Today’s column was a fun one to write because nearly every day in clinic, a question will come up regarding something a family has seen online. This often leads to interesting conversations in clinic. Even my wife will turn to the web for medical information at times, although typically not about pediatric related issues.
Monthly Archive for March, 2009
Yet another study that looks at television in young children. I will be the first to admit that even my own children saw some television in the first 2 years, but it was very limited. My wife and I certainly knew there was no educational benefit from this but it was a tool that allow us a little time to finish an important task. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no TV type media for the first 2 years of life.
Here is an exert from a recent CNN article.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/03/03/babies.watch.TV/index.html
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no screen media for children under the age of 2 years. Educational DVDs are tailored for babies as young as 3 months.
In the Harvard study, two I.Q.-related tests were administered to the children: the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test III, which indicates how many words the child understands and uses, and the Wide-Range Assessment of Visual Motor Ability test, which presents puzzles and peg boards to test cognitive abilities.
Babies who spent more time watching TV had lower language and visual motor skills at age 3. But when results were adjusted for household income and education levels, the association did not appear.
Lead author Marie Evans Schmidt and her colleagues “did not find evidence of harm or benefit of TV viewing.”
Based on the existing body of research, Schmidt, a developmental psychologist instructor at Harvard Medical School, said, “there’s still more evidence of harm than benefit as far as TV viewing in infancy is concerned.”
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