How do you make a preteen/ teen watch a television show, movie, or YouTube that is educational?

[Anonymous]

Good for them? Ah, I remember the days I was able to get my 7 year old to watch the "How it's Made," channel. What I would give to have them watch Sunday morning Hidden Heroes, GIVE, or Heart of champions with Lauren Thomas.

[Anonymous]

I can make my kids watch or like something only if I love it so much that I can spin it in a marvelous fashion

So back to the drawing board with you!

[Anonymous]

I can get my teen to watch movies if they are movies of required books they are reading for school. Does that count???

[Anonymous]

Lay down the law. "Watch this first", then their own show.

[Anonymous]

get their friend over, make popcorn, etc

[Anonymous]

I'd just give up that battle.

Choose something I care more about.

[Anonymous]

You don't, unless they want to. If I run across things that my kids might find interesting, I share them. And they watch if they want to. My space nerd DD and I were watching a Cassini finale video together this afternoon. Because she is a space nerd and has Cassini's death dive marked on her calendar, and not because I GAF about Cassini (although I do now. RIP Cassini. It's actually kind of sad). If it were a video about hydroponics, I wouldn't even try.

You can force a kid to sit there while the video plays. But if they don't care about what they are watching, it's pointless. And bigger battles.

So what does you kid care about? There are interesting videos that are semieducational on pretty much everything. If your kid loves tennis, somewhere there are interesting videos of how to improve your tennis serve that incidentially teach some physics or of the Williams sisters that pull in AA history. Plus, you learn things that you can talk to your kid about.

But also- can't anything you watch with your kids be a topic of conversation and educational? You watch The American with them, and it's history (to them). And about how our relationship with Russia has changed. Or has it? And how D.C. has changed since the 80s with gentrification. Even GOT can be an interesting discussion about whether the sex and violence is a good thing.

[Anonymous]

oh, you could pay them. I'm being serious.

Or you could bargain with them. Wait until they ask you to take them to X. Then say, ok, if you watch two episodes of Y, I'll take you to X. (they might bargain you down to one episode of Y)

What I have is ask my kid to watch just 10 minutes of something; if they don't like it, then fine. You have to be careful about this though, because if something starts slowly or has long introductory credits, it doesn't work.

[Anonymous]

Just a 2 hour show or, like, a weekly series? I would just tell them firmly. Last week, I told my 14 yo to listen to an NPR podcast (1a) on a topic I wanted her to know about. She didn't like it but she did it while folding laundry.

[Anonymous]

I think it depends on the kid and the content. My parents were documentary junkies who got me into documentaries. I remember watching Hoop Dreams when I was about 10 and just being totally rapt. Of course, I loved basketball and was from Chicago, so it had a few decent hooks. We talked about those neighborhoods and those people we heard about on the news all the time. I knew nothing about them before watching that movie.

[Anonymous]

Pfffff.....lol.

I.e., I have no idea.

[Anonymous]

I model it. When we have tv on while we make dinner, it's to something that we can have discussions around. If he wants to wander off, he does.

[Anonymous]

What kind?

[Anonymous]

Surely this thread is a joke?

I'm having a hard time thinking of educational things offered on TV/YouTube where something of better educational value is not available in printed form?

If my kid had this assignment I'd be starting a thread on here about teachers sending kids to spend more time in front of a screen than a book - I'd be fighting with the teacher not my kid to force them to watch more TV.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Surely this thread is a joke?

I'm having a hard time thinking of educational things offered on TV/YouTube where something of better educational value is not available in printed form?

If my kid had this assignment I'd be starting a thread on here about teachers sending kids to spend more time in front of a screen than a book - I'd be fighting with the teacher not my kid to force them to watch more TV.

Depends on your learning style. I need to see words on paper, other people learn better by hearing words and looking at visual "aides"