The predictability of the show gave little kids confidence in themselves to guide a story. Sedating its viewers one color at a time, the program had millions of audience members within the first couple of months — unheard of for toddler entertainment back then.
BBC
According to The Center for Media, Tech, and Democracy, ”There is an implicit expectation that children’s programming, if it is going to exert such a strong control over the minds of young children, ought at least to be educational.” Though one could argue that it was … in its own way. The Teletubbies were intentionally unthreatening and created to be somewhat dependent on the help of toddlers watching to figure their challenges out, such as Po’s confusion in making tubby custard, making toddlers feel secure in their ability to help.
Frequently, entire segments were repeated, as were the occasional words from Teletubbies, such as when counting numbers. This kept the attention span of young children and pounded how to count to three into their spongy brains, despite parents complaining of its dullness.
Not all episodes of these colorful toddler astronauts were well received. “Seesaw,” an episode introducing a lion and a bear, scared children and was banned in a few countries. As a full-grown adult, the unsettling sounds and creepy background track cannot be missed, and it’s easy to see how a majority of children wouldn’t necessarily feel safe while watching it. The echo-y tone of the bear eerily repeating “I’m the bear, I’m the bear,” and the diabolical roars of the lion as he rolls around the grass installs both fear and confusion. Watching them both manically scatter across the screen does not ensure safety to its viewers.