Can Television Foster Literacy Skills with Kids?

For example, an article by the journal Human Communication Research on the impact of television and literacy says that watching television can mean there’s less interaction between kids and parents. Having said this, though, it does say that children can learn vocabulary on TV.

What needs to be taken into consideration is the child’s age. For instance, toddlers and infants are less likely to learn from watching videos and TV; instead, they learn best from actual life experiences, says a white paper on media and children’s learning. Other evidence indicates that modeling performed on TV is less effective than live modeling in discerning various phonic sounds in infants, it adds.

However, research does indicate that educational TV shows and videos, like Baby Einstein and Teletubbies, can help literacy, states the white paper. But, these programs aren’t always easily accessible.

The Australia parenting website, Raising Children, says that kids need lots of experience with syllables, sounds, letters, words, objects and pictures to become literate. The white paper report adds to this by saying that reading is definitely the best way. One of the reasons is that parents are more actively communicating with their children, it says.

For dual language children, though, TV can be even more problematic to help foster literacy skills, especially young ones who don’t know much English. For Hispanic children, who are the largest English learners in the country, the Latino Family Literacy Project recommends families read children’s bilingual books together on a regular basis. The biggest challenge is that many Latino families don’t always recognize the benefits. As such, the Project offers teachers and schools a one-day workshop either near them or through an online webinar in guiding families in setting up a routine.