Hmmm.....sounds FAMILIAR?
It is indeed quite common nowadays that technology and media are now slowly taking over the place of various areas in our lives for example: from FAN to AIR-CONDITIONER, POSTING LETTERS to E-MAILS, TELEPHONES to HAND PHONES, educational BOOKS to educational TV programmes and etc.
It is a fact that technology does help to make our lives easier in many ways and that the media too has provided us tons of convenience in getting information, communication and etc.
HOWEVER....
Is it appropriate to replace Educational DVDs to our daily interaction with our little ones whenever we give excuses of "NO TIME, TOO BUSY, or IT'S OKAY! MY CHILD LOVES IT...SO WHY NOT?"
The following article adapted from "MY CHILD" magazine has provided views and studies from various researches concerning the matter of Educational DVDs as NOT NURTURING material to toddlers.
"Research recently has shown that toddlers shown "educational" DVDs actually have worse vocabularies than children who didn't.
Far from an IQ boost for them, they appear to hinder learning, according to a team from California University who carried out a study of almost 100 one-and-two-years-olds, using a DVD from the Baby Einstein range.
Being with their parents proved more stimulating, says Jean Gross, an educational psychologist, who said that middle class children are struggling to communicate because working parents are unable to spend enough quality time with them, read them bedtime stories or eat meals with them. "BABIES ARE PRIMED TO RESPOND TO A FACE, NOT A MACHINE," says Gross.
According to speech and behavioural expert Sioban Boyce, the middle class habit of speaking to little children as though they were adults is not only pretentious but also harmful.
Addressing little children like grown-ups can have long-term consequences on their ability to communicate properly as they get older. They might find it hard to maintain friendships and can become either introverted or frustrated, and even aggresive.
"By understanding big expressions, where we elongate vowels, make noises and adopt a sing-song tone, babies learn to "read" our faces and body language as well as understanding what we are trying to convey, whether thats excitement or anticipation or sadness or anger," says Boyce.
A DVD, no matter how "fun and stimulating", is no substitute for one-to-one interaction. Babies are fascinated by faces, says Boyce, as they need to look at them properly understand what they are saying.
