From Geoff Kirby
Watching too much TV doesn’t necessarily make children stupid (9 July, p 6). Alternative conclusions are that stupid children prefer to watch TV while their brighter friends get out and stimulate their greater intellect and inquisitiveness. Maybe stupid parents are more likely to sit their children in front of TV to keep them quiet rather than stimulate them to perform well at school.
• Jeff Hecht writes:
The New Zealand study of long-term educational achievement did consider intelligence test scores. It found the impact of television viewing was larger on students with average IQs than on those with above or below-average scores. The authors believe students with low test scores are less likely to attend college anyway, while those with high scores are better able to cope. They wrote that children in the middle “may be most vulnerable to harmful influences”.
Weymouth, Dorset, UK
