Children's rights: television programmes aired in Singapore

Abstract

This article focuses on aspects of children's rights as portrayed in television. The results of a six-month research study show analyses of television content of Channel 5, which is the only free-to-air, 24-hour, English-language entertainment channel in Singapore. The results identify the role of television in assisting Singapore to meet its obligations in regard to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. News and advertisements aired on Channel 5 during primetime (between 7 pm and 10 pm) were recorded over a six-month period, and those featuring or related to children were analysed for the study. The samples were categorised and subcategorised based on the principles of the Convention (UNICEF, (2011a, June 2). Convention on the rights of the child. Rights Under the Convention on the Rights of the Child): Participation, Protection, Development, and Survival. A fifth category, not under United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child-Object, was devised by the researchers. The results of this study have shown that the representation of children on television in Singapore is, in part, a reflection of how Singaporean society views children. Analyses of the media content indicated that protection and development of children was Singapore's top priority. Despite the fact that children were considered to need adult protection there was no reference to the Convention.

Barn nr. 3–4, 2019 – Temanummer: FNs barnekonvensjon

“…In macro-level decision-making, children's voices remain absent. This finding also corresponds with earlier international studies on the representation of children and their views in media (Kaziaj 2016;Kaziaj & Van Bauwel 2017;Moeller 2002;Ponte 2007;Warrier & Ebbeck 2014). Perhaps, as Barry Percy- warned over 10 years ago, the honeymoon period of children's participation is over.…”

Representation of Children’s Views in Finnish Newspaper Media Across Three Decades

“…In macro-level decision-making, children's voices remain absent. This finding also corresponds with earlier international studies on the representation of children and their views in media (Kaziaj 2016;Kaziaj & Van Bauwel 2017;Moeller 2002;Ponte 2007;Warrier & Ebbeck 2014). Perhaps, as Barry Percy-Smith (2006) warned over 10 years ago, the honeymoon period of children's participation is over.…”

Early childhood care and education in a consumer society: Questioning the child–adult binary and childhood inequality

“…But one of the most challenging and fundamental shifts in mindset remains necessary – for Singaporeans to think of young children as active persons who are also learning and participating as citizens. Warrier and Ebbeck (2013) have found that while children are frequently present in Singapore’s television advertisements because they capture audience attention, they are largely portrayed as passive subjects receiving nutrition, health and educational interventions. While it is undeniable that children need to grow healthily as biological beings, be cognitively challenged and emotionally secure, the act of reducing a child into a mere health or education project can limit our understanding of the child’s social agency and dynamically shifting needs as he or she interacts with the world in his or her own terms.…”