Infants shown such educational series end up with poorer vocabularies, study finds. Researcher says 'American Idol' is better.
L A Time: August 7, 2007 by Amber Dance
Parents hoping to raise baby Einsteins by using infant educational videos are actually creating baby Homer Simpsons, according to a new study released today.
For every hour a day that babies 8 to 16 months old were shown such popular series as "Brainy Baby" or "Baby Einstein," they knew six to eight fewer words than other children, according to Dr. Dimitri Christakis, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington in Seattle.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no television for children under 24 months.
Christakis said children whose parents read to them or told them stories had larger vocabularies.
"I would rather babies watch 'American Idol' than these videos," Christakis said, explaining that there is at least a chance their parents would watch with them — which does have developmental benefits. Complete Article
New Study Finds Baby DVDs and Videos May Hinder Infant Language Development: August 7, 2007
Despite marketing claims, parents who want to give their infants a boost in learning language probably should limit the amount of time they expose their children to DVDs and videos such as “Baby Einstein” and “Brainy Baby.”
Rather than helping babies, the over-use of such productions actually may slow down infants eight to 16 months of age when it comes to acquiring vocabulary, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Washington and Seattle Children’s Hospital Research Institute.
The scientists found that for every hour per day spent watching baby DVDs and videos, infants understood an average of six to eight fewer words than infants who did not watch them. Baby DVDs and videos had no positive or negative effect on the vocabularies on toddlers 17 to 24 months of age. The study was published today in the Journal of Pediatrics.
“The most important fact to come from this study is there is no clear evidence of a benefit coming from baby DVDs and videos and there is some suggestion of harm,” said Frederick Zimmerman, lead author of the study and a UW associate professor of health services. “The bottom line is the more a child watches baby DVDs and videos the bigger the effect. The amount of viewing does matter.”
Co-authors of the study are Dr. Dimitri Christakis, a pediatrics researcher at Seattle Children’s Hospital Research Institute and a UW professor of pediatrics, and Andrew Meltzoff, co-director of the UW’s Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences.
TV and Kids under Age 3: PBS
By now, most parents have heard about studies that discourage exposing very young children to television. But the reality is that almost three quarters of infants and toddlers are exposed to TV programs before they turn 2.So what exactly are the dangers? Are any programs or videos acceptable for infants and toddlers? Studies on TV and toddlers are fairly rare, but children's media expert Shelley Pasnik has scoured the research to answer parents' most common questions about young children and television. Some of the questions asked:
~ How prevalent is TV in the lives of very young children?
~ Has there been much research done on the effects of TV on infants and toddlers?
~ Does TV viewing take the place of other activities, such as playing outside?
Books @Your Local Library: CalCat or WorldCat
The Elephant in the Living Room: Make Television Work for Your Kids
Dimitri A. Christakis and Frederick J. Zimmerman
Rodale, 2006
~ Pediatrician and epidemiologist Christakis and economist and child development expert Zimmerman codirect the University of Washington's Child Health Institute. Here, they analyze television's impact on children in areas such as attention span, educational attainment, social behavior, sleep, and body image.
The Plug-In Drug: Television, Computers & Family Life
Marie Winn
Penguin, 2002
~ How does the passive act of watching television and other electronic media-regardless of their content-affect a developing child's relationship to the real world?
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