Moonbug Entertainment has partnered with the Center for Scholars & Storytellers (CSS) at UCLA to integrate child development research into its preschool shows.
The move will bring child development expertise directly into the creative process for YouTube-first shows like CoComelon, Blippi, Little Angel, and The Melon Patch, from development through to production. CSS, academic scholars, and the Moonbug team have devised four core learning principles to guide the creative process that will be released this spring. The guidelines will be used to inform who develops, writes, and produces shows; goals for each season across life, social-emotional, and cognitive skills; story ideas and episode themes; and final scripts, ensuring they deliver learning lessons and are age-appropriate.
“As more preschoolers spend time on digital platforms, parents and creators are asking more urgent questions about what quality screen time actually means,” said Dr. Yalda T. Uhls, founder and CEO of the Center for Scholars & Storytellers at UCLA. “Research shows children can learn from online video, but only when it’s designed with child development in mind. Our work with Moonbug is about bringing research and storytelling closer together, and we see this as an ongoing commitment. Translating research principles into a production environment takes a sustained effort, and a real measure of success will be how consistently these principles shape creative principles over time.”
“To make great stories for young kids, you have to start with how they learn,” said Rich Hickey, chief creative officer at Moonbug Entertainment. “Our teams already think deeply about how toddlers experience music, stories, and everyday moments. This partnership with CSS renews that commitment and helps us be even more intentional in how we build stories from the earliest ideas through production.”
