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Toddlers and TV: Tips for Parents
Filed under: Media, Behavior: Toddlers & Preschoolers
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no TV for kids under 2. Credit: Getty Images
What is baby media?
From Baby Einstein to Brainy Baby, all kinds of DVDs and computer games are out there for our youngest kids. Since Baby Einstein launched in 1997, baby media has become big business. Sales of videos for infants and toddlers reached $100 million back in 2004. There's even a television channel -- Baby First TV -- aimed at this youngest of audiences.
The facts
- The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no TV for kids under 2.
- 43% of children under the age of 2 watch TV every day and nearly one in five watch videos or DVDs every day (Kaiser, 2003).
- In 2009 the Walt Disney Company began offering refunds for Baby Einstein products, based on evidence that the products were not educational.
- Studies show that television exposure at ages 1 through 3 is associated with attention problems at age 7 (Christakis, 2004).
- Other studies show that some educational programming for kids over 2 -- like family favorite Sesame Street -- can help get kids ready for school (Society for Research in Child Development, 2001).
Why it matters
For starters, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no TV at all for kids under the age of 2. And while your kid won't be damaged with a little TV or video, remember that every minute spent sitting in front of a TV is a minute when your babies are not exploring the world with all their senses. Research shows that interacting with you is what builds babies' brains. Some new interactive computer programs can be more stimulating than TV shows, but none of these products designed for kids under 2 have been proven to make children smarter or more school-ready. A study at the University of Washington released in August 2007 suggests "developmental" DVDs and videos can actually delay toddler language development.
Tips for parents of young kids
- If you're going to let babies interact with a screen, know what they are watching and playing. Be smart about the programs you pick. Choose games or programs that are age-appropriate with non-jarring sounds and bright, stimulating colors.
- Don't turn TV into preschool. Baby TV has not proven to be of any benefit for school readiness. The best preparation for your children involves spending time with them, reading, talking, and exposing them to the world.
- As kids get older, keep media out of their bedrooms. When TV or computers are in their rooms, kids spend more time using media, and parents are less involved with their choices.
- Teach your children to ask you if it's okay to turn on media. This simple control mechanism helps keep gaming, TV watching, and online activity from becoming habits.
- Watch the clock. Media use increases as children get older. Less screen time improves your children's ability to entertain themselves in other ways. Set time rules and stick to them.
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Get more information for parents on media and technology by checking out Common Sense Media.
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
2-23-2011 @ 5:37PM
CommonSense said...After all isn't this just Common Sense?
As little time as possible as long as the parent sits down with the child to view the television show.
Or; plug them right into the TV and let their brains rot.
As reported yesterday, very old news, 8th graders in Wisconsin do not know how to read. The country wants to blame the teachers.The real question is where are the parents of these children?
2-23-2011 @ 2:24PM
Foxrider1693 said...I totally agree with this article. Nothing beats parents interacting and teaching their children hands on
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2-23-2011 @ 2:52PM
shirwin said...Tv is probably bad for everyone ! In fact I need to get off this dam computer right now for it is bad for my marriage !
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2-23-2011 @ 3:42PM
Amanda said...Too much of what's on TV today is nothing more than garbage. There is very little in the way of truly educational children's television, such as Mr, Rogers, Magic School Bus, Reading Rainbow, and the like. To make matters worse, channels such as PBS and TLC are scaling back their educational programming, or worse, eliminating it altogether. Thank the gods for DVDs with such classics as Old School Sesame Street and Magic School Bus, to name two!
We limit what our kids can watch, and I can't stress enough the value of educational TV during their viewing hours. Shows such as Dirty Jobs and MythBusters work well for both kids, and my younger one likes The Electric Company. Channels such as Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network are outright banned in our house because of their lack of decent content and their commercial bombardment touting junk food and junk toys. Right now, they're both indulging in a nature show on PBS talking about the animals of the Andes, and they are enjoying it!
And the GOP wants to ELIMINATE funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting?!?!? It's about the only place left that has decent programming for kids anymore!
Reply
2-23-2011 @ 3:48PM
Nicole said...I get it. Really. But I also get that I might need a half hour to prepare dinner, take a shower, or, in my oldest child's case, bathe the baby sister. Both my kids watched TV starting at about 1 (HBOs Classical Baby and KidSongs) for about a half hour here or there during the day as needed when my hands were full or I needed them to be calm and in one spot entertained while I completed a task. Guess what? They are fine. Both began reading before kindergarten (um, b/c we have books on a shelf under the TV--giggle--and my husband and I read our own books all the time in front of the kids) and were talking up a storm early. I really really hate all these "studies" that make our already SuperMom/TigerMom/HelicopterMom selves nuts about little things like this. Like everything, MODERATION. A little here or there, with a parent to monitor, and it's all good. Sesame Street, Max and Ruby, Little Bear a show here or there at a time...great. A solid block of TV for five hours of DummyTV so Mom can Facebook, not so good. It's just common sense. Gah!
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2-23-2011 @ 4:05PM
roy said..."Watch the clock"
Indeed. Its not so much that TV, DVDs and video games are harmful in themselves, but that they take time away from far far more positive activities. If you want your child to be a great reader, then don't make books compete with cartoons, movies, Xbox, etc.
___________
www.k5learning.com
Reply
2-23-2011 @ 5:41PM
PCCOPS said...There is a new program out; very much like AA. It is for people who cannot get off their computers.
People who are loosing their families, jobs, etc. due to their habituation.
It is called Computers Anonymous.
One can only sign up for it via the internet.
Reply
2-23-2011 @ 5:45PM
Pam said...I have 2 girls ages 12 and 15 and starting from birth they both watched Sesame Street for an hour a day so I could get housework done. Both said their first word by 5 months, could recite the colors of the rainbow by 10 months and could say the alphabet by age 1. Now they are both good students and get mostly A's and B's and are very creative and well adjusted. I think moderation is key when it comes to TV.
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2-23-2011 @ 6:03PM
chckpope said...I don't trust TV geared at kids. It seems they are trying to brainwash kids at the early age so they can manipulate them later in life. Disney is the worst. If you watch kid programing you can easily see their brainwash tactics. I think it should be illegal to market kids, they are training them to be consumers and we wonder why we have so much debt in this country.
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2-23-2011 @ 7:16PM
Angiebaby said...It's okay for toddlers to watch a special, short program everyday on the tv. I used to watch Sesame Street every morning and although a great many might say otherwise, it didn't hurt me none at all. But too much tv for toddlers is a very, very bad idea.
If the tv is allowed to babysit, toddlers learn to depend on the tv for entertainment and mental stimulation.Toddlers should be using their imagination, playing outside or playing with toys, siblings, etc. This fosters their imagination and gets them active, physically and mentally. And patterns learned in early childhood often stay with a child throughout their early years. They will probably get hooked on tv soon enough, at least give them a fighting chance to become creative, independent, thinking little people before it happens.
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2-23-2011 @ 8:24PM
sondbr said...If you have a toddler who is doing nothing but sitting watching TV when it's on, something is wrong!! Kids that age are pretty much on the go all the time and once in awhile the TV catches their attention and they watch for a minute or two. Now if you have NOTHING for your child to play with, maybe they would get bored and watch TV, but TV is definitely way down the list of what interests them at that age. Even older ones play and watch and don't just sit and stare at the TV. My kids grew up with the TV on all of the time and they turned out just fine, did great in school, and are great human beings. All this stuff about TV is bunk!! Now when the kids get to the pre-teen/teen years then they need to be restricted from TV more because the world is getting old to them and they tend to sit and watch TV too much and the content of so many shows they want to watch is so bad.
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