Yelling at the television used to be something adults did while watching “Who wants to be a millionaire!” But young children have become the real pros.
Sit down with a 3-year-old to watch “Blue’s Clues” or “Dora the Explorer,” and see the shouting erupt. Whenever a character faces the camera and asks a question, my daughters are usually answering it.
Paulo and I have long been contenplaiting aboloshing TV in our home all together. Do we want TV to be the focus of our living space? Do we want our girls to grow up glued to the box? Would we be depriving them? Currently they have a TV in they bedroom. They’re allowed to watch an episode of a French cartoon in the evening and a Disney movie on the weekend.
Active engagement with television has been an antidote to criticism that the tube creates zombies. “Blue’s Clues,” has been credited with helping young children learn from the screen. Academic research has shown that viewers ages 3 to 5 score better on tests of problem solving than those who haven’t watched the show. But what happens with children younger than 3? Does Bianca (2) really gain from watching TV? Should babies and toddlers be exposed to television at all? Is there any chance that they could actually learn from the screen? While debates rage among parents, pediatricians and critics, developmental psychologists are trying to apply some science to the question.
Researchers at the University of Washington found that toddler who spent time in front of the television translates into lower reading and short-term memory scores at 6 and 7 years old.
"Watching even really good educational shows ... is bad" for children under 3, according to Frederick Zimmerman, co-director of the Child Health Institute and lead author of the study published in the Journal of Pediatrics.
Since 1999, the Academy of Pediatrics has recommended no television for children 2 and younger, including educational shows. For older children, the academy suggests no more than one to two hours a day of "quality" television, perhaps watching an episode of 'Sesame Street' or 'Mickey Mouse Club House' and not an episode of 'X-Factor'
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