Mister Rogers' Neighborhood is the longest running children's program on PBS

Based on child development and early education principles, MISTER ROGERS' NEIGHBORHOOD is a carefully structured program that can help children develop the important skills they need for learning in and out of school. Research confirms that MISTER ROGERS' NEIGHBORHOOD can help children be more able to:

• Manage frustration; 
• Keep on trying;
• Pay attention and follow directions;

and be more willing to:

• Cooperate;
• Share;
• Get along with others.

Deliberately slow-paced, MISTER ROGERS' NEIGHBORHOOD allows children time to reflect on what they see and hear. All of its parts are related – because that’s how young children learn best.

Each week, MISTER ROGERS' NEIGHBORHOOD explores a major theme of childhood, through the real world and a Make-Believe puppet story.

Regular neighbors and special guests – musicians, artists, teachers, plumbers, athletes – help children see and appreciate the variety of ways that people express who they are and what they’re feeling. Many Neighborhood programs include a visit to a factory where people make things familiar to children and their families.

While many adults wonder what makes this television program so fascinating, the children know: Mister Rogers offers a place where they feel accepted and understood, where everyone is welcome no matter what he or she looks like, or what he or she can or cannot do.

What Makes MISTER ROGERS' NEIGHBORHOOD Work?

The Methods Behind the Magic
Many people witness the "magic" of MISTER ROGERS' NEIGHBORHOOD -- its profound and enduring appeal to young children and its positive effect on them. But often those same people say that they don't understand why the series, which may strike adults as simple and slow-moving, works so well.

The effectiveness of the series isn't magic at all. It comes from never losing sight of its distinct focus on children and their emotional development. More

MISTER ROGERS' NEIGHBORHOOD In Depth
As soon as the series began airing in its present form in l968, it was evident that MISTER ROGERS' NEIGHBORHOOD was unique in both form and content. It remains so today. By speaking directly to the camera, as if to a single "television friend," Mister Rogers establishes with his viewer an intimacy that is heightened by his easy, conversational style. He has time for wondering aloud, for doing simple tasks such as changing from his suit coat and loafers to a cardigan and sneakers, feeding fish, cleaning up, or even watching in silence as a minute goes by on a kitchen timer. The camera lingers, giving the viewer ample time to look carefully at a face, an object, a process, or a demonstration. Mister Rogers is often in close-up -- talking with, rather than to, the viewer, and viewing children often join in the dialogue, making the half-hour as close to a conversation as present-day television can hope to be. The pacing of each program is meticulously planned and approximates the pacing of a visit between two friends who have important things to talk about.

And the conversation is about important things. MISTER ROGERS' NEIGHBORHOOD was the first, and remains the outstanding, example of a television program about feelings -- about love, fear, sadness, jealousy, anger, friendship, trust, joy, and satisfaction. More