The benefits of TV for preschoolers

An Australian researcher says that in some ways TV can be good for kids.

(M)uch other published research finds that selective television viewing for young children contributes to their cognitive and social development. ...Professor Seiter has looked at the way television can enhance a young child's social cache. She found that preschoolers often use their knowledge of popular programming to gain acceptance in the classroom. Television can provide a common symbolic experience for children, just as for adults.

How are you gonna talk with the kids around the water cooler if you don't know Barney?
Her analysis of criticism of Teletubbies. People who are against it haven't seen it or don't understand it.