Parents' Choice Foundation: Reviewing Children's Media Since 1978

Biz Kid$

Biz Kid$

Spring 2013 Television
Ages: 9 - 17 yrs.
Rating: TV Y7

Biz Kid$ is a half-hour TV magazine aimed at teens, employing costumed characters, clever skits, and amusing pop culture references to teach smart money management strategies. The program premiered in 2007, and according to its website it now airs on more than 350 PBS affiliate stations around the U.S.

The episode "Bookkeeping" focuses on keeping track of earnings and spending, business strategies the program makes relevant to young viewers by spotlighting micro-businesses teens can understand. One segment features a young teen magician who talks about a computer program he uses to keep track of where his money goes because, as he points out, he's an independent contractor and has to pay taxes on his earnings. This episode also stresses organizational skills to help teens who may avoid keeping track of money simply because it seems like a complicated and overwhelming math task. A short skit helps to allay those fears, featuring a teen who overcame her "math anxiety" and started using a binder to track the costs of her balloon-animal business so she could turn her birthday party business into a more profitable venture.

Biz Kid$ never strays from its mission, and the result is an exceptionally well-produced program, delivering clear and concise information in short, fast-paced skits and field packages. Bright motion graphics help stress vocabulary words and key concepts; high-tech sets offer plenty of teen appeal; and the skits are unapologetically corny, though not at the expense of delivering quality information. Biz Kid$ also offers a companion website with free, downloadable lesson plans appropriate for teachers or homeschoolers (some available in Spanish).

Any teen who's ever tossed the lawn-cutting money into a shoe box will be inspired by Biz Kid$ to keep better track of money earned and money spent, the first step toward building life-long smart money management skills.

Gina Catanzarite   ©2013 Parents' Choice

Look for this product at:
PBS/Biz Kid$ LLP

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