Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Computer games/TV time

Ah, in my opinion the world needs more people who are willing and able not just to follow the rules, but to imagine what it would be like with entirely different rules.

If you think into your memory bank of childhood life, you may recall when kids engage in fantasy play they are in a constant dialogue with each other and with their environment. It is a process.

Processing time is absolutely essential for the young brain. It may not look like anything but important stuff is happening.

Okay, we get it, you don't like computer games. Fine. We can behave like adults and agree to disagree. There's no need to troll.

IIRC the jury's out on whether screen time contributes to ADHD, but it seems logical to me that the amount of constant stimulus in the content could do such a thing. Even without that worry, screen time certainly can IMO turn a mind passive, depending on the content.

So I do not limit screen time with DD3. In the beginning she was pretty into it and then over time she has come to a fine balance. The one thing I have noticed is that she has been able to type letters and her name etc. on the computer but is reluctant to write. I think it brings up some of the perfectionism issues. That is something I would be more concerned about.

I find this discussion very interesting. I have older stepkids who grew up with unlimited screen time at their mom's house (and also a lack of emphasis on school, which is reflected on report cards).

When DD was born, I guess I followed my instincts. It bothered me to see her spending too much time in front of a screen. It bothered me to see how addicting that stuff was to my stepkids.

I was raised in an era before home computer games (unless you count Pong). And there wasn't much kid programming on TV outside of Saturday mornings.

So I naturally tended to limit screen time for DD to Saturday mornings because it just felt more "right" to me (not an absolute rule, just sort of a general one). When DD asks to watch, I often suggest an alternative activity. As a result, when she was three, she designed her own unique handbags out of construction paper and wrote her first children's book. It was worth the boredom moments, in my opinion.

That said, she has a gifted classmate who appears to have unlimited screen time and it certainly has not slowed that kid down in any way intellectually. His journal writing assignments do tend to revolve around Mario, etc., instead of some more profound or social subjects, though, which makes me sigh a little.

On the other hand, my stepdaughter moved in with us 6 months ago and in that short time her grades have improved enormously. Part of that is due to the value we place on school, but I think living in our "boring" household with limited screen exposure helps, too.

We limit screen time and definitely computer time. We have chosen not to have a Wii or DS or XBox.
I think too much of anything is bad; moderation in everything is our motto.
We have noticed that our kids engage in alot of imaginative, self-directed play when we shut off the gadgets. They play alone with legos and come up with wild, detailed plot-lines for their play.
That isn't to say that you can't be successful with alot of computer time on board. We have chosen to limit it.

Random Internet person's opinion:
http://projectinfolit.org/st/poldrack.asp

Now I'm embarrassed because I'm always posting internet links instead of quoting books. Is that ironic or redundant? Something I was thinking of awhile back. Does anyone else sometimes visualize what they're reading or thinking about? Mine kind of played out like a (faded) movie. I wonder if this generation of kids will have computer screen graphics like on star fall or PBS where you have so many different boxes with so many different games going on.

Dude don't be rude.
Love is the way
Nothing else to say!

I volunteer every week in both my third and first grader's classes. It's a public school; our G/T program doesn't start until 4th grade.
Some of the kids read below grade level in the class. Inevitably, the teacher has me work with those kids. In chatting with these kids, it seems like they watch ALOT of TV and have unfettered access to their Wii, XBOX, whatever. I mean, they have a TV in their room, and some watch it until midnight when they are "supposed to be asleep."
Are they below grade level b/c of their heavy video/computer use? Or is it b/c English isn't their first language, or their parents aren't educated, or... a million other reasons.
Obviously, I don't know. It could be an epiphenomenon, but I suspect that all of their TV/video usage isn't helpful.