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Screen Time
The impactof television on babies and children
Can babies benefit from the multitude of videos,
DVDs, and television shows designed for them?
Multiple research studies suggest that media and
babies don’t mix.
Long-term impact
Too much time spent in front of electronic screens
before the age of 3, and later in childhood as well,
may have potential negative effects on children’s
learning and health through adolescence.
While the latest technology and educational
programming have much to offer, child development
experts say we have little understanding of how
viewing life on a screen affects the youngest of our
children, and no research supports the idea that
electronic games and programs for babies promote
learning. Since 1999, the American Academy of
Pediatrics has recommended no screen time at all for
babies younger than 2.
The human touch
Crucial brain growth and development occurs during
the first two years of life. That brain development
is guided by a baby’s environment, and is shaped by
talking, touching, listening, tasting, and other
sensory experiences. Researchers want to know if
there is an effect on infant development if some, or
much, of that real-world experience is replaced by
time spent in front of a two-dimensional screen. In
a recent study by the University of Massachusetts,
researchers observed a group of 12- to 15-month-olds
who were shown by a person how to use a puppet,
while another group of infants saw the demonstration
on video. The first group of children was able to
replicate the task after watching it being done
once. The second group needed to watch the video six
times before they could imitate it. These results
highlight the importance of human interaction to
infants’ learning.
Other ongoing studies investigate how babies process
and transfer information viewed on a screen, and at
what age they are able to learn and recall what
they’ve seen. These studies support the finding that
babies can learn from two-dimensional viewing, but
that it is more difficult to process the
information. This research also reveals that babies
watch and absorb scenes on television earlier than
we might assume. Six-month-old babies showed some
memory of images they had seen on TV, leading
researchers to caution parents that babies may be
watching before we know, and that an awareness of
what is on the screen while baby is in the room is
prudent. One study has shown that children as young
as 12 months respond to emotions expressed by actors
on television with their own positive or negative
emotions, confirming that adult programming can
impact infant feeling and experience.
TV and school readiness
A link between poor achievement at school in
adolescence and excessive television watching during
childhood is supported by a recent study that
followed 500 children through adolescence. Study
results suggest that excessive television viewing
between the ages of 5 to 11 years was a significant
indicator that a child would not obtain a college
degree, and continued excessive viewing from the
ages of 13 to 15 years predicted a failure to obtain
a high school diploma.
Other studies suggest that the content of television
programming, rather than the quantity, makes a
difference. In one study of 236 children ages 2 to
7, those who watched general entertainment
television (cartoons, music videos, and sports)
performed more poorly on tests of school-readiness
skills than children whose viewing was limited to
age-appropriate educational programming. The data of
this study and others led researchers to conclude
that the impact of television on early academic
skills depends in part on the content of the
programs viewed.
Media violence
Many studies have looked at the link between media
violence and children’s behavior. The evidence
suggests that playing violent video games decreases
children’s ability to manage frustration without
lashing out. How realistic or graphic the violence
looks on the game or screen may or may not matter
substantially. There is some evidence that even
cartoon violence without blood can increase
children’s tendency to be aggressive.
TV and childhood obesity
Toddlers and preschoolers are at increased risk for
another potential lifelong effect from excessive
television viewing: obesity. A study of a thousand
2- to 5-year-olds found that those who watched two
or more hours of television a day were three times
more likely to become overweight than children who
did not watch TV. Electronic game playing increased
sedentary time to 3.5 hours each day, also
increasing the risk of obesity.
Advertising in between the programming complicates
the mix, as television appears to be a powerful
influence in shaping food preferences, and TV ads
lay a tempting table of foods high in sugar and low
in nutrients. Children’s preferences for these snack
foods and cereals they see advertised, combined with
inactivity, increase their risk for obesity.
Experts on children and the media stress that
healthy development relies on a balance of physical
and cognitive activities. TV can rock that balance,
making children’s days lopsided toward sitting and
passively absorbing an unfiltered assortment of
influences. Experts urge parents to limit their
child’s media exposure to 30 minutes or less a day,
and to monitor the content, minimizing their
children’s exposure to cartoons and violent images.
They also stress that the negative effects of TV can
be reduced, and the benefits of educational
programming increased, when parents watch alongside
their children, and talk about the powerful images
they are consuming.
Parents of babies under 2, however, must be aware of
the value of interactive play—the talking and
exploration that best supports brain development. A
book read with a loving caregiver, along with
talking, pointing, and holding, is how babies and
media best mix.
Sources: Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent
Medicine 160 (2006): 387–92; Child Development 72
(2001): 1347; Child Development 74 (2004): 221–37.
The Parent Review newsletter publishes the latest
research findings in child development, learning,
and health. Written for expectant and new parents
and the professionals supporting them, The Parent
Review bridges science and parenting to offer the
best and most relevant research-based news. To learn
more, visit www.theparentreview.com.
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