TV viewing does not begin at an earlier age. However, gifted preschool children have been found to watch significantly more hours of television per week than nongifted children (Abelman & Rogers, 1987). Because of their ability to coordinate and comprehend television information, most of their viewing is active—that is, gifted children are less likely to sit in front of the television set mesmerized and confused by programming and are more likely to be involved in program content and story line.
Short version.
http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/nrcgt/abelman.htmlLong version.
http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/nrcgt/reports/rbdm9206/rbdm9206.pdfYMMV
In my house we use tv in many different ways. For entertainment or to relax under, and for education and for background noise. Plus we go to the cinema, and we have a DVD player in our car. Yes, even the almost 2 year old sat through the entire Lorax five times at the dollar cinema, watching the movie. "How ba-a-a-d can I be? I'm just doing what comes naturally"...
Last summer, season of the Superhero movies at the Cinema, I was able to watch a few of them. My daughter didn't let me watch the rest of them. When it became a bother I skipped the movie and walked the mall but my son saw every super hero movie that summer in the Cinema with Grandpa. He's almost 5 now. He loves the movie theater. We love the tv. We love the Internet. My son learned how to read online. I just bought an iCan Play piano video game so he can learn how to play piano on tv. (dec. be here soon).
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the research linked above did not affect my tv viewing habits. I posted it because why else would you ask, even though choices a, b, & c show me you don't love tv 
