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Charyn Compeau wrote:Interview on NPR this morning was with the Dean of Admissions for Harvard who has noticed that the urge to create the 'super-child' is having the effect of squelching creativity, problem solving skills, and ingenuity in adolescents.
Peace, Charyn
Baby Boomers just screwing something else up.
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Jim O'Bryan
Lakewood Resident
"The very act of observing disturbs the system." Werner Heisenberg
"If anything I've said seems useful to you, I'm glad.
If not, don't worry. Just forget about it." His Holiness The Dalai Lama
More fuel for the anti-TV fire. Where are all the pieces that show the benefits of TV for kids? Can anyone name one American TV show whose benefits to children's development was worth putting all the cash into sets and actors vs real world assets like say.. a field trip?
Can anyone name one American TV show whose benefits to children's development was worth putting all the cash into sets and actors vs real world assets like say.. a field trip?
How 'bout Cap'n Kangeroo? Maybe Mister Roger's Neighborhood?
I think Sesame Street was probably too expensive...
Of course, the article is talking about 2 and 3 year olds, and CABLE TV. Maybe no TV until you've eaten your dinner, cleaned your room and turn 4? And then only BROADCAST TV, and not cable.....clearly its the cable signal causing the problem
Jeff
To wander this country and this world looking for the best barbecue â€â€
Those are great examples of good television! But they are still television. I loved Captain Kangaroo. Do you know what I learned? Ping Pong balls will fall on a moose. I also remember talking to him. And responding to his questions. My mom told me that he can't hear me. I asked her why is he talking to me and she said that "so you can learn" or something.
Why do I need a guy in a jacket and some puppets beamed to my living room just so i can have a one-sided conversation? Maybe so my mom could talk on phone? Do dishes? I have no idea what she was doing.
These shows were good television as television goes. They understood the pacing and tried to address the interactive needs of the audience. But like all television - it is pure entertainment and not a method for discourse. It's simply because you CAN'T talk back to the characters which makes it a waste of time and money. If your goal is to entertain your children - to thrill them, make them laugh, scare them, etc - then television is a great tool for this. But television pretending to be conversational, educational, or beneficial is an expensive waste of resources and utterly destructive. When people believe that TV is anything but entertainment, they have created a subtle form of abuse.
When viewed purely as entertainment - you do understand when and what age to sit and veg out with your kid. We have TV watching sessions along with everything else. We watch movies on DVD, etc. We do it for entertainment. Popcorn, pillows - all that.
Now - consider products like "Baby Einstein". Sit a kid in front of this for 3 seconds and you can watch their brain shut down. Literally - they lock up and turn in to turnips with only sporadic laughter. It is very entertaining! They are entertained so much that there is no room for anything else! We were flooded with these gifts when we started having kids. No commercials! Slow pacing! Classical music! Colors! Toys! Where is the study that cramming all of the above into a glass tube = education? It seems like we were creating some future drug addicts by the way they sat and zoned out.
On the other hand - we put in a classical CD and hit play. The kids get up - dance around - wave their hands and actually ask for it in the car.
TV/DVD/Movies = good entertainment and bad education for kids. Keep these straight and your kids will be fine. Confuse the two at your kids peril.
