We've all heard the claim: put your baby in front of the TV to watch a "Baby Einstein" or "Brainy Baby" video and they'll get smarter. The latest research, however, goes against this claim stating that it may actually do more harm than good! Click on the link below to go directly to this article and read for yourself.
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1650352,00.html
Personally, I didn't allow my son to watch TV until he was nearly 2 yrs. old. Why? Even though all the hype/media said "Watch Baby Einsteins" or other baby programs, NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children) recommends no TV until 2 years of age. NAEYC also says, "Children under seven are particularly vulnerable to powerful images," referring to violence and language in television shows.
When reading a study, make sure to find out who conducted the study and if it's reliable. Here's another article involving TV watching and autism. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/10/061017150526.htm
"The analysis shows that early childhood television viewing could be an environmental trigger for the onset of autism and strongly points to the need for more research by experts in the field of autism. Our analysis is not definitive, but it certainly raises questions that seem to have gone unasked in autism research to date." (Cornell University)
There are so many different studies being done, concluding different theories. The important message in this post is to limit TV watching in young children and be aware of research around you. Children learn through active play, reading and being read to, interacting and imagining. It's difficult to do all those things while passively watching TV. Let me give you a few statistics from the American Academy of Pediatrics: Children in the United States watch about 4 hours of TV every day. Children who watch too much television are are more likely to be overweight. If your child watches 3 to 4 hours of noneducational TV per day, he will have seen about 8,000 murders on TV by the time he finishes grade school. Television exposes children to adult behaviors, like sex. Television affects how your child learns. The average child sees more than 20,000 commercials each year. These statistics were taken from the http://www.aap.org/family/tv1.htm website.
Just a reminder to providers and parents: limit TV watching, video game playing, computers, etc., watch TV with your child, choose appropriate channels/shows, and don't forget to be a good role model!!!
