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School Performance Tips

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What's too young?

Can media help or hurt?

  • Kids with more than 4 electronic media items in their room are more than twice as likely to fall asleep in school and while doing their homework
  • Each hour of average daily TV viewing for kids younger than 3 has been associated with negative effects on kids' pre-literacy skills
  • 75% of parents think that knowing how to use digital media is just as important for kids today as traditional skills
  • Kids who watch TV less than one hour a day are more likely to obtain a college degree
Advice and Answers

A fast track to learning or a roadblock?

Parents are under so much pressure to raise kids who do well in school. And children’s programming, for better or worse, takes advantage of this need to succeed. When it comes to how ready they are for school, and how well they’ll do when they get there, common sense is the rule. Your kids can’t learn more from a TV screen than they can from you. A computer can‘t take the place of a real experience. That said, kids love to explore media. And there are ways you can help it be a useful, not wasteful, part of their lives.

What is it?

Can media help your kids get ready for school or improve school performance once they start? The answer is yes and no. Reading to your children from an early age helps them recognize word shapes and letters. Playing shape, color, and recognition games – on the computer or off, can help young kids learn basic concepts. Educational programs for 3-to-5 year olds like Sesame Street, Dora the Explorer, and Blues Clues, introduce literacy and math skills and model the positive social interactions your kids will need upon entering school. It’s when they get a little bit older that media can become more of an interruption than a stimulus to learn.

Why it matters

Studies are showing that there is a correlation between increases in screen time and decreases in school readi¬ness and performance. Your kids – if they’re like kids everywhere – will spend more time in front of the TV and computer screen every year, not less. That’s why it’s really important to help younger kids learn from many different sources in preparation for entering school. As kids get older, research has shown that too much media time can have a harmful impact on kids’ academic performance, leading to poor grades and low reading abilities. And media disrupts concentration a great deal, as kids are often texting and IM-ing when they do their homework. The result is they’re often not giving it their full attention.

Parent tips for preschool kids

  • Keep TVs out of kids’ bedrooms.
  • Choose media carefully, sticking to high-quality non-commercial educational media.
  • Balance time in front of a screen with other playtime.
  • Read books together, listen to music, walk, run, and play.

Parent tips for elementary school kids

  • Limit daily screen time – that means gaming and the computer, too!
  • Keep the computer in a central place so you can monitor time and destinations.
  • Check out online gaming and social sites for yourself so you know what they’re about.
  • Pick age-appropriate television and movies, and TV shows that are educational and fun.
  • Keep kids reading. They’ll need it!

Parent tips for middle school kids

  • No multi-tasking during homework – that means no listening to music, IM-ing, or texting at the same time.
  • Kids learn vocabulary best by reading, not with flashcards or online programs.
  • Limit online and console gaming time to weekends if possible.
  • Limit TV time.

Download resources in Spanish

Download our School Performance Tip-Sheet in Spanish
Our Community Says

Can video or online games teach my kids things they need to know for school?

There are 5 community opinions on this topic

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Posted by youlki22 on 10/30/2009 (parent contributor)

Yes!, to some extent video games or online programmes can help children do their school assignements but most of the children have interest in using the media for entertaining purposes.

Posted by smith1 on 09/28/2009 (kid contributor, age 11)

yes offcourse it is the only way for the kids to create more interest on studies that is make the child to study or get knowledge in fun and interest way. In parents point of view kids get knowledge in any subject. In kids point of view they get knowledge in fun way.
For eg. My child using or playing sciencescore to do well in science.
http://www.sciencescore.com

Posted by lilmissfrankie on 09/5/2009 (kid contributor, age 10)

agreed with WOWitsme

WOWitsme
Posted by WOWitsme on 01/1/2009 (kid contributor, age 12)

i think not being allowed to listen to music during homework is stupid one of my teachers last year played the radio during tests and i don't mean classical i mean good stuff for kids and adults (Sara Barrelles, Colbie Callait [i know i didn't spell either last name right])and old stuff thats still good

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