An Interview with Sara DeWitt on What Makes Good Media for Kids

For our September 2026 issue of The Assurance Newsletter, we spoke with Sara DeWitt, Senior Vice President & General Manager of PBS KIDS and Education, about what makes children’s media genuinely high-quality. Sara shares how PBS KIDS uses research to develop and evaluate its content, why what kids watch can matter just as much as how long they spend on screens, and what parents can look for when navigating an increasingly crowded media landscape.

1. When PBS KIDS is developing a new show, game, or digital experience, what goes into making sure it’s not only engaging, but genuinely high-quality and beneficial for children?

“For nearly 60 years, PBS has been the go-to destination for high-quality children’s content, available for free to young viewers and their families across the country. PBS KIDS, the number one educational media brand for kids, has a rigorous, research-based approach to developing content. We start with the needs of today’s kids, then work with educational advisors and world-class producers to develop content that meets those needs. Throughout the content development process, we test our content with kids and parents to ensure that it is developmentally appropriate and that it is achieving its educational goals.” 

2. What should parents look for when choosing media for their child?

“The children’s media landscape is constantly changing and evolving, putting parents in a tough spot. Kids are being flooded with uncurated media options on algorithm-driven platforms. They are increasingly exposed to AI-generated content, much of which is unvetted, low-quality, and designed for scale over substance, leaving it to families to navigate and decide what’s good and what’s not. If given the opportunity, parents should choose content from sources they’re familiar with and on platforms they know and trust, so they feel confident in what their kids are engaging with and are able to talk with them about what they’re watching. Parents or caregivers should also consider content built with real research behind it, like PBS KIDS, which offers a critical counterbalance to the commercial world – delivering high-quality, research-driven content that is created and curated by humans.”

3. We hear a lot about screen time. How much does what kids are watching or doing matter compared with how long they’re on a screen?

“The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) guidance for kids 2-5 favors quality over quantity, and we agree. The quality of the media kids are consuming is critical. And if a parent or caregiver is able to engage with them about it – asking questions or starting a conversation – afterwards, we know the learning gains will be greater.  

Ultimately, every family and child’s needs are different, and what works for one family may not work for another, and that is OK. For example, my oldest needed very specific limits (like, “you can watch 2 episodes of ODD SQUAD before it’s time for dinner”) to help manage his time. My youngest would watch one episode of WILD KRATTS and then need to run around outside like a cheetah! In his case, we were less concerned about the number of episodes and more focused on which shows were needed for more calm moments, and which were best before outside activities. This is just one example of how our family managed screen time when my kids were younger.”

4. How do you know whether kids are actually learning from or benefiting from the media you create? What role does research play in that process?

“Parents rate PBS KIDS as the #1 most educational media brand, with 91% of parents agreeing that PBS is a trusted and safe source for children to watch television and play digital games and mobile apps¹. We have decades of research that demonstrates the real-life learning and impacts that PBS KIDS programming has on children. Below are some recent examples:

• Research has found that children who watched DANIEL TIGER’S NEIGHBORHOOD and discussed it with their parents demonstrated greater empathy, recognized emotions better, and felt more confident in social interactions than peers who did not watch the show².  
• DANIEL TIGER’S NEIGHBORHOOD has also had a lasting impact. Researchers looked at teens to see how the series has impacted them nearly 12 years since its debut, finding that they remember the series as a show that taught them life skills, including understanding others’ emotions and managing their own, maintaining friendships, problem solving, and more. They also reflect on the series as bringing them feelings of comfort, companionship, and happiness as young children³.
• An independent review of 45 studies, which included nearly 25,000 children between the ages of 2 and 8 years old, found that PBS KIDS media and resources increased children’s early literacy skills, such as letter recognition, vocabulary development, and phonological and phonemic awareness, equivalent to 1.5 months of classroom instruction⁴.
• Fluent research found that young children who played Dicey Escape, an ODD SQUAD game, significantly improved their math skills, particularly in number sense, number relations, number operations, and early algebraic thinking⁵.”

5. With new apps and platforms constantly emerging, what resources or tools can parents turn to when deciding what’s right for their kids?

“A few that always come to mind are local libraries, the AAP guidelines (mentioned above), and Common Sense Media, which is a nonprofit organization that provides independent age-based ratings, reviews, and selection guides for movies, TV shows, podcasts, books, and other media. Teachers can also be a great source of recommendations.”

Sources:

1. 2026 PBS Trust Survey, Proof Insights, 1/2026
2. Rassmussen et al. 2016. Relation between active mediation, exposure to Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, and US preschoolers’ social and emotional development. Journal of Children and Media, 10(4):1-19
3. UCLA Center for Scholars & Storytellers (CSS) study
4. Hurwitz, L. B. (2019). Getting a read on Ready To Learn media: A meta-analytic review of effects on literacy. Child Development, 90(5), 1754–1771.
5. Cousins, Stefanie. “Odd Squad Dicey Escape: A Digital Math Game.” Fluent Research, 14 April 2025, fluentresearch.com/portfolio_page/odd-squad-dicey-escape-a-digital-math-game/.