The grasping power of today's kids is tremandous, Why?

[suntrack2]

You keep faith on me or not but this is my assumption, when I asked to 5 children about one tv serial and particular advertisement, that which they normally prefers, I got the same answers from them, when I asked them which was the yesterday's cartoon movie on star plus chanel, they were right, when I asked them that which was your first period today, they found quite right. There were many instances in which the "little power" was true.

Then I asked the question to self, "Oh, how nice these kids are, I was amazing with their grasping power.

But now the question arise with my mind that How they can keep such information very truely!!, who taught them the dare to answer!!, its interesting for me.

clues: their observation is solid one, they practice their homework quite better, they are originally clever, they react on the things in which they are interested.

:)

[DyerWolf]

I don't think its unique to today's kids. The kids you mention are aware of their environment. They grasp concepts and remember things they see and learn about on a daily basis.

However, if you were to ask those same kids about how to milk a cow, or when to plant corn, or how to saddle a horse - they might not do so well - whereas their great-grandparents may have known those things off the top of their head.

[novaderrik]

kids are sponges that absorb everything they see and hear around them all day. every day.

[mike alexander]

If you are unlucky it sticks, too. I can still sing with good accuracy theme songs from TV programs I saw almost 50 years ago, not to mention bucketloads of commercial messages.

[sarongsong]

...How they can keep such information very truely...Walt again!There was a child went forth every day;
And the first object he look’d upon, that object he became;
And that object became part of him for the day, or a certain part of the day, or for many years, or stretching cycles of years...
Leaves of Grass (http://bartleby.com/142/103.html)

[Ronald Brak]

Children in many countries these days have access to food. That helps.

[Whirlpool]

TV shows , media advertising , are big contributors to a child's mind. Because of technology, kids nowadays play with their techy toys that are usually computer-aided . They are exposed to this techology, to the point that they know every thing they see on TV and on a video game.

One nurse said to me couple of years ago, new born babies now can open their eyes after a couple of minutes after coming out from their mother, compare to the olds days where their eyes are still close for a couple of days.

I have a 3yr old toddler that is continually amazes me . One day while he's playing his lego set , he made 3 kinds of gun out lego . One looks like a hand gun , the other looks like an armalite and the other one looks like a rifle and then he showed it to me. How can he pictured all of those ? Funny, I haven't bought him such toys , but he pictured it out and made something for himself to play. :p

I'd say , its because of what he sees on TV , advertisements, games.

And maybe, Kids today are more smarter , because of what they eat, having good nutrition. We have a lot of baby foods that are now enhanced with vitamins and minerals.

:think:

[mfumbesi]

.............And maybe, Kids today are more smarter , because of what they eat, having good nutrition. We have a lot of baby foods that are now enhanced with vitamins and minerals.

Real Nutritionist/GPs will shoot you for saying that, on the other hand the said food manufactures will love you.

Interestingly though on your Lego gun that your son made, my son is five his mother wont let his near a toy gun, but he also make Lego guns, use paper cut out like a gun, uses wood as a gun, basically anything that is vaguely shaped like a gun.

[farmerjumperdon]

I don't think its unique to today's kids. The kids you mention are aware of their environment. They grasp concepts and remember things they see and learn about on a daily basis.

However, if you were to ask those same kids about how to milk a cow, or when to plant corn, or how to saddle a horse - they might not do so well - whereas their great-grandparents may have known those things off the top of their head.

Excellent point. As a group, modern humans (post WWII) possess on average an entirely different skill set. We rely on others to DO many things (I suppose a result of specialization/compartmentalization), and organize around expert resources instead of knowing the subject. When I was young I saw myself as becoming the all-around guy, wise in general and aware of many things. I think I got there, but found the jack-of-all-trades approach not terribly valued in today's markets. (I'm sure I've long-winded that topic before).

A good example is the weather. Used to be an ordinary person could just look at the sky and feel the air and get a good idea what that day and the next would bring. Nobody (or very few people) would even hazard a guess nowadays - instead we tune in to The Weather Channel.

There is a great read on this concept titled The Age Of Missing Information. Very insightful, and highly entertaining to boot.

[farmerjumperdon]

kids are sponges that absorb everything they see and hear around them all day. every day.

I think they are more like wet cement, because once certain ideas hit them, and are allowed to settle in, it can be very difficult to reform those ideas.

Or maybe they are more like dirt. A big storm comes in the form of a life change unit (LCU) and changes their shape a bit or a lot. They firm up after the storm passes, settling into a modified version of their old self, . . . until the next LCU comes along.

So maybe they are like a meandering stream?

I know a couple that are more like volcanoes though.

[farmerjumperdon]

Children in many countries these days have access to food. That helps.

Hey Daddy. Today in school I learned to factor binomials by dividing both . . . OH, donuts . . . . .

[Whirlpool]

Hey Daddy. Today in school I learned to factor binomials by dividing both . . . OH, donuts . . . . .

That's one thing too. I don't know there but here in my country, elementary curriculum is different from my elementary curriculum back then. Hehe.. I'm not that old like the other members here..:p

Well, some kids subjects now in elementary are once my subject in higher grade, like Algebra , won't you believe , it is taught in Grades 6 elementary, back in my days , I have that subject in senior yr in high school. :doh:

[Argos]

Children in many countries these days have access to food. That helps.

Huh?

[suntrack2]

Huh?


eh!. food point is so much important, because good brain requires good food, it was said by my teacher just some 20 years back. I think grasping is a process in which the child restore the things into the cns(central nervous system) for a temperory period or for permanent.! "grasping is wide area of research".

:)

[JustAFriend]

When I was a child in the '60s, there wasn't one of my classmates that wasn't aware of what cartoon programs were on after school or on Saturday morning, or what time of the day the ice cream truck came around.

...just 'cause you haven't been paying attention till now doesn't make it new...

[mugaliens]

It's because I spent, like, all my time with my son teaching him, at 3, about how to make his blocks more stable. Two weeks later he invites me into the room to witness his latest masterpiece - a 7'8" stack of blocks that rivals the towers in Kuala Lampur.

On unstable carpet.

Even today I don't think I could out-do that.

It's simple ram-dump. He's smarter that I was at his age because I'm smarter than my Dad was at my age.

And by "smarter" I'm not talking IQ, but knowledge pertinant to a particular subject.

I learned chess when I was nine. I taught him when he was three. He beats me regularly in chess (go figure) even though he's only seven. He beats me in Monopoly, too. I can't wait to see what he'll do if I ever get custody of him for more than three weeks a year...

Also, I think part of it has to do with the way I respond. I don't condemn him or discourage him from beating me. Rather, I get tickled pink, and he takes this as encouragement and a sense of accomplishment.

Dad's encouragement
Dad's atta-boys
Dad's way-to-go's...

It all adds up to more concentration, less distraction, increased learning (my main goal), and, naturally, he's got the knowledge without all the baggage.

Of course he's succeeding.

[RalofTyr]

Knowing what's on TV isn't going to help the children succeed in life.

[Ronald Brak]

Huh?

Food really helps mental processes. Adequate food is good for both long term mental development and short term performance. Besides food children in the developed world are now allowed to talk more and get beaten less. They also spend more of their talking time communicating with adults.

[Argos]

Yeah, we all know that. :)

I think it is not relevant to this specific discussion, since we´re talking about healthy [not starving] kids who´re capable of standing up, playing, running, reading, etc. I couldn´t help seeing it as an innuendo regarding the country of origin of our friend Sunil.

[jfribrg]

I don't condemn him or discourage him from beating me. Rather, I get tickled pink, and he takes this as encouragement and a sense of accomplishment.


I can't imagine parents getting upset when their kids beat them. I know there are parents like that but that kind of self-centered attitude is foreign to me. I've told my kids that I will never let them beat me. That way, when they do win they don't have to wonder whether I took it easy on them. I also told them that I will be very proud of them when they do. So far my oldest son has beaten me in a 400 yard swim race, and almost beat me racing up a rather steep hill. I'm still undefeated in chess, but I suspect that my days as undefeated family champ are numbered.

[Ronald Brak]

I think it is not relevant to this specific discussion, since we´re talking about healthy [not starving] kids who´re capable of standing up, playing, running, reading, etc. I couldn´t help seeing it as an innuendo regarding the country of origin of our friend Sunil.

I'm glad you are fortunate enough to live in a place where you can take it for granted that all children got adequate food a generation ago. Personally I do see access to food as one reason why children today may appear brighter than in the past.

[The_Radiation_Specialist]

One nurse said to me couple of years ago, new born babies now can open their eyes after a couple of minutes after coming out from their mother, compare to the olds days where their eyes are still close for a couple of days.

You know, if thats true it worries me. There was nowhere enough time for anything to change genetically.

Could it be an effect of drugs/food given to the baby/mother?


Well, some kids subjects now in elementary are once my subject in higher grade, like Algebra , won't you believe , it is taught in Grades 6 elementary, back in my days , I have that subject in senior yr in high school.

Well Algebra is a pretty wide subject. I would guess it was less needed before the age of computers and Internet. More and more (particularly IT) jobs require good grounds in maths. I mean its not so much as doing mental arithmetic (calculators do it for you) but the type of logical/abstract thinking and problem solving ability that Mathematics gives you.


Knowing what's on TV isn't going to help the children succeed in life.


Surely most of whats on TV is a waste of time, but there's good educational programs too.

Mythbusters is a TV show. ;)

[Tobin Dax]

Mythbusters is a TV show. ;)
That doesn't necessarily support your statement, you know.

[The_Radiation_Specialist]

So much for skeptical thinking and problem solving techniques.

[Tobin Dax]

Mythbusters doesn't always do a good job of that, IMO, and it *is* a TV show. That's obvious every so often. It's a decent start toward skeptical thinking and problem solving, but it's often not as thorough and/or scientific as it can be.

Edit: Sorry for the hijack, suntrack.

[mickal555]

Beats brainiac.

[Whirlpool]

You know, if thats true it worries me. There was nowhere enough time for anything to change genetically.

Could it be an effect of drugs/food given to the baby/mother?

Well, that is true , because I have seen it my boy when I gave birth to him, although he was premature (32 weeks) , he opens his eyes, in which my doctor have to cover it so that his eyes don't get damaged because he needs to be inside of the incubator for 10 days.



Well Algebra is a pretty wide subject. I would guess it was less needed before the age of computers and Internet. More and more (particularly IT) jobs require good grounds in maths. I mean its not so much as doing mental arithmetic (calculators do it for you) but the type of logical/abstract thinking and problem solving ability that Mathematics gives you.

I don't know. Maybe it's because of the computer age just like you say, because kids now are expose to playing computer games and learning using the computer as early as 4.

[The_Radiation_Specialist]

Maybe it's because of the computer age just like you say, because kids now are expose to playing computer games and learning using the computer as early as 4.

From my own experience as a game-addict I can tell you video games are not so bad as they think. First off there are many types of video games. There are Action/fighting games (the type labeled "violent" by parents) and strategy games. I know there are other types too.

As a kid, you quickly realize real life is boring. Video games let you go in your own little universe where you can go into different worlds and become different characters. This is fun. It becomes more fun than eating or sleeping.

Currently I enjoy playing Civilization IV (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilization_IV). Its a strategy game, much like chess but way more complicated. It requires much skill and planning to be successful. I feel it stimulates learning much faster than say reading a book. You are basically in a world where you are the emperor and can build up a civilization from scratch. You can build cities, manage armies, technology and culture. You have to watch out for Citizen happiness and health and foreign diplomacy. It is a challenging experience. Especially since I play with other people through multiplayer.

Video games aren't too bad. They can be a valuable tool for improving skills.