Karen Mathers

As a mother of two teens, I find that our television is on most of the time. Usually our son likes to stick to Animal Planet or The Discovery Channel while our daughter enjoys the “teenie-bopper” shows on Nickelodeon. Sometimes we even get caught up in watching the programs with her.

One thing that impresses me about Nickelodeon is that they use their own teen stars to encourage the young viewers to get out and be active. They call their program “The Big Help.” I went to the Nickelodeon website to see what it’s all about. I found that they encourage activities in four areas; health and wellness, environmental awareness, service, and education.

I was especially drawn to the “Change the world through service” page. This is a concept that my husband and I have been trying to instill in our children at a very young age. Nickelodeon suggests such simple actions as donating clothes, which can be to a local homeless shelter, or raising funds for charity.

In fact, several years ago when the children were attending the local elementary school, one of their beloved custodians, Mr. Ice was the victim of a house fire. He and his wife lost everything. Our children wanted to help Mr. Ice by having a lemonade stand on our street and donate all the money to him. We took their small idea to the school’s principal, and were given permission to have a large bake sale in front of the school. Donations of all kinds came in, and our children were able to give Mr. Ice over $800!

Encourage your children’s ideas, no matter how small. They really can make a difference in the world that they live.

Do you feel good about letting your kids watch Nickelodeon?

Graphic Credit:
Sabrina Segal