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SHOULD BABIES and TODDLERS WATCH
TELEVISION?
By Elizabeth Pantley,
author of Gentle Baby Care and Kid Cooperation
So much television
programming is aimed at young children. Much of it appears to be
educational: teaching the ABCs and life skills. When is it
appropriate to introduce a baby to television, and what do parents
need to know about this topic?
A great deal of research
has been done on the effects of television on children’s lives. The
first step in making the decision is to get the facts. Because
nearly all of us have one or more TV sets in our home, and since
most of us watch some TV nearly every day, we may not want to hear
what research tells us, but these are things parents need to know.
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Experts suspect that babies younger
than two years old view TV as a confusing array of colors,
images, and noises. They don’t understand much of the content.
Since the average TV scene lasts five to eight seconds, your
baby or toddler doesn’t have enough time to digest what’s
happening.
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Cartoons and many children’s shows are
filled with images of violence. If you find this hard to
believe, surf the TV on Saturday morning. The realism portrayed
in today’s cartoons has moved light years beyond the Bugs Bunny
type of violence. Many children’s shows almost are animated
versions of adult action films. Research shows that exposure to
this type of programming increases the risk of aggressive
behavior and desensitizes children to violence.
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Babies and toddlers have a very
literal view of the world. They can’t yet tell the difference
between real and pretend, and they interpret what they see on TV
as true life. Research has demonstrated that many young children
believe that TV characters actually live inside the TV set. This
can confuse young children’s understanding of the world and get
in the way of their learning what’s right or wrong. It can paint
a picture of a frightening, unstable, and bewildering world
¾ and your little one
does not yet have the faculties to put what he sees into proper
perspective.
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Television watching can be addictive.
The more that children watch, the more they want to watch. Even
toddlers can become drawn to the set. Once addicted, turning off
the TV can become a daily battle. Children who watch TV
excessively often become passive and lose their natural
creativity; they eventually have a hard time keeping themselves
busy, and they lose valuable time that should be dedicated to
“play” ¾ the foundation
of a healthy childhood and the primary way that very young
children learn.
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Parents sometimes unwittingly begin to
use TV more and more as a way to keep their children happy and
quiet. It takes a strong will and dedication to avoid the easy
route provided by this free and easy
¾ yet sometimes
dangerous ¾ babysitter.
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Children experience unparalleled
physical, mental, and emotional growth in the early years of
life. Time spent watching television is time taken away from
more healthful activities that nurture growth and development.
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Children who watch a lot of television during their early years
are at risk for childhood obesity, poor social development, and
aggressive behavior. They often have trouble adjusting to
preschool or kindergarten. According to a study by Yale
Family Television Research, teachers characterized children who
watched excessive television as less cooperative, less
imaginative, less enthusiastic about learning, and less happy
than those who watched little or no TV.
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Due to all the above reasons, the
American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends
that parents not allow children under two to watch any
television.
You may have noticed that all of these
points demonstrate the negative aspects of letting babies and
toddlers watch TV, and you’re wondering if there are any positives.
There are a few, but I’ll be honest: I had to be very
creative to come up with this list, since published research doesn’t
demonstrate many good points for putting a young child in front of a
television. But we need to be realistic and acknowledge that most of
us aren’t going to put our TVs in the closet until all of our
children start school. Here are some of the good points of
television for children:
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Quality children’s programming
can teach your child basic academic skills, such as the ABCs,
counting, addition, science fundamentals, basic language skills,
manners, and even early reading skills.
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Your child can view things she might
not otherwise see in daily life: exotic animals, distant lands,
musical instruments, historical places, and diverse lifestyles.
Your child can learn about the world beyond her home and
neighborhood.
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Your child can learn basic social
skills from watching wholesome programming: how to play with
other children, how to use good manners.
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Using extraordinarily careful
selection and restraint, a little bit of television can provide
a parent with much-needed down time, or time to catch up on
tasks that need adult-only attention.
TV watching tips
for parents of babies and young children
The following tips may
help you minimize the negative and maximize the positive effects of
television watching for your little one:
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Hold off introducing television
¾ even videos
¾ to your baby as long
as possible. If you wait until your child’s second birthday, you
can consider yourself incredibly successful in starting your
little one off well and with the kind of real-life interaction
that is so important for his development. If you decide to allow
TV before your child turns two, choose programming carefully,
limit viewing time and skip days when possible. (Daily viewing
easily becomes habit.) The less watching time, the better! Set a
goal, such as no more than 30 minutes or an hour per day, or one
favorite show, so that you’ll not be tempted to turn the TV on
too frequently.
-
Watch programs yourself before you
allow your baby or toddler to watch them. Just because a network
markets a show to young children doesn’t mean it will reflect
your own family’s morals and values. You will be amazed to
discover that many programs aimed at children contain violence
or topics that are inappropriate for your child. Don’t assume
that your baby can pick out the moral message from a program
that features violence or conflict on the way to an important
lesson.
-
Pay attention to commercials
¾ surprisingly, an
excellent children’s show will sometimes feature commercials
that depict the exact things you don’t want your little one to
see!
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Choose programs that are
developmentally appropriate for your child. For you, this
means shows that are slow, boring, and probably somewhat goofy.
But choose programs from your child’s perspective, not your own.
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Invest in a collection of appropriate
and educational videos for your child so that you won’t be
confined to network programming schedules when you are ready to
let your little one watch something.
-
Watch along with your child when you
can so that you can monitor your child’s reactions to what he’s
seeing. Invite questions and discuss what you are watching so
that you can understand your little one’s take. Point things out
and talk about what is being taught to get the most of out of
educational TV. You may even follow up with some lessons
afterwards.
-
Avoid keeping the TV on when no one is
actively watching. Many people do this and are used to the
background noise the set generates, but your child will almost
surely be exposed to programming that is inappropriate for her.
-
Make a conscious decision about how
you will use television in your family; don’t watch it by
accident or default.
This article is a
copyrighted excerpt from Gentle Baby Care
by
Elizabeth Pantley.
(McGraw-Hill, 2003)
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