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The Wisdom of Psychopaths
In this engrossing journey into the lives of psychopaths and their infamously crafty behaviors, the renowned psychologist Kevin Dutton reveals that there is a...
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Every parent needs a break from time to time—a few minutes to prepare dinner, do the laundry or quickly check e-mail. That's when the television suddenly becomes the best invention ever—an instant free babysitter that enthralls even the youngest infants and might, fingers crossed, even teach them a thing or two. But a new policy statement published today by the American Academy of Pediatrics suggests that not only do children under age two probably learn nothing from the television, but that watching too much can actually delay language development and cause attentional problems.
To be fair, it is impossible to keep kids from the TV entirely. "Screens are everywhere," remarks lead author Ari Brown, a pediatrician based in Austin, Texas. And studies have shown that some educational television programs, such as Dora the Explorer and Blue’s Clues , can improve vocabulary in older kids. "But that doesn't play out for this age group," Brown says.
Two studies have shown, for instance, that seemingly educational shows like such as Sesame Street actually have negative effects on language development when kids under two watch them. Two other studies suggest that occasional exposure does not help, but it also does not harm toddlers, either. Ultimately, when it comes to how a little bit of TV—under an hour a day, say—might affect kids under two, "we really just don't know," says Marie Evans Schmidt, a psychologist at the Center on Media and Child Health at Children's Hospital Boston. But it seems to provide no real benefits.
On the other hand, heavy television viewing is strongly associated with developmental deficits—a problem considering that 39 percent of families with infants have a television on constantly when they are awake and at home. A study published in 2008 by researchers in Thailand, for instance, compared prior television use in 110 normal toddlers with that of 56 language-delayed kids and found that those who had started watching TV under age one, and who watched more than two hours per day, were six times as likely as other kids to have language problems. In another study published in the journal Pediatrics in 2004 , researchers from the University of Washington in Seattle (U.W.) reported that, in testing kids age one and three, the more television they watched, the more likely they were to have attentional problems when they were seven.
Brown admits that it is impossible to be sure that TV itself is causing these problems—heavy television viewing may simply be an indicator of bad parenting in general. "Correlation does not mean causation, so we can't say that television use and of itself makes the child have delayed language skills," she says. "There is an assumption here that if the TV were off, then time would be better spent because the parent would be engaging with the child." And in some cases, Brown admits, that might not be the case.
But one thing is not up for debate: it is far better to let children engage in unstructured play than it is to plop them in front of the TV. When U.W. researchers gave toddlers a set of toy blocks to take home and play with for six months, the kids' language skills improved compared with a group that was not given blocks.
And these types of activities are things that kids can do on their own, when parents need a few minutes to themselves, Schmidt says. "Let them get a little bored," she says. "That's how they learn to entertain themselves and make discoveries, and that's when they can think freely."
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20 Comments
Add CommentI can't believe it took a study to show this! Whats next study finds "fast food not good for you?"
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisGuess pediatricians don't have kids under the age of two!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhat's so hard to believe? 'Common sense' usually doesn't reach the bar for either word. One of the things necessary for good science is to avoid assumptions. Like, for example, assuming that television viewing by young children is self evidently bad for them. When they came up with probability theory and statistics many thought they were just formalizing common sense. What they found instead is that human intuitions are often wrong.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this"Brown admits that it is impossible to be sure that TV itself is causing these problems—heavy television viewing may simply be an indicator of bad parenting in general. "Correlation does not mean causation, ...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisExactly what I was thinking while reading the article. My kids probably watched too much TV, but I also spent probably ten times more time with them than the average parent.
The distance from the screen is important. Too many small children sit right in front of the screen.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisChildren under two should be in a playpen with suitable toys, unless a parent is with them. There are too many electrical and other hazards in a modern home for them to be left unsupervised.
But program content and censorship are less important with this age group than with older children, as they don't understand.
Whatever you read in popular science, take it with pinch of salt!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI think is less the watching than what they are watching.The appropriate programing may cause a change the results.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAnybody who would leave their kids in front of a TV will not be influenced by any study saying it harms kids to be left in front of a TV.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHave you ever had to take care of a child under two years old for every waking hour? It's very easy to use the television as a crutch.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYes, human intuitions are often wrong. But not in this case. Every reasonably intelligent parent in the last 60 years has correctly intuited that too much teevee is bad for their kids.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisNext we need a study proving the similar intuitive logic that too much teevee for adults breeds a nation of apathetic lowlifes.
Some time ago, Chester Finn mentioned this "new policy statement" in his book, "Troublemaker," so it's not exactly news. Perhaps a little reportage on the cognitive science that prompted the Academy to issue such a caution? For example, do children process video (not just TV) and symbols (such as letters on blocks or in books) differently? What's the correlation to later attention and conduct problems in school? Why is it that many, perhaps most, students these days avoid close reading, and what does that suggest for the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and ability - arguably the engines of our society?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhile,I do believe if the kid is put in front of the TV all day long without communication might harm his ability to speak.What about TV combining communication?My younger sister is always a good talker.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisOur 3-offspring, all now around 40, watched quite a bit of TV before they were 2, especially the 2 older ones. Neither of them had any speech development issues. Both earned masters and have gone onto sucessful careers in the military and teaching. The younger one didn't watch much TV and had speech development issues. He talked a blue streak, but because there were many letters and sounds he couldn't pronounce correctly no one but his sister understood him. He is a lieutenant commander aviator in the U.S. Navy.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisas i opine it is good to let children be a little bored so that they can think and engage themselves actually it is really good but if we do that repetitively and they get really bored and we don't do anything about it!!! it will be even worse for example when a mother talks to phone for a long time and dosent pay attention to her kid and dosent let the child watch television the child might do something dangerous like going in to the kitchen and engage him/her self by oven...knife...or things like that!!!so if we want to not let our children watch television we should take good care of theme and replace the television by good things like talking to theme or playing with them
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt was so interesting for me and shocked me,because I thought TV can be harmful for social treatment and creation,but I thought it can help children to develop linguistic skills whit imitation from different programs.In my view one of reason of that is,kids only watch characters and TV dose not allow them to think.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt is one of another bad effect of TV.
Ignore your children a lot do you?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisJust because it is easy doesn't mean it isn't neglect or abuse.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSo 3 out of 300,000,000 is what you call a good sample? You must have watched a lot of TV as a toddler.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI watched TV when I was under Two and many people I know also did and everyone seemed to be fully functioning with no language or attachment problems. I find today people are worrying too much about the environment their children are exposed to, I'm sure a little bit of television never hurt anyone. If people are worried about their kids watching TV and have a bit of a hectic and busy schedule they should relax by watching TV with their kids, family time and TV time. kill two birds with one stone.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thiswell i have to say i totally disagree with u
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