Viewing Teletubbies together can be a wonderful opportunity for you to share the joy of first discovery through your grandchild's eyes.

Teletubbies is crafted with the knowledge that little childrenwatch television in a radically different way than older childrenand grown-ups. Rather than use direct instruction, whichwould be appropriate for older children, Teletubbiesseamlessly integrates cognitive concepts like shapes, colors,opposites, spatial awareness (e.g., near/far, next to, etc.),sets, counting, size, and sequence. Everything aboutTeletubbies nurtures young viewers confidence and encour-ages their curiosity.

A celebration of play and imagination, Teletubbies segmentsare designed as age-appropriate games for toddlers, presenting real people and fantasy adventures - just like a childencounters real people and stuffed animals.

To understand how it’s done, look for these designelements:

Pauses leave time for prediction and participation. Forexample, notice the time between hearing a familiar soundand the appearance of the character associated with thatsound. The pauses leave time for young viewers to say theanswer before it is given on screen, allowing a child to stayone step ahead of the Teletubbies and giving them a sense ofaccomplishment.

Repetition provides opportunity for mastery. Young childrenlove to experiment, testing their experience by doing thingsagain and again.

Multiple stages of language are included in everyepisode, from normal adult speech to preschoolers describingtheir world to the Teletubbies’ play-language. The Teletubbiesemulate the stage of emerging speech that we hear as ababy’s first attempts at forming words, while children in thevideo segments provide a model for the next step and the adultvoice encourages the kind of repetition of words that helpsvocabulary development.

Humor, especially the kind of silly sounds and gentle slapstick appropriate for toddlers, makes learning fun andserves as a way to demonstrate understanding. Children wholaugh when something is out of place know the way things aresupposed to be. Otherwise they wouldn't get the joke.

Short films about real childrengive young viewers achance to exploreparts of the worldbeyond their ownhomes and families.And children lovewatching other children.

Viewing Teletubbies is not a silent activity. When you watchwith your grandchild and help them interact with the program,their learning is amplified and their bonds with you arestrengthened.

Join the conversation Talk about what you are both seeing and encourage comments. When the Teletubbies say“hello”, wave and say “hello”. When the Voice Trumpet asksa question, repeat it and invite your grandchild to answer. Askyour grandchild, “What do you see?”

Count Whenever the Teletubbies count, join in. As you gothrough your day, count other things together, like how manybites it takes to finish a cracker or how many scoops it takes tofill a bucket with water.

Point and name Help your grandchildto learn the names of thethings they seeon screen (e.g.,“Look, Po has ascooter! A scoot-er.” Invite yourgrandchild torepeat the word.)

Predict Which Teletubby will pop up last or who will try onthe hat next? Correct predictions indicate knowledge. Forexample, when a child knows which Teletubby comes nextbecause the Teletubbies are popping up in size order, it meansthe child is seeing size relationships and patterns. When threeTeletubbies have appeared and children know which one willpop up next, they understand that there are four in a full set ofTeletubbies and they know which one is missing. For grown-ups, this seems simple, but for toddlers, recognizing sets, size,sequence, and patterns are important cognitive concepts.

Role play Make a game of imitating the things that theTeletubbies or the children in the video segment did.

Make connections Wherever possible make connectionsbetween the program and your grandchild’s own experiencesboth during the show and at other times of the day. Forinstance point out if their pajamas are the same color as Dipsy(green), or if you are doing some of the things that the childrenin the program’s video segment did, or if you are cleaning upa spill like the Noo-noo.

Celebrate discoveries and accomplishments with aBIG HUG Every Teletubbies segment ends with a big hug.The hugs provide comfort that helps ease the disappointmentof transitions (the game is over and I don’t want it to be…BigHug!), or celebrates a new discovery (look, I found what I waslooking for…Big Hug!).

Tinky Winky® Dipsy®

Po®

Noo-noo Voice Trumpet

Laa-Laa®

Meet the Teletubbies

Bumping tummies, giggling, imitating, falling down, and joining in the games are all an essential part of the fun ofTeletubbies. You and your grandchild can play along:

Predict To grown-ups, prediction is a thinking skill, but toyoung children, it is a game. So ask your grandchildwhat they think is going to happen next.

Dance Many episodes include the Teletubbies doing adance. Getting up and moving with them helps childrenbuild muscles, coordination, and balance. Plus, it’s fun!

Follow the Voice Trumpet’s lead For young children, following instructions can be like playing follow-the-leader. So, for example, if the voice comingfrom the Voice Trumpet says “Going up,” raise yourhands up above your head and if it says “Going down,”put them down.

Treasure Hunt Find something in your home that yousaw in the program. Is there a ball like Laa-Laa’s?Something purple like Tinky-Winky?

Make up a story about the Teletubbies Wheredid they go when the program ended? What might they do tomorrow? What will they see next on their video screens?

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Make up your own Teletubbies dance Cutout the squares on this page. Let your grandchildpick one. Do the movement together. Then pickanother card. Do the movement on the first square.Follow that by the movement on the second square,and so on. By the time you have done 3-5 squares,you have constructed a Teletubbies dance that a tod-dler can do and remember.

To help with spatial concept and vocabulary develop-ment, name each step as you go (e.g. forward/back-ward, up/down, front/back, etc.). Don’t worry ifyour grandchild doesn’t do each move exactly rightor if they need you to hold their hands to help thembalance. The idea is to have fun together. Just turnup the music and boogie!

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© Ragdoll © Ragdoll

© Ragdoll © Ragdoll

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Autism Speaks is a nonprofit organization, founded by Suzanne and Bob Wright, who are grandparents justlike you. We are proud to partner with Teletubbies to help promote awareness about autism.

Watching Teletubbies with yourgrandchildren is one way youcan stay connected with themwhile also helping to promotehealthy childhood development.

Unfortunately, not every child develops normally. One out of 150 children today is diagnosed with autism, adevelopmental disorder that can affect, often severely, a person’s ability to communicate and socially interactwith others.

If you have young grandchildren who aren’t reaching theappropriate developmental milestones, encourage theirparents or guardians to consult with a pediatrician. Earlyintervention is critical.

Be aware of the early signs of autism:

• No big smiles or other warm, joyful expressions bysix months or thereafter

• No back-and-forth sharing of sounds, smiles, orother facial expressions by nine months or thereafter

• No babbling by 12 months

• No back-and-forth gestures, such as pointing, showing, reaching, or waving by 12 months

• Failure to respond to name by 12 months

• No words by 16 months

• No two-word meaningful phrases (without imitatingor repeating) by 24 months

• Any loss of speech or babbling or social skills at any age

For more information, available resources and questionsplease visit www.AutismSpeaks.org.

Still have questions about Teletubbies? Here is your video guide to Understanding Teletubbies:http://pbskids.org/teletubbies/parentsteachers/progphilo.html

Feel free to contact us with any quesitons or concerns. Send emails to: TeletubbiesPBS@ragdoll.co.uk

TELETUBBIES and Character Names: ®, TM & © 2007 Ragdoll Worldwide Ltd. PBS KIDS andthe PBS KIDS logo are registered trademarks of the Public Broadcasting Service and are usedwith permission. 2007 Sprout and Sprout logo are service marks of the Children’s Network, LLC.© 2007 Autism Speaks Inc. Autism Speaks and Autism Speaks It's Time To Listen & Design aretrademarks owned by Autism Speaks Inc. All rights reserved.