Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Age or Ability Specific Forums Pre-school Learning too much from TV?

" Are these children learning to learn in different ways, and is one ultimately a better learning strategy? I don't know."

I'm on the side of human interaction being the optimal learning resource, but she is watching signing time when she'd otherwise be just walking around downstairs while I attempt to make breakfast or check my e-mail when I wake up. So.. I wouldn't be singing songs or anything in place of the event.

I am worried TV will do something to her attention span, do something bad to the connections her brain is making, or simply make books less appealing... but is it really bad? Are we going to evolve as a species along with our technology?

My husband watched way too much TV growing up, imo, and still does. He can concentrate for 17 hours at a time when he wants to write a program or make a 3d video... and his memory for things he's read is amazing. I don't know if that is just a gifted trait (I do the 17 hour thing, too)...

I think TV and games take away from what he could be doing to learn and grow as a person, though, in every day life. But he doesn't seem to care about that, while I do care about it.

You know, DD just made one of her first "sentences". DH asked her what she wanted and she quite absent-mindedly signed "more" and "food", so I came up and fed her some more.