Poll: First Children - TV and Speech

[EmilytheStrange]

the numbers are in: it seems that there really is no correlation

thank you for participating.

[songbird516]

I didn't and don't restrict TV to 30 minutes, but I don't watch it much during the day. Actually my first wasn't interested in the TV at all until she was 2, but still talked up a storm. Our second started wanting to watch it at 3 months old, lol, but of course he's not really verbal yet.
People like to say, "oh you must have talked to her all of the time", like I'm the one responsible for her really great speech...but I can't take credit for it. She just loves to talk. I really didn't start conversing with her until after she started talking back, because that's just my personality, lol.

[jjordan]

Originally Posted by EmilytheStrange the numbers are in: it seems that there really is no correlation thank you for participating.

Actually, in this non-representative and meaningless sample, unrestricted tv-watching correlates with verbal children (according to the child's parent). In real life the correlation is exactly the opposite direction - increased tv-watching correlates with less verbal children.

[EmilytheStrange]

Originally Posted by jjordan Actually, in this non-representative and meaningless sample, unrestricted tv-watching correlates with verbal children (according to the child's parent). In real life the correlation is exactly the opposite direction - increased tv-watching correlates with less verbal children.

Well, I'm not trying to compete with research.

And I appreciate all the answers.

[GEM Cloth]

Every child is different. Our Kid#1 started talking at 4 months and was always very verbal and articulate. I don't watch much TV but her dad does. I don't think TV viewing had anything to do with it.

[bluedaisyma]

other. tv was very restricted with my 1st 4 and not really at all with my 5th and they ALL spoke very early.

[rverrone11]

DD1 was a very early talker, and spoke very clearly. At 16 months, she could say over 80 words (my students at school made a list, which is why I remember). We watched very little TV when my oldest was awake, and she never showed an interest in TV until after she turned 2. So up until she was 2, she didn't watch any TV and wasn't exposed to it very much at all.

[UnderTheStars]

I never noticed until DD recently started preschool how her language was compared to other kids. I sat in on a story time once and the teacher was pointing to the book and asking, "What is this?" All the other kids said "Dinosaur!" and my kid shouts, "BRACHIOSAURUS!" (and it was, too, btw). She then informed everyone that they are extinct. She's always been like this, since she first learned how to speak. And her TV time has never been restricted and in fact, she probably watches a little more than I care to admit to. However, I think it has less to do with the TV and more to do with the fact that we read a lot of books and talk about everything we do, and have since even before she could comprehend it. I talk about groceries at the store, point out stuff on signs, etc.

[NYCVeg]

Have you looked at the book "The Plug-In Drug"? It's been many years since I read it, but my understanding of the scientific evidence is that, on aggregate, increased TV viewing correlates with lower verbal performance. The kids who watch the most TV, statistically, score lower on tests and have poorer school performance (this says nothing about individual kids, of course).

My dd had no exposure to TV at all before age 3, and has had limited screen time since. Initially, that was 20-30 minutes a day. Now it's more like 40mins-hour. She has always been an extremely verbal child--she tests off the charts. (She just participated in a study as part her student-teacher's research, and her vocabulary tested at a 13-year-old level--she's 6.)

[brookglen]

My kids speech is lacking but I think her comprehension is pretty on point. In other words, she understands things perfectly but lacks the capacity to fully form sentences.

We have no tv restrictions.

On the other hand, my step son never had tv restrictions either and I alway thought his speech was amazing for his age. I attribute it to the fact that hs mother just never stops talking.