Toy Story for fun. The parents enjoy it for the adult humor hidden within the script and animation. The kids focus on the adventure and the fact that “toys are alive” in that movie. Johnson said that 2010 sequel, Toy Story 3, teaches the people who were kids when the first Toy Story came out the importance of maturing and becoming an adult.
“Andy went to college and gave his toys to someone else,” said Johnson. “He grew up, and it made me sad, but [growing up] is a part of life.”
Several movies have had this effect on Johnson and others like her. Personal connections to specific movies keep them in mind even after growing up and going off to college like Andy. The Incredibles is also important to Johnson because of her interest in the characters and the family dynamic at the heart of the film. Johnson’s family introduced her to The Wizard of OZ through their own childhood memories, and that is why she loves that movie too.
What kids see movie characters do also influences their actions.
“Disney movies are meant to teach good,” says Johnson. “Saying [toys are alive] teaches kids to take responsibility for their toys. And movies like [Toy Story] teach kids right and wrong.” She says that the main characters in Disney movies are rarely mean or selfish. Even if they are, they make up for it and apologize before the end of the movie.
“Kids dress up [on Halloween] to be like certain characters,” said Johnson. “A little girl might say, ‘I wanna dress up like Anna. I saw her in [Frozen] doing good.’”
The messages these movies send to children are influential towards their development and behavior in the future. While proper parenting and moral lessons are important to early childhood development on their own, Johnson is learning how to combine the two to promote more involved relationships between the parent and their child as well as more appropriate media for children.
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