Interesting article

jesstellina · August 2012

I decided to repost this outside of UO Thursday since it's not an opinion. It's actual research on the effects of TV on infants and toddlers. I think it lays things out pretty well, including just having the TV on all the time for noise.

Sorry it's not a link- iPad. https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/128/5/1040.full.pdf

aliska · August 2012

"Many families have reported that they have a television on at least 6 hours/day or that a television is ?always on? as background noise." This is both sets of grandparents. The tv is always on. I am really tempted to ask if anyone is watching it, but I leave it alone. K gets some screen time, but I try to keep it off and play Pandora instead...or just have a quiet house while we read books.

DISH bills are so frustrating that I want to get rid of it and watch my shows online. The only problem is baseball and football.

dairygirl19 · August 2012

Thanks for sharing. That was very interesting. As a teacher most of this I knew but the reminder is always nice.

That said, I'm not taking away the TV time for LO anytime soon. Yes, I'm fully aware about how bad TV is. Sometimes, real life gets in the way. I have a kid who naps less than an hour a day. As a result I need to prep dinner, scrub bathrooms, fold laundry somewhere down the line. LO also needs a bit of downtime just to chill/relax before the crabbies set in.

She watches a 1/2 hour about every other day. I'm still not worried about it. I try to do the more educational stuff. She adores Baby Einstein. I know it won't make my kid a genius but I don't see what's so horrible about some classical music and pictures of animals flashing across the screen. IMO it's not much different than watching her projector/sound machine in her room.

She also gets hours of outside time, tons of time with her toys, lots of one on one time with H and I etc. She isn't going to be scarred for life by a bit of TV.

I also think the big key is H and I are not big tv watchers. It's never on all day/for background noise. We're not really into TV. H flips it on for the weather radar everyday and I do the news at night long after Rubes is in bed. That's about it. If Rubes wants to learn about jet streams and cold fronts, fabulous.

There will be limits when she's older for sure. I will never let my kid veg in front of the tv/video games for hours on end on the regular.

I'm very much an everything in moderation kind of person. I have a hard time believing a bit of anything is bad.

boogerbearoriginal · August 2012

My comment in UO wasn't intended to be snotty, I was genuinely curious if you had research to back up your opinion. But I do think you came across holier-than-thou with your opinion that kids who watch TV are less intelligent.

I've read the AAP opinion on TV viewing. Most the negative impact seems focused on TV as a sleep aide, and how it actually interrupts sleep which makes sense given that it's producing light/noise. I see negative impacts listed related to "heavy viewing" and effects on language development. And that there is a correlation in TV viewing and developmental issues, but it's admittedly not known which is cause vs. effect. I see nothing that discusses TV viewing and lowered intelligence or how it "trains them to require passive entertainment" whatever that means.

Do I think a 12m old is learning from tv? No, but I also haven't come across anything that shows occasional TV viewing is outright harmful to children. Again, stressing occasional viewing - not a TV in the child's room and on for hours.

I get that the AAP recommends discouraging media time (and they aren't saying none whatsoever btw) because people will park their kid in front of baby einstein and think that's a good thing. But to say a child is going to be less intelligent because of occasional TV viewing before age 2 is just not substantiated by research.

The funny thing is, days go by when our TV isn't turned on. You think that offsets the cognitive declines poor LO suffers from when I turn on the evening news???

Little&BigPea · August 2012

I have to admit, I found your UO offensive. I watch WITH my DD Disney Jr in the morning while we eat breakfast and then sometimes in the evening after dinner it will be on while I sit on the floor and play with her. That does not make my DD "less intelligent" than any other LO.

Thanks for the article, but I still do not see this as actual research that shows that television has measurable negative effects on infants or toddlers, in the concluding statement regarding potential developmental consequences it says:

"Research findings to date might suggest a correlation between television viewing and developmental problems, but they cannot show causality. Are infants with poor language skills placed in front of the television more? Are infants with shorter attention spans more attracted to screens? Does media exposure contribute to a delay in social or communication skills and diminished attentional capacity? Because these questions remain unanswered, more research is needed" (Pediatrics, 2011).

Furthermore, the conclusion says that ??provides further evidence that media? both foreground and background? have potentially negative effects and no known positive effects for children younger than 2 years? (Pediatrics, 2011). It seems that this article is only making the certain claim that there is no educational value in television programming for children younger than 2. The word potentially indicates that this study has no proof that there are any negative effects.

Reference:

Media Use by Children Younger Than 2 Years, Pediatrics 2011;128;1040. https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/128/5/1040.full.pdf

swimiz500 · August 2012

Hav=Fath:
Thanks for sharing. I read through the article but it doesn't change my mind that for my family, the television is often on and Hadley will occasionally watch a 30 minute program while I'm busy.

Yeah this. I have never and will never believe that having the TV on will in any way harm my child. If I ditch her in front of it all day, sure, bad idea. Everything in moderation.

mel1358 · August 2012

Little&BigPea:

I have to admit, I found your UO offensive. I watch WITH my DD Disney Jr in the morning while we eat breakfast and then sometimes in the evening after dinner it will be on while I sit on the floor and play with her. That does not make my DD "less intelligent" than any other LO.

This is us... she tries so hard to do the hot dog dance with Mickey and friends! Especially if it is encouraging her to get up and dance and sing, I think it's great.

jesstellina · August 2012

Booger+Bear:
My comment in UO wasn't intended to be snotty, I was genuinely curious if you had research to back up your opinion. But I do think you came across holier-than-thou with your opinion that kids who watch TV are less intelligent.
I've read the AAP opinion on TV viewing. Most the negative impact seems focused on TV as a sleep aide, and how it actually interrupts sleep which makes sense given that it's producing light/noise. I see negative impacts listed related to "heavy viewing" and effects on language development. And that there is a correlation in TV viewing and developmental issues, but it's admittedly not known which is cause vs. effect. I see nothing that discusses TV viewing and lowered intelligence or how it "trains them to require passive entertainment" whatever that means.
Do I think a 12m old is learning from tv? No, but I also haven't come across anything that shows occasional TV viewing is outright harmful to children. Again, stressing occasional viewing - not a TV in the child's room and on for hours.
I get that the AAP recommends discouraging media time (and they aren't saying none whatsoever btw) because people will park their kid in front of baby einstein and think that's a good thing. But to say a child is going to be less intelligent because of occasional TV viewing before age 2 is just not substantiated by research.
The funny thing is, days go by when our TV isn't turned on. You think that offsets the cognitive declines poor LO suffers from when I turn on the evening news???

*giant eyeroll*

jesstellina · August 2012

Little&BigPea:
I have to admit, I found your UO offensive. I watch WITH my DD Disney Jr in the morning while we eat breakfast and then sometimes in the evening after dinner it will be on while I sit on the floor and play with her. That does not make my DD "less intelligent" than any other LO.

Thanks for the article, but I still do not see this as actual research that shows that television has measurable negative effects on infants or toddlers, in the concluding statement regarding potential developmental consequences it says:

"Research findings to date might suggest a correlation between television viewing and developmental problems, but they cannot show causality. Are infants with poor language skills placed in front of the television more? Are infants with shorter attention spans more attracted to screens? Does media exposure contribute to a delay in social or communication skills and diminished attentional capacity? Because these questions remain unanswered, more research is needed" (Pediatrics, 2011).

Furthermore, the conclusion says that ??provides further evidence that media? both foreground and background? have potentially negative effects and no known positive effects for children younger than 2 years? (Pediatrics, 2011). It seems that this article is only making the certain claim that there is no educational value in television programming for children younger than 2. The word potentially indicates that this study has no proof that there are any negative effects.

Reference:

Media Use by Children Younger Than 2 Years, Pediatrics 2011;128;1040. https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/128/5/1040.full.pdf

I agree that the findings aren't absolute, because it's a difficult thing to study. Like it says in the paragraph you quoted, there could be other reasons for changes in some kids' behavior, or the kids who are already different may be the ones who watch TV more often. The article also mentioned more than once that people of lower educational and SE status are more likely to allow their kids to watch TV.

The thing I thought was the most novel about the article was that it made such specific mention of background TV. Many people, including Bumpies, say that their kids never watch TV, but that the TV is always on. I'm glad this article brings to light that having the TV on all the time DOES affect kids.

I'm sorry I said that watching TV makes kids less intelligent. I really didn't mean that, and I'm not sure why I said it. But I do believe avoiding TV is one of the best things you can do for your kids. It allows for more interaction with parents and siblings and more time for creative play.

boogerbearoriginal · August 2012

Well, I think you're taking this all a bit too seriously.

I'm just some some stranger on the internet, who apparently cannot pull off tongue-in-cheek humor.

dairygirl19 · August 2012

Booger+Bear:

Well, I think you're taking this all a bit too seriously.

I'm just some some stranger on the internet, who apparently cannot pull off tongue-in-cheek humor.

This! I'm glad your all passionate! That's fine. Every parent has their own soap box and style.

However, 1/2 hour of TV isn't mine at all. I don't feel the need to justify it. I'm fine with it. It works and is what it is. There are a 100 other things making me more angry about parenting right now.

And really, after years of working in a school, the only time I've ever seen TV mess up a child's ability to learn is if the home life is already screwed up and they spend 12 hours a day in front of the TV. I highly doubt any sane, normal, rational parent would find that okay. I don't need government research to back up common sense, kwim?

Want a personalized experience?

Interesting article

Re: Interesting article

Choose Another Board

Search Boards