TALKING SKILLS

ENCOURAGES PASSIVITY Speech is a dynamic process; watching TV is passive. Lindsay says, “A parent’s language input is spontaneous and relevant to activities, and this has a huge impact on a child’s language development.”

IT’S A TIME STEALER Television takes time away from children being taught appropriate social communicative skills such as obtaining eye contact, taking turns to talk, requesting information, remaining relevant to a specific topic, and not interrupting another speaker.

TV ENCOURAGES SIGHT NOT SOUND, because it’s primarily a visual stimulus. Children don’t have to listen to understand what is going on. “Often, children will be so stimulated by the visual input of the TV that they can block out the auditory information. Certain programmes have no language in them at all, and they’re not helping language development. Story tapes and CDs are a healthy alternative.