When should children be allowed to start watching TV? How much time should they be able to spend in front of the tube each day? These are hotly debated topics among parents everywhere. Some parents buy Baby Einstein DVD's and their children watch them from an early age. Other parents choose to wait until children are a little older before introducing TV. Some parents are very selective about what they let their kids watch; others are not. Although it's controversial, there are no "right" and "wrong" answers when it comes to this topic. But a new study might make some parents rethink the decision to allow TV from an early age. Previous research has linked early TV exposure to language and cognitive delays. The idea is that the more time young children spend in front of the TV, the less time they spend interacting with and learning from parents, siblings, etc. A new study in the Archives of Pediatric s and Adolescent Medicine had children from ages 2-48 months wear a recorder for one day each month. The researchers found that for every hour a television was on, "the children on average heard 770 fewer words from an adult — a 7 percent decrease. They also spoke less themselves." Researchers theorize that they spoke less while watching TV. But parents were also distracted by the TV and ended up interacting less with their young children. The TV is a touchy subject in my household. Personally, I wouldn't mind if we didn't have one. But my husband likes to have it on as a way to unwind at the end of the day. My children don't watch any TV yet, so when he turns it on, we compromise. We all stay in the same room, but I'll play with the kids or read them a book while he watches. I thought this was the ideal situation, until I read about this study. Although it's just one study with a small sampling of children, the results are not surprising. I think everyone is different when it comes to watching TV. Sometimes it's hard to get my husband's attention if he's watching something he really likes. My daughter (who's 2 ½) would rather make up stories and play with her toys than sit and watch a show. I like to think her wonderful imagination is due, in part, to the fact that she doesn't watch TV. My 6-month old son is a different story. He would stare at the TV for hours if I let him and is completely fascinated with it. If you have young children, do you limit the amount of TV they watch? Do you limit the amount of time the TV is on in your house? If so, do you feel that your family interacts more because of it? |
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