SHOCKING STUDY RESULTS! -- Tots don't get their words worth from language DVD

[HuckleB]

:sarcasm:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/besttreatments/2010/mar/03/tots-dont-get-their-words-worth-from-language-dvd

"Regularly watching a vocabulary-building DVD doesn't appear to help young children learn new words or improve their overall language skills, a new study reports. The researchers also found that youngsters who started watching educational DVDs at an early age had poorer language skills than their peers, although it's not clear why.

-- What do we know already? --

Nowadays most children are exposed to TVs, computers, and other video screens at a very young age. On average, children aged 2 or younger have around two hours of screen time per day. Numerous TV shows and DVDs have been developed to cater to these budding viewers, with many promoting an educational focus.

However, studies suggest that all this screen time might actually impede a child's development rather than advance it. For example, some research has found that children exposed to baby DVDs in the first years of life have lower language abilities between ages 7 months and 16 months.

But what about DVDs specifically designed to help build a young child's vocabulary? In the new study, researchers focused on the Baby Wordsworth DVD, which is part of the Baby Einstein series. It uses puppets, videos of children and parents, pictures, sign language, text, and speech to help children learn 30 words for common objects and rooms in the house. The researchers wanted to find out if regularly watching this type of DVD actually helps young children develop their language skills.

...

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Other links to stories on the study...


Baby DVDs effects questioned
http://www.nhs.uk/news/2010/03March/Pages/Toddler-learning-DVDs.aspx

Don't Count on DVDs to Improve Tots' Vocabulary
http://www.medpagetoday.com/Pediatrics/GeneralPediatrics/18762


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Yeah, it's just one more study that leans toward this outcome, but it's one more study that leans toward this outcome.

:evilgrin:

[hlthe2b]

1. Umm.. perhaps because they become "white noise?"

Once learns language intitially through interaction with others and arguably reading is the way to improve vocabulary.

[Warpy]

2. It's because there's not any two way interaction with a screen

Babies rely on feedback from their caregivers while they're starting to develop language skills in order to know if they're on the right track. Since it's clear to even an infant that the screen isn't really reacting to them, they look at the pretty colors and tune out the rest.

That's why the silly things don't work. They're OK as an electronic baby sitter, just don't expect them to do any good and if you don't spend time with the kid, expect to see that kid harmed by it.

[virgogal]

3. Read,read,read,and talk talk talk to your kids. Costs nothing

and it works.

I get a kick out of the name"Baby Einstein" series.

I wonder what kind of DVD's Einstein's patents used?