Listen with mother

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Listen with Mother was a British radio program for preschool children that was broadcast by the BBC from 1950 to 1982 , first on the BBC Light Program and since 1964 on the BBC Home Service (later on BBC Radio 4 renamed). The program was regularly tuned into by up to a million listeners, including many adults.

The first edition of the program was broadcast on January 16, 1950.

Listen with Mother was broadcast daily at 1:45 pm immediately before the women 's radio Woman's Hour and was aimed at “mothers and children at home”. The presenters were Daphne Oxenford, Julia Lang and Dorothy Smith. There were nursery rhymes and music to be heard. At the center of every episode, however, was a short story told by the presenter. She always began with the sentence: “Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin! ”(In German:“ Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll start! ”) Over time, this saying became a catchphrase ; it was eventually even included in the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations . Each edition lasted a quarter of an hour and ended with the Berceuse from Gabriel Fauré's Dolly Suite , played on the piano by Eileen Brown and Roger Fiske.

The Berceuse from Fauré's Dolly Suite .

Over time, the number of listeners decreased, while the popularity of the television show Watch with Mother rose steadily. When Listen with Mother was canceled in 1982, there were protests from the audience. Numerous MPs and celebrities spoke out in favor of receiving the program, and educators expressed their concern.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Listen with Mother (1950-82) . In: Whirligig. 1950's British Television Nostalgia. Without a date. Retrieved on February 24, 2012 (documentation on the series with historical recordings).
  2. ↑ a b c d Listen with Mother 16 January 1950 . In: The BBC Story. BBC website. Anniversaries. Without a date. Retrieved December 23, 2015.
  3. ↑ catchphrases  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.highbeam.com   . In: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Quotations. 1983. Via HighBeam Research (registration required). Retrieved April 13, 2012.