Laurie Simons, M.A.

We are here today with Laurie Simons, M.A., the founding director of the Parent Television Network, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing television programs about parenting issues to viewers around the world.

In May of 2004, the Bilingual/Bicultural Family Network was invited by Laurie to participate in their "Bilingual Families" production, a television program about raising children bilingually.

BBFN: Welcome, Laurie. Thank you for taking time to do this interview with us. Please tell us more about the Parent Television Network as well as your vision and role in making it all come together.

Laurie: The idea for Parent Television Network was born in the fall of 2002, when I combined my new interest and training in video production with a lengthy career as a parent educator and school and parent counselor.

My vision was to launch a 24/7 channel for parents, broadcast all over the world with international content. People thought I was crazy to embark on such a large undertaking! Nevertheless, over time, a growing group of interested volunteers and well qualified advisors evolved, and the Parent Television Network became a 501 (C ) (3) nonprofit in January, 2004.

Our mission goes beyond merely broadcasting programs for parent consumption. We plan to use the medium of television (and the internet) to build a world community of parents.

BBFN: You and your organization are providing such a valuable service for families around the world. We had a delightful time working with you on your "Bilingual Families" program. Please tell us more about that project and the things you and your organization learned while making it.

Laurie: Since a major goal of Parent Television Network is to create mutually respectful relationships among parents that transcend national boundaries, The Bilingual Families program project gave us a perfect opportunity to get started!

Alex Santos volunteered to produce this program because of his own personal interest in raising his infant son in a bilingual Spanish/English family. We were able, through networking, to locate 6 families to participate in this program, along with three expert professionals (two speech and language specialists, and a national leader of translators and interpreters.)

We were able to visit families in their homes, and get footage of parent/child and sibling interactions, as well as interviews, with families where one parent spoke English as a native language, and the other parent spoke Chinese, French, Spanish, German, or Bulgarian.

Alex and I learned a lot in producing this program. We learned that there are different points of view regarding raising bilingual children, and we saw firsthand the outcomes in families who were using different approaches.

Alex reported a significant increase in his confidence in raising a bilingual child as a result of his participation in producing this program.

BBFN: Families in our group have expressed the same sense of increased confidence from participating in the program since it really got them thinking. What have been the responses to the "Bilingual Families" program?

Laurie: We had the opportunity to invite program participants to two screenings of the Bilingual Families Program once it was completed. These were families who appeared in the program together, but had never met one another before. By bringing families together like this we were seeing the potential of fulfilling our mission to build a world community of parents.

The Bilingual Families Program was broadcast several times in May, 2005, on educational channel 28 serving 850,000 homes in the greater Seattle area. A number of viewers contacted Parent Television Network via our website to indicate interest in the subject of bilingualism.

BBFN: It has been a delight for us to have the chance to watch the program as it was aired! Are there plans to broadcast it nationwide and even worldwide?

Laurie: Our strategic plan is to begin working first with families, organizations, and broadcasters in the greater Seattle area, and then to replicate this model in other regions in the United States and other countries.

One of our Seattle broadcasters streams progamming on their website at the same time as the cable TV broadcast, thus allowing viewers around the world to see the program at the time of its broadcast. We have had viewers from as far away as Australia who have been able to view our programming!

BBFN: Can you share with us future programs that are in the works? And how might someone view your programs?

Laurie: We are currently putting together a library of already produced programs about issues in parenting, and we are producing a pilot program for our “Getting Along” series, featuring the role of parenting in social and emotional adjustment.

For updates on programs and where to watch, check out our website at www.ptvn.org.

BBFN: Thank you, Laurie, for taking the time to speak with us. We are delighted with the success of the Parent Television Network and look forward to seeing more great programs take shape in the future.

Laurie: Thank you for your interest and support!