Everybody (kids and adults) loves repetition. Humans are generally comfortable with the “known”, with a routine where they know that Y always comes after X. “Anticipation” or “knowing what comes next” happens only through repetition of a combination of past experiences. With the complex minds and experiences of the adults, the repetition needs to be more subtle. Otherwise it can become boring. However, with the young ones, they have arguably limited experiences to use. So, for them to have the pleasure of anticipation, the repetition needs to be simpler and more obvious.

Blue’s Clues is a perfect example of encouraging participation through repetition. Initially, Nickelodeon aired every episode daily for five days before moving to the next one. The result: The attention and comprehension of young viewers increased with each repeated viewing. And the repetition was integral to even each episode. “in an episode called ‘Blue’s Predictions,’ the show’s human host, Joe, says some variation of the word ‘predict’ around 15 times.” (Reference)

When I first saw Teletubbies, I thought that their “Again, again!” feature was a way to save development cost by reusing content. But this feature was clearly to help kids participate and play along through repetition. This is what PBS says about Teletubbies, “The program makes liberal use of repetition, large movement, bright colors and deliberate pace to nurture the development of imagination, thinking and listening skills.” (Reference)

The key to making repetition fun is showing progress. Showing that the kids are getting better at solving a task or are able to solve a task that’s getting increasingly complex.

PE Hub (Private Equity Hub), a leading website for the global private equity community, which includes venture capitalists, investment bankers, and entrepreneurs, wrote about MathZee today. Thanks to Connie for the article (Read here).