- United States
- Pa.
- Letter
Please don't claw back public media funding! My daughter listens to public radio kids' podcasts to fall asleep and has since she was little - she's practically memorized all three seasons of the Molly of Denali podcast. Now she listens to "But Why", a podcast from Vermont Public Radio where she learns things like how sunscreen works and who invented emoji. The Storybots PBS show taught her how cell phones work and what sound waves are. The PBS Kids app and PBS Kids' Games are some of the only free, safe, and fun apps made for children. You have no idea how difficult it is to find a truly free kids' app that's not trying to trick them into spending real money, constantly interrupted by pop up ads, or selling their data. PBS Kids Games are ever-expanding, educational, enjoyable, and truly free. She's learned so much about animals from Wild Kratts, another PBS show, that now when we play Twenty Questions she'll stump us because she's thinking of a tapir, aye-aye, or some other animal we've never heard of. Please don't take this incredibly valuable resource away from children, especially since the money has already been approved. I grew up watching Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood and now I live in Pittsburgh, where Fred Rogers lived and filmed that show. They're still making episodes of Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, the animated show that teaches the same lessons that Mr. Rogers did. Public television funding was threatened during his lifetime too, and he testified before Congress about the importance of public television for kids. His testimony is worth watching and still applies today. Please don't cancel public television and public radio. It's still incredibly important and valuable to children, including mine.
