Creativity and imagination are both traditional hallmarks of childhood -- identified long before the advent of the television. Unfortunately, with the introduction of television as a mass communication and entertainment item, children's creativity and imagination have been stunted rather than nurtured and sustained. Children are born with a natural sense of wonder which aids the child in developing the various senses through creative exploration and experience. Sadly, television viewing limits the growth of imagination and creativity in children, but yet watching television constitutes more than two to three hours each day, with many children in the United States spending more time watching the television than learning in school (http://www.edweek.org/ew/vol-11/24tv.ht11).

The television industry attempts to remedy this problem (of limiting the imagination and creativity) by developing television shows specifically targeting young children. These shows (i.e. Mr. Roger's Neighborhood) purposely aim to stimulate the viewer's imagination, yet in a study conducted by a Yale University research group, "children exposed to the live adult and no television viewing at all showed the greatest increase in spontaneous imagination and pretend play. Those who watched the program with the adult intermediary present showed the next greatest gains. The two groups receiving no adult attention showed little or no gains in their imaginative play." (Winn, 118) Clearly, from this data, traditional parent/child creative playtime benefitted the child the most -- the television counteracted some of the benefits of the adult's presence (in trying to help stimulate the child).