Originally Posted by ultramarina
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Providing a computer to a young child is a lot like providing swim lessons, or soccer lessons, or piano lessons. If you didn't provide those things, could they catch up at an older age--sure, but if they truly *enjoy* those things, why wait?

Well...because there are some issues/problems associated with excess screen time that are not associated with those things. Now, do the problems (obesity, delayed language learning, disturbed sleep, attentional issues) happen for GT kids using screens at the same rate as for typical kids? I have no idea. But it's worth keeping in mind, unless you feel a fair weight of science (correlational, yes, but a fair weight) is to be discarded.
I don't think that it's helpful to extrapolate from statistics related to TV viewing habits of children who are likely somewhat educationally neglected by their parents, when one is considering the effect of educational use of computers. I've never seen any statistics showing a negative impact of educational computer use (have you)? It seems to me that error may lurk in the aggregation.

Striving to increase my rate of flow, and fight forum gloopiness. sick