T.V...Do LD kids miss out when they don't have it?

I think that your children are better off without TV. I think one of the biggest mistakes I made was letting my kids watch too much TV and play video games. I think that the stimuli from TV (and video games) requires only passive activity from the child and does absolutely nothing to stimulate the brain. I grew up with very little TV (in the 50’s and 60’s) and as a result, read avidly in order to entertain myself. My 16 year old (not LD) hates to read. I think that’s a combination of bad teaching (school) and too much “multimedia”(my fault).

If I could go back 15 years, I would not have eliminated televion completely from my kid’s lives, but I would have seriously limited it. I also know that neither of my kids watches CNN or the news, so I’m not sure that it would made your son any more politically aware.

I’ve been beating myself up recently over this very issue and the damage that it has done to my LD 10 year old…Barney and Sesame Street did certainly not help his receptive/expressive skills. In fact there is one school of thought that feels that the short, rapid changes of topics on these children’s shows is one reason for the increase in attention problems in kids.
Sincerely, Eileen C

We have T.V., as a parent I do try to limit what they watch and how much. The worst I believe is the local news. My daughter who is 9 loves the Travel Channel, HGTV, and Animal Planet. My 8 year old son watches the History Channel, very into war stuff right now, and the whole family loves PBS, and National Geographic. I am not trying to say they never watch “junk” tv, but there is so much information out there, being presented in a wonderful manner that they can be exposed to.

I believe there is a good balance to everything!!

I don’t think your son would have learned about President Bush from watching TV so I wouldn’t worry about that. My kids’ viewing is mostly Nickolodeon and the Disney channel.

We have cable because it comes with our home owner association dues. We limit how much they watch.

My only observation is that a different kid can be made more different by not participating in popular culture. We border on that at our house because my husband and I are not sports fans, don’t watch much TV (my husband’s watching is limited to the weather channel!!), don’t follow music, and hardly ever watch a movie unless it is out on video. We have made some effort to be a bit more mainstream for our kids. My husband watched the first part of the Super Bowl with our LD son. My husband feels it as much of a waste of good time as I do. But my son was delighted to go to school the next day and participate in conversations about the Super Bowl. He told us almost everyone watched it.

Beth

We took the antennae off our TV set six years ago, so now it functions as a video/DVD player, but gets absolutely no reception. It is true that my 12 year old knows less about current events than her classmates. On the other hand, she spends more time doing other things, and her knowledge of history, geography, and science is about as good as her peers. The long-term of current events is sufficiently small that I don’t mind not having TV. Furthermore, I think that the commercials on TV fragment the attention span. Indeed, if I were to design a training program to cause ADD, I’d probably build it around TV with its every 10 minute interuption by 4-5 90 second commercials.

I have to echo Beth from FL.

We watch limited TV, and not the news.

The big thing at both kids’s school is the Samuria Jack Cartoon. It’s actually not too bad. I know it is a way for my kids to connect with their peers. They could live without it but it just eases social interaction.

Barb

It is so ingrained in our society that books are good and TV is bad. I personally enjoy reading more than watching TV, but watching the difference between my LD son and non-LD daughter, I think television has had more positive than negative effects on my son. My daughter can learn from anything, but my son gets most of his information from television, and if they made tapes with the same information as his school books, I would get them in a heartbeat. I would prefer he watch the Discovery Channel or Animal Planet than read Goosebumps any day. The good and the bad exist in both mediums.

People came up with a written language to convey ideas, spread news, and share stories. At its core, how is television any different? I think part of our society’s struggle with LD’s are based on these new generations of kids who are hard-wired for faster forms of communication We label the children LD when they struggle with the antiquated ways of learning, and then sanctimoniously blame the parents or the teachers for not doing their jobs. We are dinosaurs.

Thought provoking post. Thanks!

My son picks up alot of info from the television. He is quite the current affairs expert.
There have been times I wish I could shield him from knowing as much as he does about the world. 911, war etc. Why does a 9 year old need to worry about all of that?
I think about my own childhood as a television watcher. I will never forget the intensity with which we all crowded around the television to watch Richard Nixon’s resignation speech. It was one of the moments that really stays with you. I doubt I would have experienced the same emotions from reading about it by myself. There was this group sadness and stunned silence as he spoke that I will never forget.

I also happen to believe that video games are good in moderation. There was a study that found they increase IQ. I would believe it. There are times I play mario brothers with him and I will find myself jamming the button over and over trying to get the character to bend to my will. Then my son will come along and think of a new approach that I hadn’t thought of. Video games do require thought and logic.

My son couldn’t do video games at all before interactive metronome so I now am happy that he has the visual motor skills to play them.

We have TVs. I grew up with a TV in my room and my son watches TV. I’m a news junkie. My parents are news junkies. I grew up very aware of current events, politics, news events. I watched All in the Family, Mary Tyler Moore Show, Carol Burnett, Laugh-in, 60 minutes, Brady Bunch, etc growing up. We all wrote letters to the editor expressing opinions. Dad even had one read on 60 minutes in the 1970s. We are also a family of readers and published writers. We also played chess growing up starting very very young. Early on my dad was in advertising - the creative side - and we talked often about what ads are and how they work to influence people.

This is what I want for my son, LD or not. True he watches cartoons on Nick, The Simpsons, some Cartoon Network (NOT adult swim - ugh). He and I will also sit in the den working a 1000 piece puzzle and watch Larry King. I want him to know what is going on in the world - the good, the bad and the ugly. Just like my parents did with me - although it was more a result of who they were vs. what they wanted us to learn. I think it helped my brother and I to have a wide general base of knowledge that helps us in our lives even now on a social basis.

TV generates so many discussions and opportunities. My son and I talk a lot about The Simpsons episodes. We talk about what is happening on the news.

Course, just bec something is on TV doesn’t make it good in my mind even though I love TV. It’s along the same lines as just bec words are typeset doesn’t mean they are true or something I want my son to read - yet.

Leave out the TV!

I raised my child for eight years without a TV in the house, not even any videos unless we borrowed a friend’s TV for a special event such as a birthday party. She is a happy and very social kid. She often complained bitterly when she went to play with a friend and they didn’t get to *play* because the friend turned on the TV. She also complained bitterly when one of her kindergarten teachers *forced* them to watch Sesame Street. She actually had to learn TV watching skills; like me, she found the pace of the actual shows far to slow and irritating, as opposed to the ads which are choppy and irritating. She still watches little TV and has too much real life going on to miss it.

Interestingly, her boyfriend grew up for his first seven years in Finland where the amount and type of TV available is very limited, like here in the 1950’s. He also has too much real life going on to watch it much.

I became very ill with respiratory and auto-immune and thyroid problems, and have been on partial bed rest for much of the last ten years. I’ve gotten into the habit of playing the TV much of the time for something to keep my mind occupied, mostly news and educational shows plus some comedies. However I have to be really really ill to *just* watch TV; usually I read a book or, as I’m doing right now, work on the computer with the TV in the background. (CNN is yammering right now; I like to keep up-to-date, and I use the info to discuss with my advanced ESL students from China who are learning North American politics and culture as well as language.)

To my mind TV is handy for getting the news, which is mostly of interest to adults, for science/information shows, and for rest when you’re ill and overtired. A healthy young person vegged out in front of a TV for hours worries me.

Read “The Plug-In Drug” for some very strong thoughts on this issue.

If your child needs to learn about President Bush, get some good newspapers. One day’s worth of a good city paper will contain more information than he can handle. And you can keep it, re-read it, summarize it, etc. If he can read well enough, have him read a few chosen articles to you and you help him with difficult words and concepts. If not, have him at least sound out the headlines (good practice, and a way to learn to find out information) and you read the articles to him.

This reminds me of an incident in my daughter’s youth, around age 8-9 in Grade 4 or 5. This was just before I remarried and we still didn’t have a TV in the house. Her teachers were doing a project on media and advertising, and they wanted the kids to examine advertisements and find out the techniques the advertisers were using to convince people to buy — an excellent project for good readers, to really use the skills. So the teacher told the class for homework to get magazines at home and cut out sample ads to bring back to class for discussion. My sweet angelic-looking little blonde kid raised her hand and piped up “I don’t think we have any magazines at home except my Mommy’s Discovers and Scientific Americans, and I don’t think she wants me to cut them up.” Of course the teacher’s jaw dropped to the floor. Grace told me about this and I complimented her on both recognizing that I don’t like damaging good reading material, and on making the teacher’s jaw drop; then I took her out and bought her some newspapers to clip. There’s always a method! If you need some TV news for a project, ask a friend to videotape a couple of nights of news or a few hours of CNN; then you can replay the tape too.

We don’t follow sports, although we do allow the kids to watch some TV every day (mostly YuGiOH)

I think for my LD child (son) its very important that he be current on popular culture. This is why he has a game boy even though I agree that all this passive entertainment is a problem. So I limit the amount of video games and TV he can have. But socially it would be deadly for him not to know what’s goingon. I also let him see the movies I think are age appropriate (yes harry potter and star wars, no to lord of the rings).

We also turned on the TV during the superbowl and exposed both kids to it.

WELL said, Tiredmom! I agree totally…also, a BALANCE is a great thing for all of us, as Stacy said above…not too much, not too little…as children, I read avidly while my sisters hated it, yet all of us read much more than average as adults. We all watched lots of silly sitcoms and toons in the 60’s and 70’s as well…

For our LD son TV is a constant source of information and vocabulary. We watch many things together, but he spends a lot of time on his own watching History, Discovery. We have discussed junk - you don’t put junk in your mouth, don’t put it in your brain. When our son moved to a new school he was spending every lunch time alone. With our guidence and the school’s support he started a movie club. Twice a week/ every other week he has his movie friends to eat with. The leadership in organizing the club and meeting kids led to a place on student council. He is also an avid user of audio books. He checks out five at a time from the library, turns the volume off on his video game and listens to a good book while he plays the game.

have something like 14,000 titles — mostly educational.

Check out http://www.videolibrary.com. You can select your state’s curriculum standards and then do a search on grade level and subject (science, social studies) to locate appropriate titles. Most are a half-hour long. Make a note of the titles you want, then go to your local library and see if they have them. Our library has an online catalog, so I can check online and put titles I want on request.

Angie

Wow, fantastic site! Are the videos as good as the titles?

My son’s therapist said it was great that he watched PBS and Discovery channel - how else could he learn about the topics that really interest him? We have to feed his intellect somehow until he can read for himself!

Personally,I don’t think spending more hours not watching TV,then watching it, is a very good thing.

The video games are a big problem with the generation coming up today. My boys know kids who do nothing but engage in video games.Most of them do not have time to finnish their homework,or care less about doing it. I once read a theory that Japan,the creator of nintendo,is using this avenue to take over financially. Their kids aren’t playing vidoe games obsessively. Makes you think.

My kids have learned more about the president in the newspaper then on TV. Their school makes them do current events. Remember this? You read the paper and wrote about an article you have read. I really believe my kids read the paper,or at least have more interest in the paper then they would have, if not having to do current events.

A word about the Super Bowl. What a story,or concept for them to learn! I am not a big football fan,of course I am from Tampa:-) After being the “ld” football team for twenty years!Always trying and barely making it,they come from behind and win the SUPER BOWL!My husband has lived here in Tampa all his life,being the butt of football jokes,and still rooting for them,it felt good to see them win:-)Know what I am saying? Watching the Super bowl was kind of like life. An example of trying and trying and trying,finally making it.

Lots of great videos around. Discovery Channel etc. shows available in video format. If you want current events use the kid news portion of the BBC website. Books on tape for literature and vocabulary. But TV for great content??? not even the networks claim that.

We have several tvs and cable too but severely limit tv watching; our kids get the news from the newspaper, from the internet(www.pencilnews.com, etc.), from Time for Kids that they get in school and from daily dinnertime conversation with us, lately focused on pending war in the middle east…they are in 4th and 6th grade and we’ve done this for a long time. If your child can’t read the newpaper, read selected articles to him. If you believe in no tv, stick to your guns, and get the news from other places.

I have to disagree with all who say turn off/forget about the TV. I would agree with balance.

TV has helped my boys in many ways, video games included.

TV benefits: unplugging kids (especially LD kids) automatically puts them at a disadvantage socially. Since most are affected socially (to some degree), not having some sort of common ground with the friends and classmates can be debilitating. How about those that have pragmatic and prosodic defits with language. I don’t buy the “mindless, passive activity.” It is exposure to language. Your family (no matter how dedicated) could never expose your child to the amount of language, social cues and interaction, etc. as much as TV can. Books cannot “demonstrate” speech patterns, rates of speech, facial expressions, conversational reciprocity and all that goes with being socially successful.

TV programs also inspire conversation increasing verbal abilities and critical information on topics we might never get a chance to bring up to our children. How about “other people’s” views and interpretations of events and stories? All brought ALIVE through TV.

My boys need the visual and auditory together to get the message. Visual imagery is crucial to comprehension. TV helps support the use of visual imagery. Visual imagery is being able to see the story in your mind.

My middle son’s visually processing issues have been dramatically improved through the use of video games. We went through the extremely expensive vision therapy as the optometrist told us that video games are no good. Well, 18 months and thousands of dollars later, not much improvement. We eventually broke down and bought the video games. A year later, many of his visual processsing problems improved as well has his sensory-motor issues. Biggest bonus: he finally has something in common with his friends and classmates. It was a real ice breaker!!!

I could go on and on. I really scares me to think that people think are doing a good thing by unplugging kids, especially kids who need to be “connected” and exposed in order to learn and function.

Please reconsider. The key is moderation and monitoring of subject matter. TV is not evil.

Now if there were some way I could just get ONLY these channels (plus CNN, Animal Planet and the History channel), I’d sign up for cable today!

Well, you can program, through your cable box, access to only certain channels. Most basic packages include the ones you are interested in; lock out the rest.

Wow! This gives me a lot to consider. There are so many aspects to this. Intellectual, social, cultural, informational…

And then the difference between an LD and non-LD child.

For example. I have a non-LD child who absorbs social and cultural information like a sponge. For her, not having T.V. makes no impact. She’s as popular, knowlegable and aware regardless.

But for an LD child. Particularly one who isn’t as socially savvy or aware, this has me questioning the role of TV as a “teaching medium.” Not necessarily intellectually (although there are opportunities for this), but socially and culturally.

Although he’ll be “who he is.” I do think it’s healthy if he can fit in with his peers. So far, he’s doing okay with this (we had moved and he’s at a new school so social ability is something I’ve had to look more closely at over this past year). At his previous school this was never an issue he had a group of friends from Kindergarten, but moving made me look differently at this.

Thanks again for all the great posts!!! :-)

Oh no, not with my daughter! I would rather not have any TV than deal with that!!!

Oh gosh, how’s that saying go? “That’s not the hill I want to die on.”

I do believe that moderation is the key (especially in this day and age, when there’s so much trash on TV even during the prime-time hours). Used properly, watching TV can be a useful activity. But the child can’t be allowed to watch TV more than he does other activities, nor can he be allowed to watch anything that’s on. There’s just too much on TV, anymore, that’s not good for anyone to watch, child or adult.

However, there is still good on TV, thankfully, and that is what parents must looked for. There are good educational shows, as some of you have said, and there are some good fiction shows still, also, though not as many as there used to be, unfortunately. It’s up to the parent to guide the child toward shows that will be good for him, morally and intellectually. Also, his favorite TV shows can be used as a springboard for lively discussions and for reading, writing activities, etc. There are some great forums on the Internet where fanfiction can be posted, for example.

Yours truly,
Kathy G.