Kids share their ideas for shows

To help us keep up-to-date with what’s happening with kids, we’ve asked Kid Think Inc., a youth marketing consulting group, to investigate and report back to us on a wide range of issues in kids’ lives. Since today’s kids spend so much time on-line, Kid Think talked with kids via LiveWire: Today’s Families Online, a proprietary panel of 600 on-line families across the United States.

Both Kid Think and LiveWire are divisions of Griffin Bacal, a New York communications agency specializing in the youth and family markets. If you have any questions or have subjects you would like Kid Think to cover, call Bob Horne at 212-337-6410 or e-mail livewire@gbinc.com.

This month, LiveWire went on-line to find out what kids would create if they had a chance to develop their own TV show.

While their shows contained the standard elements of entertainment and fun, kids typically demanded some reality as well. The majority of shows imagined were quite whimsical, although some had very mature themes, which often related to relationship issues like trust, divorce and even raising children. Many of the shows developed by girls, and some of those by boys, contained strong women characters. Also, notably among the girls in our panel, there was a tendency to mimic soap-opera themes, perhaps paralleling real shows like Melrose Place. The following is a glimpse into some very entertaining and interesting points of view.

‘The characters would be Matt, Lillie, Steph and Baby. It starts out at a video arcade. Lillie sees Matt kissing Steph, and she gets mad. Lillie and Matt break up their friendship. Lillie has a little brother named Baby. Lillie is going to the movie with her friends and needs a babysitter to watch Baby. She thinks she is calling her new boyfriend, Gus, but really calls Matt. Matt agrees to watch Baby, and then he decides he’s bored and calls his girlfriend, Steph. When Lillie comes home, Matt has to hide Steph in the crib. Lillie goes to check on the baby and finds Steph in the crib. Steph tells her a huge lie, and they have to figure out how to be friends again. I would call my show Friendship.’ Tabitha, New Hampshire, age 9

‘The characters would be a family with a mother, father, two brothers and two sisters. [The mother] just had twin babies, and one was a girl and one boy. The setting would be their house. The show would be about taking care of the new babies, and it would be called That’s the Hard Part.’ Megan, Massachussets, age 8

‘I’d make a plant show talking about all different kinds of flowers, part of the show would be cartoon and part of it with real people. I’d have a humongous garden with tons of flowers, and they would all talk. If you asked them a question, they’d say a good answer. I would be the star of the show. I’d be dressed in long blue jeans that were worn out like play clothes. It would be a show like Blue’s Clues, and it would help people deal with problems.’ Rachel, Massachusetts, age 10

‘It would be about a kid and his adventures out in the real world. His mom and dad are divorced and he ran away! It will take place mostly outdoors. It would be an ongoing show everyday at 5 p.m. Eastern time.’ Jeremy, Pennsylvania, age 10

‘AquaShark and MonMan. AquaShark is a person who can breathe in water and is a part of every single superhero that there is. MonMan is my brother’s character. . . . He’s a monster. They would go out and see people and stuff, getting alerts that there’s trouble. They have a secret base underground, and it’s underneath a store.’ Drew, Virginia, age 8

‘My TV show would be about kids from all around the world, with real kids. The purpose would be to make kids understand that just because someone is different doesn’t mean that they can’t be friends with them. My show would be called Kid’s World.’ Brittany, Maryland, age 12

‘It would be a show about skaters. It would have kids that are good skaters and are good kids. We always hear about bad kids. I think the show should be in Florida or California, and it should be about a club of skaters who help other people in different ways. I think you can be cool and still be nice to people. I would call the show Skate City.’ Daniel, New Jersey, age 12

Next month: Kid Think will ask kids about the role of music in their lives.