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Ask HN: Do children benefit from media that's "too advanced" for them?

3 points by orzig ↗ HN
I have a four-year-old. She likes all of the shows you might imagine, but for my own sanity, I also try to mix in shows aimed at slightly older kids. I have tried to get her to recount the plot, or show any other example of comprehension, without success. But I’m wondering whether it might be sinking in on a subconscious level anyway?

Mega bonus points if you have experience in developmental psychology, and or link to studies!

3 comments

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nullindividual
In my personal lived experience, yes. Kids learn complex subjects/topics without you even knowing it until they open their mouths. She will surprise you!

Try books instead? Even if they're overly complex, if they have compelling imagery, it could be worth it. Books will allow her to flip through the pages back and forth plus provide her with some physical connection versus passive listening.

I had a scientific text with imagery of an Escherichia virus T4 (it looks like a machine and alive! What kid wouldn't like that?) and I recall how cool that was, though I couldn't understand any of the surrounding text. But these books allowed me to find interest in the imagery which led to interest in the subjects with age-appropriate books and other media.

I_Am_Nous
As a kid, my mom got me a flip book of body systems - nervous, circulatory, muscular, organs...i loved it. My son couldn't care less about a similar book :) so in my experience its about offering things until you see they latch on and then you can explore the age appropriate depth they will enjoy rather than it being "school" time.
I_Am_Nous
Really depends on the kid and their level of understanding. The most important thing in my experience as a dad? Whether the child cares to pay attention to something. Something playing in the background while they are playing with toys will likely not be learned or absorbed unless it's so repetitively played that you as a parent will go mad.

On the other hand, whatever your kids soak up they tend to REALLY soak up. My son loves space so much he has memorized various exoplanet names and can endlessly discuss space in general. Space was one of the many things we exposed him to through various media and its what he was drawn to. Our goal was to try to expose him to as many things as we could to allow him to find what he was drawn to - music, art, space, trucks, you name it.

So don't stress too much about whether your daughter is picking things up or not, or if she can't recount things to you. Anytime you introduce her to something new, it expands her experiences and helps make new neural connections - even if the connection is something simple like "that object is red like the other object!"