Book Description
In The Plug-In Drug, Marie Winn demonstrates "with devastating persuasiveness" (The Washington Post) that television has a negative impact on child development, school achievement, and family life. But rather than focusing on program improvement as a solution, Winn proposes that the problem lies within the seductive act of TV watching itself. Extensive TV watching alters children's relations with the real world, depriving them of far more valuable real life experiences, especially playing and reading. Ever sympathetic to parents' need for relief, Winn proposes ways to control this addictive medium and live with it successfully. This 25th anniversary edition addresses the variety of new electronic media that have supplemented television in the home and increased children's bondage to screen experiences. It includes new sections on:
* Computers in the classroom
* Computer and video games
* The VCR
* The V-Chip and other control devices
* TV programming for babies
* Television and physical health
Customer Reviews:
Irresponsible.......2007-02-21
This book is ultimately an opinion piece.
The studies and science used to drive the author's point home are not explored objectively.
One area of study the author focuses on what she feels is a detrimental effect to left brain thinking - by illustrating that television viewing engages the right brain more than the left... this point makes no sense in her argument when considering that right brain development is also important to the whole mind, and has a history of neglect in the education system.
Most of her claims are borne out with 'evidence' she gleans from anecdotes. She especially likes to rely on retired teachers and other people who are unaccustomed to modern living. Surely their experience has value - but when presented with no observations from other people (giving that retired teachers must surely make up a small percentage of the educated population) is entirely irresponsible. One brief mention of her reason for this is given - that anyone younger has been brain damaged by television, and hypnotized into being its devoted disciple.
Television is presented as a mindless activity - regardless of the fact that some of the most creative, talented, artistic and educated people the world has ever seen are responsible for what is produced on television. Surely there is trash TV - but there is irrefutable value in other programing, including children's programing.
Her assertion that children are passive zombies (her actual words) while watching television does not bare out in the experience of many people. If a parent is disconnected enough from their child to not understand the motivations for their viewing specific programs - that parent is failing to connect - the television is not to blame. For the people that do have an actual problem, are out of touch with their kids, allow them to have televisions in their rooms at a young age and watch as much as they please - this book is of value.
Most people can evaluate their own lives and find simple solutions. The assumption of this book is that they can not - and since some people watch more television than is healthy (for their social development), everyone should get rid of their televisions.
She also insists that computers are just as bad, have no value, and should not be present in schools. Perhaps she has not toured many workplaces in the last 20 years, to see that computer skills are practically a necessity in order to put food on the table.
The book preaches. It does not present facts, but opinions - and one-sided interpretetions of fact. Read the footnotes and see that her sources are entirely undependable - and often out of print. Incorrect and irrelevant information eventually dies - it is sad commentary that this book saw a reprinting.
Powerfully persuasive or totally histrionic? You be the judge........2005-12-23
With this book, Marie Winn has written an arch (though lengthy) indictment of television's pervasive and largely detrimental impact on childhood culture. With sixty years' worth of data, studies and surveys as ammo, she makes a nearly airtight case for why television should be strictly limited for the elementary children and why the recommendation from the American Academy of Pediatrics that no children under the age of 2 be allowed to watch is not just commendable, but physiologically and neurologically imperative. She lays out her small mountain of evidence that the practice of ritualistic television watching dulls children's sensitivity to others, negatively affects family life, nearly annihalates their motivation to contribute to their own development as critical thinkers and, especially, critical and enthusiastic readers, and generally, is neither necessary nor desirable as the cultural stronghold it's become.
Ms. Winn peppers her work with diverse perspectives from different families on the effects of television on children, from mothers who let their toddlers watch unlimitedly, to old-skool teachers who think it's ruined kid's minds. She also makes a comparative (though obviously tacked-on for the updated version) survey of computer games, video games, and online usage, arguing that it's all "screen time" and has more or less the same effect on children's intellectual and emotional productivity. She provides case studies of families who have tried to severely limit or altogether forgo television with unbiased candor (some of the families fail in their efforts, find the effort totally unpleasant, or end up going with a less radical approach than their initial cold-turkey strategy). Most helpfully, she provides practical tactics for reducing or getting rid of television in your home without causing your children and spouse to disown you. She lays out the ten most common reasons why parents fail to act on limiting their kids' television usage, then one by one, she provides solid, confidence-building reasoning against each one. After I read this section, I felt like I had a LOT more conviction in my decision making, and in applying her strategies, I will say that everything she predicted has come true: my child is indeed reading more, we are indeed spending more time together as a family, his social skills have indeed improved, he has become less aggressive and more imaginative, and we don't miss anything we used to watch.
With all that said, it's important to understand this author's perspective going into this. According to Ms. Winn, there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING GOOD about letting your child watch television. She acknowledges that there are "many fine television shows" and that "some may even be educational," but in the end, her thesis is that it's not the content of what your kids watch that matters, but the *experience* of sitting passively and "letting images wash over you" in a half-trance "zone" for hours that is so damaging for children.
This philosophy, while in and of itself isn't necessarily wrong or bad, leads Ms. Winn to make incrementally more far-fetched and less supported claims, including that television makes children so unpleasant that it has actually caused a greater number of working mothers, is largely responsible for destroying the nuclear family, can probably be blamed for school violence (her reasoning: children whose main social experience is not with another human being but with an electronic machine can't be expected to care about other humans' well-being), is causally linked to climbing divorce rates, ADHD, the loss of music and arts programs in school, the rise in learning disabilities and autism, bad politicians getting elected (it's not like a television-educated/dependent public can be expected to make sound, informed decisions!) and... I could go on.
I think that, had she simply laid out her case about the direct effect on children, this book would've been enough to convince any caring parent that TV-watching is something that, for children, should not occur unfettered. I feel, though, that she felt a need to "drive her point home" by adding all these other macrocosmic reasons to support this claim, and it wasn't just unnecessary, it was just plain hard to believe after a certain point, and undermines her entire thesis.
Still, I would recommend this book to any parent. Her main point is a strong one; her case for her claims, if laden with support-overkill, is damn near airtight. If you are a parent, you won't help but question your own children's television viewing habits and more strongly consider setting limits of your own, and that, ultimately, is a very good thing.
An enlightening book on the silver screen.......2005-05-08
While Winn's thought-provoking book focuses on the sociological harms TV can cause, it falls short in other areas, namely, the spiritual and neurological harms of TV. Another book, "Television: Prelude to Chaos" by Frank Poncelet, answered some of these questions I had after reading Winn's book. I also liked the hilarious cartoons throughout Winn's book that illustrate how silly it really is to wast your life away in front of the idiot box / boob tube / one-eyed monster.
If I could give negative stars I would.......2005-04-08
This writing discredits itself by the use of inappropriate quotations, gross generalities, and by lacking the ability to see the other side of her examples.
Kill Your Television.......2005-02-21
As a researcher and a college educator, I didn't expect much when I picked up this book. The topic interested me, so I checked it out of the library, but with reservations. I expected scathing rhetoric that belittled all positive uses of TV. I expected Winn to be a "Kill Your Television" type of author.
What I found in this book surprised me, to say the least. Winn sited hundreds of studies that described the possible negative effects of television but kept her "thus proving that TV is the devil" mentality to a dull roar. Although there were instances where she stated that a study's results "prove" that TV is bad for kids, this was not the main mantra of her book. Winn stated that she understood why parents used TV in the home, and gave suggestions for how to change the viewing habits of a child and a family. She described personal accounts of TV Turnoffs, some positive and some negative in their outcome. She also discussed other media such as the Internet and video games, and gave information about how these may affect children as well.
The best use that I found for this book was as a jumping-off point for discussions in my child psychology classes. My reading this book gave me the opportunity to discuss these opinions and research findings with my students, and I found that these discussions gave them a lot to think about. Personally this book made me examine my own childhood that was filled with TV and also made me question whether I will allow my own future children to watch this "drug."
Book Description
rican children watch television an average of 3 hours per day, and many parents sheepishly concede that they rely on television as an electronic babysitter. But TV is not necessarily harmful to kids. The authors present groundbreaking scientific evidence that television can be a powerful and effective toolfor entertainment, for education, and for socialization. The secret is for parents to learn how to use television as a tool, not a crutch. With a detailed explanation of the effects of television viewing on kids emotional, mental, and physical development, plus tips to enable parents to act on this new knowledge, theyll soon be able to turn TV into a positive force in their childs life.
Customer Reviews:
THE ELEPHANT IN THE LIVING ROOM.......2007-08-16
I am a child and adolescent psychiatrist and a parent. I came across this important book as I was researching my own.
If you care about how your kids live through their childhood and make their way forward through a world saturated with media and technology, you must read this wonderful and informative book. Many principles discussed here may be extrapolated to the Internet.
Don't miss it!
Eitan D. Schwarz, MD, DLFAPA, FAACAP
Not perfect, but helpful.......2007-01-08
I picked this book up already convinced that t.v. is basically the worst thing that ever happened to society, so I was skeptical to say the least. However, as the authors state, their intent is to admit that t.v. is here to stay, and for the overwhelming majority, getting totally rid of it would not be an option, and offer guidance in how to make watching it as beneficial as possible.
What this amounts to, it seems, is telling readers that your children under 7 are basically confined to 'Sesame Street', 'Mister Rodger's Neighborhood', 'Blues Clues', and nature shows on Discovery channel. I found their assessment of Sesame Street a little over the top in their praise of its supposed benefits, though later on in the book they admit that merchandising has begun to compromise the integrity of the show and its imitators. The fact is, there are a number of major studies that have directly challenged the ability of shows like Sesame Street to produce real-life results in reading and mathematics, and much of the research the authors cite as supportive of the show was done or funded by the creators of the show themselves, a definite conflict of interest when funding is on the line.
The research on content in terms of sexuality, violence, and materialism that is dealt with is pretty accurate. My biggest disappointment was that the authors failed to spend any real time dealing with the long term effects of visual media on learning ability at the neurological level, a subject that in and of itself makes one quite wary of significant exposure to television. There was maybe a paragraph or two, but that's all.
Overall, the impression I got was that the authors have an underlying uneasiness with the whole idea of t.v., and if they thought enough of their readers would accept it, they'd recommend chucking the thing out the window. However, as stated in the beginning, they know this is impossible, so the book ends up sounding like a hesitant admission of the fact and an almost reluctant setting forth of strategies to overcome the inherent and perisistent flaws of the medium, punctuated here and there by brief offerings of lavish praise for the possibilities of t.v. to expand our horizons and foster meaningful conversation. In short, most chapters give all kinds of wonderful suggestions, but are interspersed with admissions that seem to contradict their earlier celebrations of the potential benefits of television.
Personally, I would still recommend the book since I know also the futility of asking people to abandon t.v. altogether. However, I would strongly urge the reader to also get a copy of 'The Plug-In Drug" by Mary Winn, a book written about ten years ago that comes to the same basic conclusions and recommendations, but is more forthright about the downside of television and the industries it propogates. I find it significant (and revealing), that it was never cited by the authors of this book, considering that it is seen by most who have followed this subject for some time (as the authors obviously have been) as a seminal work. Critics of Winn have labeled her a Luddite, but while she does come off as somewhat hostile toward t.v., she is also realistic and manages to stay objective. It is a necessary companion to this book.
Fact-filled and easy to read.......2006-09-24
Finally, there is a book I can recommend to help parents make informed choices about the television viewing in their homes. This well-referenced book is a comprehensive summary of the existing research about TV viewing and youth, yet it remains an accessible read, peppered with interesting personal vignettes. Rather than telling people to throw out the tube, this book offers practical tips to help parents get the most out of what's good on TV, and strategies to mitigate its harmful effects. Reading this book I found both the evidence and the solutions needed to control the role of TV in the lives of children.
A must read for parents.......2006-09-22
If you have a television and a child, you must read this book! Without being remotely preachy or judgmental, The Elephant in the Living Room lays out both the benefits and pitfalls of TV watching for children, and gives manageable solutions for minimizing the bad and maximizing the good. The anecdotes lay out the issues in a way that's clear and entertaining, and the advice is specific and realistic. Each chapter ends with a sort of action plan, which makes it easy to keep track of the important points and put them into practice. The book is also funny and entertaining, making it not just a painless way to get important information, but a pleasant one. There is nothing else like this out there--The Elephant in the Living Room really is a must-read for anyone raising children in today's media packed world.
How do we know what is good for your children and why? .......2006-09-13
TV has been around for over 50 years and has become for most, an unquestioned or unexamined part of life. It just IS. Is what? Good for you? Bad for you? How do we know? We should be critically examining many facets of our culture. But how? Pediatrician and scientist Christakis and Zimmerman give us ways to decide by presenting reasoned opinion backed up by studies in a very accessible way. The concepts are mostly intuitive but not easy for many of us to act upon to benefit our children. Much of what kids watch on TV isn't good for them, nor for society. They give good guidelines for how to use the beast. Ignore this book at your grandchildren's peril.
Book Description
This seminal volume is a comprehensive review of the literature on children's television, covering fifty years of academic research on children and television. The work includes studies of content, effects, and policy, and offers research conducted by social scientists and cultural studies scholars. The research questions represented here consider the content of programming, children's responses to television, regulation concerning children's television policies, issues of advertising, and concerns about sex and race stereotyping, often voicing concerns that children's entertainment be held to a higher standard. The volume also offers essays by scholars who have been seeking answers to some of the most critical questions addressed by this research. It represents the interdisciplinary nature of research on children and television, and draws on many academic traditions, including communication studies, psychology, sociology, education, economics, and medicine. The full bibliography is included on CD.
Arguably the most comprehensive bibliography of research on children and television, this work illustrates the ongoing evolution of scholarship in this area, and establishes how it informs or changes public policy, as well as defining its role in shaping a future agenda. The volume will be a required resource for scholars, researchers, and policy makers concerned with issues of children and television, media policy, media literacy and education, and family studies.
Customer Reviews:
Summarizing 50 Years of Research.......2007-02-26
There are an awful lot of opinions about children's television. This has in turn generated an awful lot of research, most of it well done, about the effects of television on children. This book, in turn consists of eight essays that summarize the relavant research in critical areas such advertising, program content, how children learn from TV, health aspects and of course violence. The essays are written by individuals who are recognized experts in their fields.
This book has been in preparation for about ten years and represents the net result of reviewing more than 2,000 research papers published in the United States. It describes the nature of the research that has been conducted as well as their findings. It also discusses, in many cases, the effects of what the findings discovered are also mentioned.
Finally there is a complete bibliography of the research reports included in the book and on a CD supplied with the book.
Customer Reviews:
Great for a Mister Rogers Fan.......2007-09-19
Although this book was written for adults, you can read it to your children and they would probably enjoy it. You learn lots of the inside things about the show that are fun to know or point out to your kids. Understanding that this is a book geared towards adults, you will learn lots of things that will help you understand children. You will also find parts of the book to be funny and touching. I have enjoyed the book and would recommend it for Mister Rogers' fans.
Great for all fans of the show.......2006-03-18
I bought this book primarily as a gift for my cousin, whose son is a big fan of the show. I thought that at 2 1/2, he would soon start asking the type of questions addressed in the book, and this would help his parents answer them. I also enjoyed the innocence of the sometimes silly questions asked by the letter writers, and how Mr. Rogers dealt with each person with the compassion and understanding that has made him a family favorite for the last thirty years. Even though he is gone and will be sorely missed, I'm glad that I could help pass on his wisdom to a new generation of fans.
Worth the read.......2005-10-01
If you love Mr. Rogers, this book is worth your read. Through his letters he reminds us once again how to be a good "friend" and respect the feelings of all the people in our neighborhood.
Mr. Rogers, the planet's best neighbor!.......2005-08-20
I watched Mr. Rogers as a child, I watched and respected him and his TV "ministry" as a Kindergarten teacher and mother. I think he was the most genuine and caring person on television! Very calming and great for kid's self-esteem....what a wonderful role model and human being. This as well as the other books about and by Fred Rogers are priceless. This book is very touching....letters from his viewers with his own responses. A beautiful thing!
Overflowing with wisdom, compassion, and grace.......2004-03-10
In November of 1998, I was sitting in a computer lab/library at an airbase in Saudi Arabia when an unusual magazine cover caught my eye. It was an issue of ESQUIRE, and taking up almost the whole cover was none other than Mister Fred Rogers, grinning from ear to ear. I read Tom Junod's marvelous article about this heroic man (you'll have to find a copy of the article to learn why I use the word "heroic") over and over and over, many times out loud.
So my fascination with Mister Rogers was rekindled for the first time in more than 15 years. But as a child I was mostly fascinated with a magical trolley which could transport you into an enchanted land called Make-Believe. Mr. Junod gave me a much deeper - and therefore, much more fascinating - glimpse at what this man is like.
He was a man who loved children and the adults who once were children as much as he loved himself. He hated television. He believed (or so his actions seem to convey) that his outflow of compassion was as much a necessity for his survival as his intake of oxygen. And his favorite word was grace. In fact, if you met him in person and received his autograph, he would write the word "grace" underneath it - in Greek.
Unmerited favor received from God.
Believing his standards to be no higher than that of God's, Mister Rogers strove to treat others with as much grace as he had received.
The reason I state all of this is because it will all be proven when you read DEAR MISTER ROGERS. This book, containing letters both to and from Mister Rogers, shows that he can be funny, sad, nurturing, and firm. But he was always compassionate. Never in this book is he ever insincere. On more than a few occasions, he proves he does not lack the humility to admit some of the mistakes he has made in life.
Some of the letter exchanges are very cute. None are more so than the one about the father whose little boy insisted that Mister Rogers doesn't "poop"; to which Mister Rogers replies, "I am a real person. And, one thing for certain is that all real people 'poop.'" (Page 7)
The fact that Mister Rogers had a hand in compiling and editing all of these letters, shows his sense of humor. For instance, in the final chapter, 17-year-old Tyler writes
Dear Mister Rogers,
In your younger years did you get a lot of chicks because you were Mister Rogers?
(Page 185)
Some of the letters will provoke different emotions, like the ones from Alexandria, who at the tender age of four, was suffering from leukemia; and another letter about one child who listened to (rather than watched) the program because she was blind. (Interesting side-note I learned from Mr. Junod's article: Mr. Rogers was color-blind.)
Unfortunately, it appears that this book is going out of print. But this book is one of those rare gems that are worth looking hard for. I guarantee that this book will bring you pleasure every time you read it.
Book Description
At its best, educational television can provide children with enormous opportunities and can serve as a window to new experiences, enrich academic knowledge, enhance attitudes and motivation, and nurture social skills. This volume documents the impact of educational television in a variety of subject areas and proposes mechanisms to explain its effects. Drawing from a wide variety of research spanning several disciplines, author Shalom M. Fisch analyzes the literature on the impact of educational resources. He focuses on television programs designed for children rather than for adults, although adult literature is included when it is particularly relevant. In addition, much of the discussion concerns the effects of unaided viewing by children, rather than viewing in the context of adult-led follow-up activities. The role of parent-child co-viewing and issues relevant to the use of television in school or child care also receives consideration.
This volume is intended to make the disparate literature on educational television's impact more accessible, by bringing it together into a centralized resource. To that end, the volume draws together empirical data on the impact of educational television programs--both academic and prosocial--on children's knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behavior. In addition to its emphasis on positive effects, this volume addresses a gap in the existing research literature regarding children's learning from exposure to educational television. Acknowledging that little theoretical work has been done to explain why or how these effects occur, Fisch takes a step toward correcting this situation by proposing theoretical models to explore aspects of the mental processing that underlies children's learning from educational television.
With its unique perspective on children's educational television and comprehensive approach to studying the topic, this volume is required reading for scholars, researchers, and students working in the area of children and television. It offers crucial insights to scholars in developmental psychology, family studies, educational psychology, and related areas.
Customer Reviews:
The Positive Power of Television.......2004-08-15
The book is an excellent introduction to the enormous scientific literature addressing how educational television impacts children's learning. There is a wealth of solid scientific data showing that children who watch educational programs, such as Sesame Street, perform better in a variety of skill areas than children who do not.
Fisch's overview is easy-to-understand and well organized. Readers do not need a science background to enjoy the book. Parents of young children will find this book an important guidebook as they consider how much and what type of television their children should watch. Teachers will find this book as an important resource for identifying television programs that may be useful in the classroom. All readers will put down the book convinced that television can provide young viewers with opportunities to learn.
Book Description
Mark Collins and Margaret Mary Kimmel detail the story of Pennsylvania native Fred Rogers and his classic PBS children’s program Mister Roger’s Neighborhood.
Customer Reviews:
One of the greatest 20th century entertainers.......2003-06-15
In 2003, Fred "Mister" Rogers departed this world after a lifetime of public service to all children.
In a day when many people from all points on the political spectrum had eagerly reduced `compassion', `equality' and `pro-child' to catchy, but ultimately divisive and meaningless words, he continued to bring out the best in everybody.
He is one of the few people in this world deserving of all his awards/honors and then much more.
As evidence of his timeless appeal, I never tired of watching his namesake PBS children's show. Even when I was much older (and out of the intended demographic service range), I loved the truly nurturing environment regularly brough into my living room. Well before I realized my parents were not getting along (eventually divorcing), Mr. Rogers "told" me via daily broadcast that good families come in all structures, and the family format is subsequently less important than how the individual members treat eachother and themselves. When my parents finally did divorce in high school, I had been so helped by Roger's work, I immediately flashed back to his reassuring songs.
That the sets were decidedly showing their age in places by the late 1980's, and the cast themselves featured in some segments had died mattered much less than their overall mission of helping ALL kids navigate an often unforgiving world in uplifting and supportive tones.
The mostly male ensemble cast of the neighborhood (although this changed in latter seasons) was not problematic in the long-run for this feminist, because it suggested an alternate male sexuality that was built on empathy and peace as opposed to macho swaggering. It was okay for men of all ages to cry, hug and freely embrace a side of themselves that Western culture remains fixated on suppresing.
At a different developmental stage in the human life-span, kids were smart, and did not deserve the condescending behavior so many other adults (including those on `educational/children's' programming) spew at us in the pursuit of ratings and the almighty American dollar.
Unlike PBS's other "flagship" children's program, Sesame Street (now famous for abandoning the original-audience at-risk urban kids to focus on the offspring of suburban yuppies), Mr. Rogers always remembered his audience, and never sold out or let us down.
Even when growing partisan political battles and budget cuts provided powerful incentive to follow suit, he made sure principles were more than abstract words. All children had an inalienable right to be treated with respect and dignity.
From tackling such edgy subjects as the RFK Assassination to hostages and war, Mr. Rogers always both captured and nurtured his audience's imagination. Talking things out wasn't necessarily high-tech or flashy, but it was unbelievably better when compared to letting personal feelings bottle up inside.
Adding to the quality, Rogers was scrupulous about not parading his religious affiliations (licensed minister in the Presbyterian Church) as the reason his advice should be taken.
For my generation with the unfortunate timing to grow up with the beginnings of a markedly aggressive televangelist craze, his conduct provided a welcome alternative to the less-than-admirable actions of other adults in our world. It was not enough to simply apply religious freedoms to one's self, they belong to every citizen.---including those of differing perspectives and no religious affiliation.
Thus, the most constructive educational pedagogy was one that did not continually promote any religion (or the formal absence) but far more civil neutrality.
As with so many other people, I never got to personally thank him for the gift, but I know I am using it whenever I think both critically and compassionately about the larger world around me. I also know I am not the only one who remembers him through this type of a tribute, and our collective efforts will produce the best kind of off-screen "neighborhood" possible.
The not-so-subtle discounting of this very same instructional idea by self-appointed educational guardians suggests both how far ahead of his time he was and effective Rogers truly remains.
RIP Mr. Rogers.
fantastic.......2003-04-28
i found this book remaindered for a very low price, but it is totally worth the full list price. a respectful, intelligent look at the great man Fred Rogers and his TV show that isn't even a TV show, really... varying points of views. the essayists only occasionally become too weirdly academic or navel-gazing. i like the production values on this hardcover, too -- it's fully cloth-covered with a full cloth, smythe-sewn binding, acid free paper, and neat endpapers. the back cover photo rules, too. 2003 May 3rd is the Mr Rogers memorial ceremony in downtown pittsburgh -- go!
Book Description
A good-news book for parents, Into the Minds of Babes presents an engaging examination of the current research into how exposure to television and other "screen time" affects babies and toddlers.
As a mother, Lisa Guernsey began to wonder about her use of television and videos with her two young daughters. As a reporter, she began investigating what the current consensus was dictating. What she found was a babble of research, conflicting advice, and the rather draconian mandate from the American Academy of Pediatrics: no screen time at all before the age of two.
Advocating a nuanced, informed approach to television viewing and focusing on the birth-to-five age group, Guernsey tackles the mountain of information and misinformation, distilling it into this highly readable and thoughtful book. Parents of toddlers will be relieved to learn that there is no credible research supporting the AAP's dire recommendation--and they will be empowered to make their own informed choices. In addition to dispensing friendly anecdotal evidence and detailing recent research, Guernsey also provides helpful tips for parents who want to navigate what was once a given in parenting, the television as babysitter--when is it helpful and when might it be harmful to the developing minds of our children?
Customer Reviews:
Great Read For Anyone With a Child and a TV.......2007-09-29
Most of the mothers I know are aware of the somewhat draconian guidelines issued by the American Academy of Pediatricians regarding children under 2 and TV-watching (don't let them, ever) and turn on Sesame Street anyway, fighting the urge to look over their shoulder to see which AAP spy is waiting to catch them and call "bad mama!" Lisa Guernsey's book gets to the bottom of the multitude of studies conducted on the effects of TV/media and children, explaining the most recent scholarly research in non-patronizing ways. By addressing some of the most debated/unresolved fears parents have when it comes to TV, she provides a practical guide to good decision making about media use and a wildly fascinating look at how young children develop cognitively, all without being boring.
Which, of course, is a huge plus, wouldn't you say?
Highly recommended to anyone who wonders about the effect of TV--you might be surprised by her findings!
Extremely practical advice.......2007-09-21
With two preschoolers, I'm always looking for practical advice to manage the chaos. This book was both interesting and comforting, with a "real world" perspective on what screen time means in the American family. The book has a thoughtful discussion of the brouhaha raised by the American Academy of Pediatrics pronouncement that children under 2 should have ZERO time in front of the television. The intriguing result of Guernsey's research? The AAP made the pronouncement with no scientific basis, just the thought that eliminating screen time was bound to increase beneficial interactive time between parents/caregivers and children. Definitely worth a read by parents of young children.
Just the right mix of research and anecdotes.......2007-09-20
Ms. Guernsey tackles the research, warnings, and well meaning 'advice' that parents are baraged with and presents the findings in a format that is a great mixture of research (fully annotated for those who want to delve deeper) and personal experiences of real parents.
Her writing style makes the book a joy to read, as you follow Ms. Guernsey through her journey to find answers. This is not simply another parenting book that espouses a particular path, rather it provides the tools for parents to make educated decisions.
As a busy parent, make the time to read this fascinating book.
Common sense advice for thinking parents.......2007-09-17
Lisa Guernsey takes an incendiary topic and provides a reasonable, thoughtful approach that made me comfortable with how my family approaches television for our toddlers. The book digests an enormous amount of research into layman's language -- and debunks the American Academy of Pediatrics draconian guidelines. It's made me a choosier consumer of kids' television, but also allayed my fears that switching on Blues Clues for 30 minutes will turn my kids into zombies. Planning to put this next to "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Babies" on my list of staple baby shower gifts.
Customer Reviews:
Insightful works on the effect of the media onto our minds.......2000-09-02
I like this book very much, and believe that it should deserve much more attention. This book eloquently discusses the effect of television, video game and radio onto our minds. Even today, many people still naively assert that viewing television is bad while reading books is good. This book attempts to go deeper into the matter. It reports such interesting research as comparing the effect of television and radio, with two groups of children each hear or view a story from the radio or television. When the children were required to retell the story, it was found that those viewing the story tend to use more pronounce, such as "he" and "she", with a lot of gestures than those hearing the story. It is believed that these pronounce actually refer to the visual images in the minds of those children watching the story. This can clearly be related to today problem of our children, who grew up with the television, of the difficulty in expressing themselves. Another interesting report investigates imagination as affected by different media. Again two groups of children each hear or view a story from the radio or television. The playing of the story was stopped in the middle before its end. The children were required to continue and finish the story. Children hearing the story are found to be more imaginative and creative in terms of the novel elements in their ways of completing the story. The result clearly indicates that the radio often leaves more space for the hearers to fill in. As a whole, this book gives much insight into the matter, particularly on the implications to educating our children in how to view these different media. If the above sounds interesting to you, I will strongly recommend this book to you.
Book Description
Television continues to play a major role in the lives of most children and adolescents, but current research also reflects the explosive growth in new technologies and their widespread use by young people. Integrating information from communication literature as well as from child development and other psychological domains, author Judith Van Evra presents a summary and synthesis of what is currently known about the media's impact on children's physical, cognitive, social, and emotional development, to help discern the complex and significant interplay between other forces in a child's life and the use of various media.
This third edition contains updated and expanded coverage of research findings and a review of changing trends in media use including computers, the Internet, books and magazines, music videos, and video games as well as television. New chapters focus on basic research designs and methodologies; cultural diversity; health-related matters and lifestyle choices; media's impact on various social-emotional aspects of a child's development; the use of technology for information and for entertainment; and intervention possibilities, parent strategies, and education. An overall conclusions section at the end of the book provides a cogent summary of findings to date and stimulates discussion of questions and ideas for future research.
Television and Child Development explores how, and to what extent, television and other media actually affect children, and what role other variables may play in mediating their impact, so that we can maximize technology's potential for enriching children's cognitive, social, and emotional development, while at the same time minimizing any negative influence. This text is appropriate for researchers, teachers, and students in communications, developmental and social psychology, and education, as well as in areas of advertising, leisure studies, family studies, and health promotion.
Books:
- The Pythons
- The Savage Detectives: A Novel
- The Secret Diary of Anne Boleyn
- The Tao of Willie: A Guide to the Happiness in Your Heart
- The Television Sherlock Holmes
- The Tree of Life: A Phylogenetic Classification (Harvard University Press Reference Library)
- The Voice Actor's Guide to Home Recording
- The Worlds Most Haunted Places: From The Secret Files Of Ghostvillage.com
- There's Money Where Your Mouth Is: An Insider's Guide to a Career in Voice-Overs
- This Moment on Earth: Today's New Environmentalists and Their Vision for the Future
Books Index
Books Home
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General
| Education
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television
Endangered Minds: Why Children Don't Think And What We Can Do About It
The Other Parent: The Inside Story of the Media's Effect on Our Children
Failure to Connect: How Computers Affect Our Children's Minds--for Better and Worse
Communication and Human Behavior (5th Edition)
Health o Meter HDC100-01 "Grow with Me" Teddy Bear Scale for Babies and Toddlers
Braun IRT 4020 ThermoScan Ear Thermometer
