This article might be worth taking the time to check out,
although it may be archived since it's yesterday's news. One of the
findings in that study is quite predictable. The kids that spend an
inordinate amount of time sitting in front of screens have greater
tendencies toward dangerous obesity and other physical and mental
problems including an inability to consider the real world as real at
all. Anyone who has noticed benefits from regular
exercise will be able to confirm that finding at least anecdotally.
All kids are different of course and I'm glad to hear that yours
are doing so well in school. Tim Lohrmann
STEVE's POST
Dear Visionaries,
Tim may be right about tv. However there is a new phenonemon - that
of tv linked video games that has changed the nature of tv
significantly in my view.
My children are less apt to sit passively
in front of the screen and more likely to be interacting w/ the bad
guys w/ a gun, racing a car, going on a quest, conducting a war as a
general, or taking Mario through the trials of Hercules. I don't know
if it is better but I am quite sure it is a significantly different
experience than watching Gerald McBoingBoing as I liked to do.
Their attention span for these interactive games seems to extend
over hours, days, weeks, months, ..... or until they beat the game.
They seem to be doing fine in school and they assure me they will not
grow up to be ax murderers. However, I remain concerned about the
conditioning effect of accepting (extreme) violence imbedded in some
video games.
STeve Cooke
TIM's FIRST POST
> Is it OK to link threads?
>
> TV rules the roost in many homes, and that fact probably has more
> to do with school discipline problems school than almost anything
> else.
>
>
> For an excellent look at some of the mental and physical
> problems that TV presents for kids, check out this article on today's
> Seattle Times website:
> The Skinny on TV
> http://www.seattletimes.com/news/lifestyles/html98/peds_021198.html