Forum Index
»
Infants, Toddlers, & Preschoolers
TV is not the big bad wolf
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
|
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/parenting/
Posted at 7:00 AM ET, 03/ 2/2009 TV's Not the Big Bad Wolf Remember that Baby Einstein study a couple of years ago that showed that those baby videos that claim to boost IQ scores did the exact opposite? Well, moms and dads, now you can relax. A follow-up study on television's impact on children under the age of 2 has some good news. While about an hour a day of television viewing won't make your kid a genius, it won't harm his development, either. The study comes out of Children's Hospital in Boston and Harvard and is appearing in the journal Pediatrics today. At first glance, the study's authors found decreased language and visual motor skills in kids who watched more television. But then, the researchers adjusted the results to account for the mother's age, income, education, marital status and vocabulary. And you know what? They found that mom's education level and vocabulary rather than the television greatly impacted baby's. "This study is really good news for parents," says Lisa Guernsey, the author of "Into the Minds of Babes: How Screen Time Affects Children From Birth to Age 5." "It’s a study about how much parents matter in some ways. It’s basically telling us that TV used at these very young ages is not having a significant effect for good or for ill if it’s a relatively low amount of TV watching. Parental interactions are trumping TVs." Guernsey notes that the study is flawed in that it doesn't look at the content on television or whether the child is focused on the screen or simply has it on in the background while playing or while watching mom empty the dishwasher, for instance. "We need to take both [the Einstein study and this one] hand in hand and find out if there’s a pathway of something that makes sense for parents," Guernsey says. So, go ahead, turn on the TV sometimes with no guilt. Just remember, babies and toddlers still learn best from human interaction, not the screen. That part hasn't changed. What are some of your and your kids' favorite television shows and DVDs these days? |
Anonymous
What is the significance of an IQ score anyway? Are IQ even still administered? I've never heard of parents say "sorry, we can't hang out with you this weekend, Junior is going to take his IQ test". I know SAT and ACT scores are testing indicators and commonly accepted and compared, but IQ scores? |
Anonymous
|
My 20 month old watches Blue Clues and Elmo every morning when he wakes up at the crack of dawn. Then I put Wonder Pets on when that comes on later in the day.
Sometimes he watches and ABC dvd that we picked up at Costco. It's just letters on the screen with items that start with that letter. He actually knows all the letters and will talk along with the dvd naming the items. We had some baby einstein dvds but he is too old for them now. He gets maybe 2 hours of tv a day, maybe give or take a half hour either way if I am trying to cook or in a crunch. He is super smart and not suffering because of it. |
Anonymous
| My kid loves Curious George. We sit and watch it with him. He picks up a lot of concepts and vocabulary. Because of the show? Because we interact with him while watching? Because of no reason at all? I dunno, but it's fun. |
zumbamama
Member Offline
Member Offline
| DD has a small Spanish vocab thanks to Dora. |
Anonymous
|
My 21 mo. old will watch tv, a dvd, or seseame street for literally only 3 or 4 minutes - 5 minutes one time when Elmo appeared in a skit.
I always hear and read about other parents whose kids are mesmerized by the tv, but I have the exact opposite problem. |
Anonymous
|
My kid is 2 and watches things that are Sprout (Caillou and Dragon Tales are the faves) and The Many Adventures of Tigger and Pooh (on Disney.) Other than that he watches Signing Times.
He probably watch 30-45 in the morning while I get ready (at the crack of dawn) and another 20-30 minutes before going upstairs to brush teeth/read books. I don't feel guilty at all. 
|
Anonymous
I posted above about my 20 month old. I should have added it is pretty much on the tv but he is roaming the entire time, only half paying attention. He will sit for 5 to 10 minutes just watching but it's rare. |
Anonymous
| Elmo, Elmo, Elmo. Let the genie out of the bottle a couple of weeks ago when our 18 m.o. woke up at 5 in the morning to get a few more winks, and I'm regretting it. All we hear all day is "Elmo!!!!!" |
Anonymous
|
It's worth noting that the Baby Einstein study and the new one aren't actually saying anything different about TV overall. The Baby Einstein study found only that Baby Einstein-type videos had a negative impact on language development; regular kids' TV and adult TV had no impact. The theory the researchers developed was that parents put infants in front of Baby Einstein videos for long periods of time on the premise that they're "educational"; however, unlike most kids' TV shows, Baby Einstein videos aren't verbally stimulating. There's little conversation and interaction, so babies not only aren't hearing their parents talk to them but also aren't hearing conversational language and seeing interaction on TV.
So the conclusion is the same, really -- the issue is how much language children hear and the quality of interaction with parents, not whether or not their children watch some TV. |
Anonymous
| My 14month knows and uses over a dozen signs thanks to the signing time dvds he watches all the time! |
Anonymous
| It's all a question of moderation. We've gotten so caught up in making parenting a "science", that we get overly obsessed by little things - the "perfect" stroller, the "perfect" disciplinary method, the "perfect" school. A bit of TV won't destroy our kids - it's common sense. |
Anonymous
|
We still are doing "no TV", but will probably introduce it soon (mommy needs a few minutes of silence!)
I have NO problem with anyone who does allow their children to watch TV, and I don't think it is an evil thing. But I really don't understand the backlash against people who don't use TV at home. We are NOT trying to develop a perfect child. We just feel that FOR OUR FAMILY, a little TV could easily turn into a lot of TV (as it did for us before we had kids). But why all the hate on this board towards families that don't watch TV? |