TV & computers

[Guest guest]

There was a study done about 10 yrs ago regarding children's television habits.

Sorry I don't have the source. I heard it on NPR about 10 yrs ago, about the

time my daughter was born.

 

I believe several hundred kids had been followed over a 15-20 yr period...

divided into 3 groups.

Group #1 watched NO TELEVISION

Group #2 watched only PBS - no time restrictions

Group #3 watched unlimited television - no time restrictions, no channel

restrictions

 

The results surprised me.

The children who did the best both socially & academically throughout their

schooling were those in Group #2.

Group #1 came in 2nd.. far behind in grades & performance from Group #2.

Group #3 came in last, both academically & socially. (no surprise there!)

 

Seems clear to me that much can be learned from good television. My philosophy

has been to ban " commercial " tv in our house. Cable has actually allowed us to

have more non-commercial options: several PBS channels, Disney (whose only

commercials are for their own programming), and several movie channels. I

believe the " kids " channels have the most commercials. We NEVER have

Nickolodean, WB, Cartoon Network or the major network kids shows on in our home.

It's true that our kids learn through osmosis about all the " popular " commercial

characters... via shopping, newspapers, magazines, and neighbor friends.

 

Our only TV restriction is that homework, family & exercise come first. After

that, tv or computer time is ok, as long as it's non-commercial.

 

In response to the card catalog reference... the Card Catalogs in all our county

libraries are computerized now! At least my daughter can still do it the " old

fashioned " way at her school library.

 

Have a good weekend.

Michelle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

I'm not really sure where to start with this issue of kids and TV. As an older

first-time mother -- I was 44 when we adopted my son as a newborn -- I had been

sure that no child of mine would ever watch television until he or she was old

enough to make smart choices about it. But, how different the reality has been.

 

First, I never really considered the influence that my husband, a TV and media

junkie, would have in our household and ultimately on our son. It's not that I

ever wanted to discount his feelings or opinion on the subject, I just never

expected to find us disagreeing on the merits -- or lack thereof -- of

television. And we have disagreed. A lot. Second, I was surprised to find

that television is not the wasteland I thought it was, especially for children.

There actually are wonderful, enriching programs on that I've found myself

enjoying along with my son, who is now four. My rule is no commercial TV

permitted, and so far it's not been a problem at all because there is so much

good programming on PBS and even on HBO Family or Noggin that my son has not

felt any urge to watch the commercial cartoon shows or junk like Rug Rats.

Shows such as Arthur, Clifford, Dragon Tales, Mr. Rogers, Sagwa, and Zoom, and

of course Sesame Street, Between the Lions, and Reading Rainbow, gently teach

the importance of kindness, compassion, curiosity, imagination, and literacy,

and actually are springboards for great discussions I've had with my son about

some of the storylines, which really do attempt to give kids the tools they need

to deal with real life situations. Besides which, I will never forget the day my

son, at three years old, said to me " you know, Mom, whales are mammals because

they give birth to live babies. " Must have been Zoomboomafoo! Finally, I do

admit that I have put my son down in front of the television when there is

something I must get done, or when he is bouncing off the walls and I feel my

patience draining away. Do I wish I could deal with a stressful situation like

this without resorting to TV? Of course I do. But I've come to terms with the

fact that it's the most realistic and practical -- though not the most ideal --

solution at the time.

 

Having pretty much defended TV for kids, I will say, however, that I believe

very strongly that children need quiet time in the course of the day. There are

times when my son is alone on the floor in the living room -- with no TV, radio,

or stereo on -- building some amazing building out of Legos, or playing with his

trains, and everything is quiet, and I hear him making up a little story to go

along with the trains and I feel so peaceful and happy that he is in some

wonderful imaginative place that he is creating all by himself. And I love

that. We have several TVs in our home ( the aforementioned husband needs

nonstop CNN) and sometimes the noise level is troubling and I worry about my son

being overstimulated. So I'm constantly turning off the TV or asking my husband

to turn down the volume. But I'm pleased that my son seems pretty resilient and

can actually get deeply involved with his toys or books or painting, or even

something as mundane as Play-Doh, for long periods of time, without asking for

TV. Sometimes when I'm reading to him at night before bed I specifically choose

a book without a lot of pictures, and when he looks for the pictures I tell him

to draw them in his head. And he does.

 

So I believe that television is okay, in moderation, but only when the parents

are able to exercise good judgment about what is being watched, and for how

long. And if the findings presented by Michelle are indeed true, I can breathe

a long sigh of relief.

 

Terry

-

Michelle B

Friday, August 29, 2003 3:37 PM

TV & computers

 

 

There was a study done about 10 yrs ago regarding children's television

habits. Sorry I don't have the source. I heard it on NPR about 10 yrs ago,

about the time my daughter was born.

 

I believe several hundred kids had been followed over a 15-20 yr period...

divided into 3 groups.

Group #1 watched NO TELEVISION

Group #2 watched only PBS - no time restrictions

Group #3 watched unlimited television - no time restrictions, no channel

restrictions

 

The results surprised me.

The children who did the best both socially & academically throughout their

schooling were those in Group #2.

Group #1 came in 2nd.. far behind in grades & performance from Group #2.

Group #3 came in last, both academically & socially. (no surprise there!)

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Just wanted to put in my 2 cents worth. Television was not a part

of my oldest daughter's life until she was 2 then it was in great

moderation. It still is (usually 2 sometimes up to 3 hours a

week). It has a tangible effect on her demeanor and it's not a good

one at that. She does not watch any show that I haven't checked out

first and 99% of it is commercial free. However, if we are watching

something on Discovery or Animal Planet I use the commercials to

teach her to be market savvy.

At only 4 and a half she is begining to decipher the true messages

in advertisments. Instead of the ads making her want a product she

usually sees right through them and it makes her not want it. I'm

glad I've exposed her to and guided her through commercials so she

will be an educated consumer.

So, like most of you we have little or no television but I agree

that there are shows of value and that even the commercials can be

opportunities to learn if we parent them through the bombardment.

 

Peace, Stephanie

 

, " tsomerson " <tsomerson@c...>

wrote:

> I'm not really sure where to start with this issue of kids and

TV. As an older first-time mother -- I was 44 when we adopted my

son as a newborn -- I had been sure that no child of mine would ever

watch television until he or she was old enough to make smart

choices about it. But, how different the reality has been.

>

> First, I never really considered the influence that my husband, a

TV and media junkie, would have in our household and ultimately on

our son. It's not that I ever wanted to discount his feelings or

opinion on the subject, I just never expected to find us disagreeing

on the merits -- or lack thereof -- of television. And we have

disagreed. A lot. Second, I was surprised to find that television

is not the wasteland I thought it was, especially for children.

There actually are wonderful, enriching programs on that I've found

myself enjoying along with my son, who is now four. My rule is no

commercial TV permitted, and so far it's not been a problem at all

because there is so much good programming on PBS and even on HBO

Family or Noggin that my son has not felt any urge to watch the

commercial cartoon shows or junk like Rug Rats. Shows such as

Arthur, Clifford, Dragon Tales, Mr. Rogers, Sagwa, and Zoom, and of

course Sesame Street, Between the Lions, and Reading Rainbow, gently

teach the importance of kindness, compassion, curiosity,

imagination, and literacy, and actually are springboards for great

discussions I've had with my son about some of the storylines, which

really do attempt to give kids the tools they need to deal with real

life situations. Besides which, I will never forget the day my son,

at three years old, said to me " you know, Mom, whales are mammals

because they give birth to live babies. " Must have been

Zoomboomafoo! Finally, I do admit that I have put my son down in

front of the television when there is something I must get done, or

when he is bouncing off the walls and I feel my patience draining

away. Do I wish I could deal with a stressful situation like this

without resorting to TV? Of course I do. But I've come to terms

with the fact that it's the most realistic and practical -- though

not the most ideal -- solution at the time.

>

> Having pretty much defended TV for kids, I will say, however, that

I believe very strongly that children need quiet time in the course

of the day. There are times when my son is alone on the floor in

the living room -- with no TV, radio, or stereo on -- building some

amazing building out of Legos, or playing with his trains, and

everything is quiet, and I hear him making up a little story to go

along with the trains and I feel so peaceful and happy that he is in

some wonderful imaginative place that he is creating all by

himself. And I love that. We have several TVs in our home ( the

aforementioned husband needs nonstop CNN) and sometimes the noise

level is troubling and I worry about my son being overstimulated.

So I'm constantly turning off the TV or asking my husband to turn

down the volume. But I'm pleased that my son seems pretty resilient

and can actually get deeply involved with his toys or books or

painting, or even something as mundane as Play-Doh, for long periods

of time, without asking for TV. Sometimes when I'm reading to him

at night before bed I specifically choose a book without a lot of

pictures, and when he looks for the pictures I tell him to draw them

in his head. And he does.

>

> So I believe that television is okay, in moderation, but only when

the parents are able to exercise good judgment about what is being

watched, and for how long. And if the findings presented by

Michelle are indeed true, I can breathe a long sigh of relief.

>

> Terry

> -

> Michelle B

>

> Friday, August 29, 2003 3:37 PM

> TV & computers

>

>

> There was a study done about 10 yrs ago regarding children's

television habits. Sorry I don't have the source. I heard it on NPR

about 10 yrs ago, about the time my daughter was born.

>

> I believe several hundred kids had been followed over a 15-20 yr

period... divided into 3 groups.

> Group #1 watched NO TELEVISION

> Group #2 watched only PBS - no time restrictions

> Group #3 watched unlimited television - no time restrictions, no

channel restrictions

>

> The results surprised me.

> The children who did the best both socially & academically

throughout their schooling were those in Group #2.

> Group #1 came in 2nd.. far behind in grades & performance from

Group #2.

> Group #3 came in last, both academically & socially. (no

surprise there!)

>

>

>

>

>