TV time for children under 3 may not be as negative as previously thought

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Recently, researchers at the Center on Media and Child Health at Children's Hospital in Boston followed over 800 children from birth until age 3 and tracked their TV time and usage.

Previous studies have shown that there is little educational improvement for babies who watch TV, (sorry, Baby Einstein). In fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends no TV watching for children under the age of 2. and has stated that there is no benefit to infants and/or toddlers watching TV. 

Initial results of the Boston Children's Hospital study seemed to confirm the same, as children who spent more time watching TV did worse on language and motor skills tests at age 3 than those who watched less or no TV.

However, once other factors were eliminated, including household income and the mother's educational status, the correlation between TV and cognitive development no longer existed.

The reason why, according to researchers, is that what matters more is a parent's education level and overall household income. Previous studies have shown that parents with higher income and educational status read to their children more, speak with their children more, and use a wider and more complex vocabulary with their children - all factors that influence how the children perform on language and motor skills tests later in life.

The children in the study watched an average of 1.2 hours of TV a day before the age of 2. The researchers noted that while there did not seem to be a negative correlation between the children watching TV and their development, they did not advocate high levels of TV for any child. They also stressed that TV does not seem to enhance the learning or cognitive development of the children, so putting your baby in front of endless educational videos probably won't increase the chance of admission to Harvard later in life.

Instead, experts urge parents to read with their children, spend time playing with them, and to talk to them on a regular basis about the world around them.

You can view the full article here.

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