Cit.ED

Practice · Early childhood

Three ways to turn TV time into talk time

If the TV is on anyway: sit with them, narrate, ask. Small moves grounded in the co-viewing findings.

The claim

Co-viewing with a child is associated with better language outcomes than children watching alone.

Associative claim. Evidence strength is chosen by the person who posts, based on the sources they read. Never by AI.

The research behind this

1 source, 1 peer reviewed. Evidence rated emerging.

  • What the research found, and what it doesn’t say
  • The limitations, and what nobody knows yet
  • Every source, with a link to the original paper

Evidence Cards are part of Cit.ED Plus. Sign in to open it.

Discussion

No comments yet.

Sign in to join the discussion.

Cited by

  1. Referenced by · Tried the three co-viewing tips. Report from the couch., Sipho Dlamini · 21 September 2026
  2. Referenced by · I tried “TV time into talk time” with my Grade 1s, Mrs Hartley · 21 September 2026

Cite, share or tag

Cite the author

A reference to Dr Naledi Mokoena (@naledimokoena) for this practice, as each style cites an online post. A paper in the evidence has its own “Cite this paper”.

Show the reference (APA, Harvard, MLA, Chicago, Vancouver)

APA 7th

In-text

Reference list

Mokoena, N. [@naledimokoena]. (2026, September 21). Three ways to turn TV time into talk time [Image]. CIT.ED. https://cit.education/p/318d01e6-8e5f-4212-aa8c-db69f1252a3a

Harvard

In-text

Reference list

Mokoena, N. [@naledimokoena] (2026) ‘Three ways to turn TV time into talk time’ [CIT.ED] 21 September. Available at: https://cit.education/p/318d01e6-8e5f-4212-aa8c-db69f1252a3a (Accessed: 3 November 2026).

MLA 9th

In-text

Add the page number inside the brackets if you quote, e.g. (Smith 12).

Reference list

Mokoena, Naledi [@naledimokoena]. “Three ways to turn TV time into talk time.” CIT.ED, 21 Sept. 2026, cit.education/p/318d01e6-8e5f-4212-aa8c-db69f1252a3a.

Chicago (author-date)

In-text

Reference list

Mokoena, Naledi (@naledimokoena). 2026. “Three ways to turn TV time into talk time.” CIT.ED image, September 21, 2026. https://cit.education/p/318d01e6-8e5f-4212-aa8c-db69f1252a3a.

Vancouver

In-text

Vancouver numbers sources in the order you first cite them. Replace 1 with this source’s number.

Reference list

Mokoena N. Three ways to turn TV time into talk time [image on the Internet]. CIT.ED; 2026 Sep 21 [cited 2026 Nov 3]. Available from: https://cit.education/p/318d01e6-8e5f-4212-aa8c-db69f1252a3a

“Copy” gives plain text. “Copy with formatting” keeps the italics when you paste into a document.

Share the post

Tag people

No one is tagged yet. Only the author tags people. To bring someone in, share the post with them.

More from Dr Naledi Mokoena

View profile →
💬 Discussion

Discussion · Episode

How to Make a Difference: Part 1

Why do some people act on the possibilities before them, while others come to believe that nothing they do will make a difference? Psychologist Martin Seligman describes his groundbreaking research on learned helplessness, and explains how the stories we tell ourselves about setbacks can shape what we do next. We also explore how optimism can help us rediscover our ability to change things for the better. If you have a question or comment about the science of optimism and pessimism that you'd be willing to share with the Hidden Brain audience after listening to this episode, please find a quiet room and record a voice memo on your phone. Email the file to us at feedback@hiddenbrain.org. Use the subject line: “How to Make a Difference.” If you love Hidden Brain in audio, check out our video series on YouTube. You'll find episodes there about memory, focus, getting unstuck, and much more at youtube.com/@hiddenbrain. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Dr Naledi Mokoena
🔬 Research

Research · Screens

Why “screen time” is the wrong number to worry about

Background television is associated with fewer adult words directed at toddlers.

Dr Naledi Mokoena 3 sources
🔬 Research

Research · Sleep

Screens before bed: what the sleep reviews actually say

Screen use is consistently associated with later bedtimes and shorter sleep in school-aged children.

Dr Naledi Mokoena 1 source