I'm a fan of the TV show Parenthood. It provides a mostly realistic window into many of the issues families regularly face. The members of the Braverman family have struggled with everything from adolescent sexuality and unintended pregnancy, retirement, dual careers, single parenthood, cancer, infidelity, adoption, running a family business, the effects of military service, and Asperger's Syndrome. In this current season Crosby is struggling with the realities of a fussy newborn and concern over the fact that he has not yet bonded with his new daughter. Sometimes the Bravermans do a great job of dealing with these issues and other times, not so much. In either case the show provides numerous opportunities to learn about healthy family functioning and normalizes the fact that family life is messy.

A recent Child Trends posting noted that the MTV show 16 and Pregnant had a role in contributing to a lower teen pregnancy rate as measured by changes in internet searches and Tweets, Neilson ratings to capture geographic variation in viewership, and vital statistic birth data. The article was titled "Entertainment education's role in reducing teen pregnancy." I'm well aware of the impact of TV and movies in providing family life education, whether incidentally or purposefully. In fact, one of the outcomes of the Focused Dialogue work that NCFR is doing with Ellen Taner (see The Wheels are Moving Forward), deals specifically with using the media to influence the public's perception of the value and normalcy of participating in various forms of family life education. NCFR member and CFLE, Scott Tobias is working with Ellen to determine how we can accomplish this goal.

While I was familiar with the concept of providing education through entertainment, I was not aware of the term entertainment education. I did a little internet browsing and learned that it is a identified term and established approach with references back to Aesop's fables and in more recent history, School House Rocks, Sesame Street, and Bill Nye the Science Guy.

Another example of entertainment education involved a recent study at the University of Rochester that found that couples who participated in guided discussions about their relationship after viewing selected movies showed a reduced rate of separation or divorce (24 to 11 percent after three years). The "relationship awareness through film" approach was equally effective to approaches centered on conflict management and compassion and acceptance training. Granted, the couples were provided with a series of questions to guide their discussion and chose to participate in the study, but the results are still impressive.

According the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 88% of Americans learn about health issues from TV. The CDC works in partnership with an organization called Hollywood, Healthy & Society (HH&S) at the University of Southern California's Norman Lear Center to share public health information with storyline creators. The CDC's efforts include the creation of tip sheets with credible information on pressing health issues; participation in HHS meetings for show creators and network officials that inform them of the full range of services available; and expert panel discussions to examine the implications of dramatizing critical health issues.

Needless to say, NCFR is in the perfect position to be a resource, like the CDC, for Hollywood, Health & Society and other related organizations. Our members have knowledge and expertise in a full range of family issues and NCFR as an organization has the infrastructure to connect those needing this information with those that have it. Through what we are calling the FLE Value and Visibility effort, we are reaching out to the HHS as well as producers at Sesame Street specifically, to determine the role that NCFR can play in influencing entertainment education. Sesame Street, as an example, has addressed the issues of divorce, death, and incarcerated parents, among others. By collaborating with an organization like HHS and connecting with producers of shows like Sesame Street, NCFR has the opportunity to influence the quality of the information shared about family functioning and promote the inclusion of research-based family life education content in television shows and movies.

There are two approaches that we can take. We can attempt to influence TV and movie producers to incorporate examples of family life education into story lines. How great would it be if some TV episodes depicted families attending a class on parent education or participating in a couples weekend just to strengthen their marriage rather than because there was trouble (although that would be ok too). Increased incidences of people participating in some form of family life education as part of the story line could help to normalize that approach to family living.

But it doesn't have to be that overt. A number of years ago CFLE Kristy Smith wrote an article in the CFLE Network about stealth family life education where she shared information about the opportunity to provide family life education to people without them even knowing it. There are hundreds of examples of TV shows and movies providing valuable information and guidance regarding family issues. It is likely that most viewers do not even realize they just received a lesson in couple communication, learned something about birth control, picked up an important tip for how not to deal with a teenager, or were reassured that they were not alone in their frustration over dealing with their newborn. Perhaps through intentional efforts to influence the practice of education entertainment, NCFR can have a positive impact on American families.

For related references email Dawn Cassidy.