Children are eager to learn long before they start school. According to the National Institute for Literacy, literacy begins to develop as early as infancy when a child is exposed to a variety of daily activities, sounds and words. Parents, caregivers and educators can help children build a love of reading and become lifelong readers in many ways.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends no TV whatsoever before the age of two. It is recommended that parents read to their infant, every day, for the first two years, and even after the first two years. More TV time in early childhood means less face-to-face parent time. Turning off the TV and reading to a child from early infancy positively affects a child's intelligence and well-being.
The early experience of a child being regularly read to changes the child's brain. Reading to a child changes the actual neural structure of the brain, and by age two there are cognitive developmental differences between children whose parents read to them and children whose parents do not read to them.
- Children who are read to from early infancy develop better language and cognitive (thinking) skills, and have an increased tendency to enjoy reading in school.
- Children who are read to regularly show improved school readiness skills. Reading aloud to a child is a precursor of reading success and better vocabulary development in later school years.
- Children who are read to regularly develop better attention systems. Reading to a child helps the child develop the ability to focus for persistent thinking tasks.
- Reading with children is a time to bond. Children who spend a lot of time reading with their parents tend to feel secure and close to their parents.
On the other hand, according to the AAP, increased TV time and decreased parent time is associated with more aggressive behavior, adjustment problems, emotional problems, and antisocial behavior in children. Children who watch a lot of TV can be exposed to explicit violence, materialism and skewed portrayals of life, which can give a child a distorted view of values and relationships.
Also, when children are allowed to watch a lot of TV they can grow up thinking the experience of life is mainly about being entertained. Such children may develop the mind set of having to be entertained all the time and have difficulty entertaining themselves in creative ways. Increased TV time can hinder a child's ability to be self-motivating for any activity that is not "fun."
Try to limit the time in front of the TV, and know what the child is watching and what video games the child is playing. Make sure the programs have some educational value, some meaning, and some reality. Make regular trips to the local library. A library card could become your child's most prized possession. Visit your local library today!
San Francisco Kids' Public Library
Contact Sara Shaw, M.S. MFT for a parent consultation at: sara.shaw@alumni.northwestern.edu
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