We need local child friendly content on TV - An open letter to the Director-General of GBC

When I was growing up, there were not many options on what to watch on television, but there were lots of programmes that targeted children at the appropriate times of the day. I remember in the afternoons there were programmes where crafts were taught in a child friendly environment called Activity Time; then there was Kyekyekule, By The Fire Side and many such programmes that kept children glued to the TV set whenever they aired.

Now I have children of my own and it is very difficult to find content that are child appropriate, culturally educative and communicates the values that we hold dear as Ghanaians. With all the diverse TV channels that are available, I dare say none of it meets my expectations.

 Our TV screens are splashed with obscenity, nudity, foul language and violence. Even what is supposed to be children’s channels are filled with adult content. The animations or the cartoons that we think are for children almost always have adult content and portrays values and cultures that are not Ghanaian. Sometimes, as I flip through the channels looking for something appropriate to watch, my four year old would say, “I don’t like this cartoon; it’s a mean cartoon, there is fighting, and there is blood.” Even she realises that it is not appropriate for her to watch.

I had this reality check one evening when my daughter held her younger sister’s hands and said: “Let’s do the prince charming dance.” They held each other arm in arm and began to take ball room dance steps. So I asked where she learnt that and then I realised that after watching an animation of the popular fairy tale story "Beauty and the Beast”, she had picked those dance steps. Then I thought to myself: Oh how I wish it were adowa or boboobo dance steps she was practising. She spins around on her toes and tells me she is a Ballerina; she knows more about fairies, pirates, Santa Claus and snow than she knows about Kwaku Ananse. Should I be surprised? No! Because that is what she is bombarded with daily on the children’s channels. Sometimes there are positives to it; but are we not supposed to be grounded in our own culture and environment before we step out?

As a mother, I expect that child appropriate programming should be age appropriate; programming for toddlers are different from programming for pre-teenage and teenage years, but who is checking and who has the interest of children or the concerns of parents at heart.

I have had to address this letter to the Director-General of Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) because I believe he holds it a moral duty to the citizenry (by virtue of the fact that GBC is the national broadcaster, and a beneficiary of the mandatory TV licence fees) to look once again at this issue of programming appropriate for children of all ages. I know during the weekends there are programmes that are child oriented but I also know we can do better. GBC has GBC 24, GTV, GTV Gov/Govern, GTV Life, GTV Sport Plus and Obonu TV. Is it not possible to have a dedicated channel for children programming that is age appropriate, culturally sensitive and educative, one that does not only show foreign animations and cartoon characters but have local content and original programming?

As a parent, I try to do my best but I cannot always rely on the schools to do this for me, and my experience with church has not been encouraging, so I turn to you the national broadcaster. Help!