TV vs TALKING TOYS

Sally - posted on 04/09/2010

TV can cause speech problems because the children learn language in many ways not just by hearing it. They watch closely how you form words and letters. Also TV sound is distorted. We don't pick up on as much as a young child does, their ability to pick up sounds is superior to ours. Another problem with TV is that babies and young children cannot follow and process the fast frames(pictures) by the time the childs brain has registered the picture it and the words that went with it, are long gone.

I don't see to much difference with talking toys. They too distort sound. I avoid them as much as I can. I look for Waldorf and Montessori toys. But we have what I consider and excess of battery operated toys. **Sigh**

There are a few books available on the subject. I am one of those who never remembers book titles, but if you want to know more let me know and I will dig in the book shelf and find them.

One I do know is "TV, the Other Parent." It may change the way you think about TV.

Johnny - posted on 04/09/2010

I completely agree on the Sesame Street issue. I don't find it nearly as engaging or positive now as the old episodes are. We actually picked up some of the vintage episodes on DVD. My daughter shows no interest in the current Sesame Street aside from when they feature letters, but the old show got her excited the one time we showed it to her. She does love Barney though, which I have been known to throw on when she gets up at 5:30 am and I need the extra half hour. If she ends up speech delayed because of it, at least I won't be exhausted when I'm dealing with it, lol. But she's actually verbally right where she should be and loves to read. Unless it is Barney or Curious George or commercials with animals & 80's techno pop, she shows no interest in watching the television, and I intend to keep it that way.

As for the talking toys and books, argh! I pray daily to the battery depletion gods that they act fast. I've never purchased any of them. My husband mistakenly got one and learned his lesson quickly. The others have all been gifts. I think my least favorite is the Cars book that makes autobody shop sounds. Because you really need and want is your toddler repeatedly pressing a button that makes the sound of a pneumatic pump. Pleasant.

Amy - posted on 04/09/2010

For me the speech problems would come from Sesame Street and that darn baby bear with a speech impediment teaching my daughter to imitate it. Gr. So I am not a fan of Sesame Street like I was when I was a child. Okay, that aside... :) I used to put an educational dvd in - signing time or baby einstein - when i was cooking supper just to keep kiddos safe and away from hot stove. I think the only reason tv is a real language issue creator is that it teaches them to stare and listen and not to repeat, interact, or the like. Talking toys bother me because my daughter repeats it's fake tone and ingenuine perkiness. lol. Call me crazy, but I like old fashioned toys like tops, lincoln logs, tinker toys, blocks, etc. It's just annoying to me to listen to the same idiotic sounds/voices over and over and over and....are the batteries dead yet?

LaCi - posted on 04/09/2010

Maybe he's not as delayed as I thought. Nico just said his first tiny sentence. HOORAYYYYY! todays a good day for mommy!

My son is kind of obsessed with video games too. ever since we finally got a Wii he watches it more attentively than he watches curious george, and george was his favorite, the only cartoon he would sit through. We don't play often though, kinda creeps me out lol.

Jackie - posted on 04/09/2010

Well Allison isn't delayed in her speech at all so far. At her year check up the doc said she was at an 18 month level because she can say 6-8 words. I usually turn the TV on when I have to do the dishes or something but her toys are also in the living room. She just likes it when they sing and dance.

Jenny - posted on 04/09/2010

I'm pretty strict with electronics. My 7 year old daughter gets 1-2 hours a week on TV, video games and computer combined. My 2 year old doesn't care so he pretty much gets none. We do watch one movie each morning on the weekends together while we have our coffee. It's our family sunggle time.

When my partner is playing his video games my daughter goes into this zoned out state and nothing else matters but watching that game. That really bothers me so I ensure she is exposed at a minimum.

LaCi - posted on 04/09/2010

I don't really have a problem with the TV, mainly because he doesn't really pay attention to it. He turns it on and finds something he wants on, and then goes to play. *unless a cat shows up on the television screen and then he's right there poking at it saying "ki-y" because he's obsessed with kitties.

However, I HATE the talking toys. There aren't words to express how much I hate them. He would line all of his noisy toys up, turn them all on and keep turning them back on as they went off lol. He wasn't learning anything from them, at all. I don't care what they do, sing the alphabet, count, whatever, he doesn't pay attention to that. So I took most of them to the spare room, and I alternate 2 or 3 per day.

My son also is delayed (IMO) in the speech department, which is driving me crazy I'm not going to lie. It's hard to balance my expectations with what he will actually do. I think its really frustrating because I know he CAN talk, he just wont generally do it. He understand all my commands, does everything I ask him to do-except talk. I don't think it has anything to do with toys or TV, he was tongue tied and he's a boy, so its a double whammy for delayed speech. Fortunately his Ped isn't concerned about it, so I feel a little less devastated. I talked early, I was reading by 3, and I expected/hoped he would do the same.

Kristin - posted on 04/09/2010

I don't like either. Kids learn to speak from the real people they are around. They can watch another real person speak and see how the lips, tongue, and teeth all interact to make the sounds. With TV, there is too much jumping around and that's when it's all dubbed nicely. It's virtually impossible to keep TV and talking toys out of their lives. You do not have to replace batteries in the toys and you can limit what and how much TV your child sees.

You can always ask a speech therapist about this stuff. They will know so much more than the layperson.

Rosie - posted on 04/09/2010

yeah i don't think it's the tv that causes the language issues, i think it's the lack of personal interaction with people that does it.

Jackie - posted on 04/09/2010

Well, that make perfect sense. I knew there was going to be an easy answer that I just wasn't seeing...
Thanks Ladies :)

Lady - posted on 04/09/2010

I think it only creates speech problems if they sit in front of it all day and don't get any real interaction from people. When talking face to face with someone it's not just about words it's the whole interaction - facial expressions, body language and reacting to each other. On TV they are just getting talked at and not learning the intricacies of holding a conversation. I don't think a limited amout of TV will effect children aslong as they get plenty opertunity to "talk" to real people.

C. - posted on 04/09/2010

There can be language issues. The difference is that most people leave the child in front of the TV w/o interacting with them VS. giving them a talking toy to interact with. Giving a child something to interact with not only helps them when they are trying to talk, but it helps them learn other basic skills as well. If you are not using the TV as a babysitter, then you shouldn't have anything to worry about. But if you're like me and you worry about anything and everything, make sure that when you are watching TV with your LO that you are pointing things out and that your speech is clear.