LOS ANGELES -- Before her daughter was born, Marnie Cooper sifted through newspaper and magazine articles, weighing the pros and cons of exposing young children to TV.
"Everything I read said: Beware of the television," remembers Cooper, 41, of Studio City, Calif. In fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics advises against any TV watching by children under 2.
So she relied, instead, on videos that promoted learning skills. But her now precocious 3-year-old is more curious about the TV offerings beyond her DVD library.
"It's a tough call because kids love TV," says Cooper, an acting coach and stay-at-home mom. "She could watch TV all day long."
A proliferation of programming on kiddie cable networks is making that a reality.
Besides Nickelodeon and the Disney Channel -- the big kids on cable's preschool playground -- Discover Kids, TLC, Cartoon Network and PBS Kids Sprout are developing an array of new shows and Web content for the juice-box generation of 2- to 5-year-olds.
"If you look at how much programming there is for adults, kids television is just starting to catch up," says Marjorie Kaplan, general manager of Discovery Kids, which premieres its musical math series, "Hip Hop Harry," on Monday. "The good news in preschool programming is that there is a lot of quality preschool programming."
"When my son was first born, there wasn't much besides Disney and PBS on my satellite system," says Waldorf, Md., mom Patricia Baylor, 38. "He's 3 now and I have more choices, which is good for me as a parent and for my child."
Nickelodeon is gearing up to premiere new seasons of its Nick Jr. and Noggin programming blocks in October, as well as debut a slate of new originals for 2007 and roll out multiplatform initiatives, which include launches on iTunes.
Nickelodeon, a Viacom company, remains No. 1 with the wee ones. Nick Jr. alone boasts seven of the top 10 preschool programs on commercial TV, including the top four: "Go, Diego, Go!," "Dora the Explorer," "The Wonder Pets!" and perennial favorite "Blue's Clues," which recently celebrated its 10th anniversary.

Television for kids toddles into high gear
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