Hi everyone,
In my field of teaching children and their parents I am always learning new things (that I wish I knew when my kids were little!) Following is a very powerful TEDXRainier on the effect of media on children and brain development. It is a MUST see in my opinion.
Dr. Dimitri Christakis is a pediatrician, researcher and parent that shares:
"There are certain things we can do early on in our children's lives that enhance their ability to pay attention and certain things that we can do early on that actually impede them." "The more television children watch before age of 3 the more likely they were to actually have attention problems at school age. For each hour per day a child watches before age 3 it increases the potential by 10%, 2 hours equals 20%. Compared to a child who watches none. Cognitive stimulation reduced the chances by 30% " (like reading to them, taking them to a museum or singing to them.)
Television is not the only culprit. Recent studies are referring to it as any screen time ie; computers, games, etc., (yes, even educational games and music videos)
While some of our children are over the age of 3, brain development is on going and needs positive HUMAN interaction. 
These statistics are worrisome, especially for young children, says Dr. JoAnn Deak, author of The Fantastic Elastic Brain. In the first 10 years of a child’s life, the brain is designed to learn by doing—by interacting directly with people and things. In terms of language development, brain growth is only impacted by in-person talking. Brain scans show that young kids do not learn at all from a screen. “Language-acquisition centers show no change when language is being received by video or audio,” says Dr. Deak. They do show a change when another person is in the room speaking with the child.
At HO4K we spend lots of time reading, playing, and singing with the students. (the 3 main things that reduce the chance of impeding attention span in children.
The following is from Work and Family Life...
No matter how old
we are, we want to keep our brains sharp, right? When you read the front page
article in this issue, you'll catch up on the latest brain research and find
out what to do to keep your brain (and heart) going strong for as long as
possible.
http://www.workandfamilylife.com/os/apr2013
What can we do about the excessive media trend? One thing is to take the third annual Screen-Free Week challenge from April 29 to May 5. It’s a national campaign to encourage families to turn off their TVs, computers and video games for seven days and to explore other ways to enjoy family time together. For more information, visit www.eyi.org/screenfree.
The "screen smart" message reminds us that there is indeed a life away from screens. Screen-Free Week is coordinated by the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood. See www.commercialfreechildhood.org.
Third Annual Screen-Free Week: April 29–May 5
What can we do about the excessive media trend? One thing is to take the third annual Screen-Free Week challenge from April 29 to May 5. It’s a national campaign to encourage families to turn off their TVs, computers and video games for seven days and to explore other ways to enjoy family time together. For more information, visit www.eyi.org/screenfree.
The "screen smart" message reminds us that there is indeed a life away from screens. Screen-Free Week is coordinated by the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood. See www.commercialfreechildhood.org.
I extend the challenge for the
screen free week starting April 29 !!!!
The benefits are worth the challenge....I see it everyday!
The benefits are worth the challenge....I see it everyday!
Ms. JoAnn
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