To feel like TV teaches DS more than I do?

[CesareBorgiasUnicornMask]

And to be embarrassed about it?

He's 2.5. I picked him up from nursery yesterday and they commented onhow good his shape recognition is - he can name triangles, squares, rectangles etc. As we left his keyworker told me to keep up the good work . Thing is, the only reason he can do that is because he watches too much Team Umizoomi where they have to solve puzzles with shapes.

Similarly there are loads of buildings/ vehicles/ animals etc that he only recognises because he's seen them on TV. He quite often comes out with something random - like pointing out a diving bell in a book - and I realise he's picked it up from fecking Paw Patrol or something.

I mean, it's good that he's learning things, but I feel like I should be teaching him more and less of his general knowledge should come from TV!

[Sleeperandthespindle]

Mine sounded like some kind of prodigy the other day when he saw a jigsaw in a charity shop and eagerly (loudly) pointed out the Statue of Liberty, the Taj Mahal and the Great Wall of China. People stared in amazement. I knew it was just the obsessive watching of Go Jetters!

It doesn't last. DD used to be able to recite all kinds of facts about planets when she was 2 (from a YouTube song she loved). Can't remember a thing about them now she's 7!

[d270r0]

Well...yes he probably watches too much tv. Do you spend any quality time with him?

[BumWad]

Haha yes I know what you mean. Same with my DS. Wouldn't go without CBeebies.

[EmilyRosanne]

My DC seemed to pick up loads from alphablocks and learnt numbers 1-10 at about 15 months from numtums on CBeebies

I hadn't tried to traditionally 'teach' as I still considered DC as a baby but it's amazing what they pick up naturally and generally I don't see much of an issue as DC started school this year and they often comment on his letter and number skills as where it began early and sparked more of an interest in numbers it became more natural. So he would pick out numbers/letters when we were out etc.

I see where your coming from but provided your DC isn't glued to the television all day any learning is positive IMO.

[LaurieMarlow]

Embrace it OP and don't worry. There's a lot of good quality preschool TV out there, which is why I get a bit when people fret overly about screen time.

My little brother taught himself to read aged 3 from obsessive watching of blockbusters (of all things). Everyone assumed my mum was hot housing, but she hadn't lifted a finger.

[SomewhatIdiosyncratic]

I learned to read by watching Sesame Street. I was approaching 2 when I walked off to get an alphabet book, turned to Y and said "Y, two Ys".

There is a lot of great content on CBeebies, and other ones we've encountered through streaming have included Bubble Guppies and Blaze. DS (6) is like a walking encyclopedia of Octonauts and Go Jetters. I'm fortunate to have gone travelling and DH and I have been to many places featured and it's a good trigger for conversation.

He does plenty away from the screen too. He loves books but is finding reading a challenge but has a very curious mind. He gets a lot from diagrams, and good TV is great exposure to the world beyond our local experiences.

[pipsqueak25]

as long as he doesn't learn from watching 'eastenders' et al he should be fine ,

[EmilyRosanne]

Somewhat My DS is into blaze and comes out with phrases like 'when I'm running I'm using acceleration' and uses words like 'velocity'. The grandparents are amazed how 'advanced' he is when I know he's just seen it in an episode of Blaze haha!

[TheWeeBabySeamus1]

My sons learnt so much from silly you tube videos and cartoons. He's just 2 and can count to 10, knows his whole alphabet and can sing wind the bobbin up from start to finish (including the dance moves)... loads of things.

But we normally watch together and I'll point things out and clap him when he gets something right. We read books together and I generally just talk at him loads hoping he picks it up. I think it can be a useful resource and I don't see why people should feel bad that their kids watching something educational (even Peppa Pig 😄).

[sherazade]

Yabu because there is more to learning than memorising the names of things. Being able to name shapes at 2 is overrated and is not the foundation of future learning . Far more important at this age are things like physical ( moving and handling for e.g )and personal development ( self confidence and self awareness for e.g) which can't be learnt from watching tele am afraid .

[Allthebestnamesareused]

My cousin told her Mum that my 2 year old son had an amazing vocab for a 2 year old because when she took him to the park he told her it was a very blustery day today.

My Aunt of course recognised immediately that we had been reading Winnie-the-Pooh.

Children learn from all areas of their life. I am not sure it really matters where if the programmes you let him watch are suitable.

[bumsexatthebingo]

Yabu. And unfortunately I suspect this might be a stealth boast but there are far more important things 2 yr olds need to be learning that TV won't teach them. He may learn shapes and numbers etc but too much TV will have a detrimental effect on things like speech, social skills, ability to pay attention, behaviour, play skills, motor development, emotional regulation etc. If he is watching enough TV to have picked a lot of stuff up without having learned it any other way I'd say it's probably too much. There's plenty of time to learn the academic stuff - if he's not learning social/communication skills now the effects can be long lasting.

[TheWeeBabySeamus1]

My son is inquisitive and has excellent fine motor skills. His speech is excellent, and more on a level with the 3 year olds in nursery rather than a 2 year old. He is confident, sociable and I dislike the implication that because he knows certain things that he must be lacking in social skills - he is not.

No one is saying that parking a child in front of a tv all day is a good thing. But some tv along with everything else - including socialising - isn't a bad thing.

[RhiWrites]

The nursery said "keep up the good work" OP so plainly what you're doing is fine.

[SpookyPotato]

TV has taught my 2.9yr old so much, along with toddler ipad apps. He understands so much because of them. I am with him as he uses them and repeat things to him. They are a brilliant learning tool, not just mindless nonsense. Your daughter goes to nursery so is getting her other important skills there- sharing, social etc. My DS will be doing the same when he gets his free hours. It's not like you're keeping him inside watching tv all day until it's time to start school!

[derxa]

Yabu. He's learning shape labels and extending his vocab. but it's a bit rote. Communication skills are a lot more important than those things at this age. Speech and language caseloads are rammed to the gunnels with children who sit staring at screens.

[derxa]

The children’s communication environment influences language
development. The number of books available to the child, the
frequency of visits to the library, parents teaching a range of activities
and the number of toys available are all important predictors of the
child’s expressive vocabulary at 2 years. The amount of television on
in the home is also a predictor; as this time increased, so the child’s
score at school entry decreased.
From the study below.
www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/181549/DFE-RR134.pdf

[LaurieMarlow]

Where on earth has anyone got hold of the idea that the OP's DS's social skills and physical development are lacking?

Nothing she said suggested that. So quit the fantasy projecting please.

Also, the OP has not said her child is dumped in front of the TV for hours on end. Just that he watches some age appropriate programmes that happen to be teaching him shapes and numbers. In what fucked up universe is this a bad thing?

[Reality16]

My 6yo watches operation ouch and knows more about how the body works than I do. Is a great educational program imo. Nothing wrong with kids learning through tv

[bumsexatthebingo]

The op hasn't said what her child's other skills are like but they are generally poor if screen time is excessive. Screens shouldn't be a substitute for adult interaction. If a screen is teaching your child more than you like the op has said that isn't good for children.

[LaurieMarlow]

Where's the evidence the screen time is excessive?

Where's the evidence that the child is lacking adult interaction?

I'm sure the OP is teaching her child lots of things. Give me one good reason why her child shouldn't benefit from other sources if knowledge, like, in this case tv?

You would have a valid point if tv was his only source of interaction with the world, but there's absolutely nothing in the OP to suggest this.

[BarryTheKestrel]

My DD (21months) has learnt a lot from the TV, but we play for hours on end every day, go out every day, read every day, talk constantly, however things also need to be done and if I leave her playing in silence she cries, so the TV goes on in the background. She plays and watches, she has learnt words that would never be in our day to day vocabulary and picks up things like colours and shapes much quicker because it's cemented by seeing it on TV as well as us talking and playing.

TV is not a bad thing, as long as social interaction is not lacking. YABNU.

[sherazade]

Laurie - the evidence is in the op where she states her dc watches 'too much ' of a certain programme which is about problem solving
A) too much = excessive
B) problem solving isn't learnt by watching tele but by doing things
In addition , the op values the learning from watching television more than the learning gained from interaction and hands on experience as indicated in the thread title that the tv is his most used source of learning

[LaurieMarlow]

In answer to your points sherazade, I suspect the OP is just picking up on the general hand wringing of the anti-screen brigade when it comes to her language used and thread title. I doubt she genuinely means that tv teachs her child more than she does. And if she stopped to think about it, she'd be reassured that she's teaching her child a whole variety of social, emotional, independence, physical and mental skills.

Who decides what is 'too much'? The OP hasn't even quantified how much. Yet so many are so quick to believe he's watching so much he's lacking in other skills

[sherazade]

Am not anti screen but having worked in early years for five years I was surprised to find out how common it was for parents to genuinely believe that it tv was far more educational than hands on experience because their kids learnt to mimic vocabulary from it .