What an important question! As a parent of a child or toddler, you want to help your little one reach its potential. We know that language and social skills are very important for success in school and in life. And what better time to start than when your baby is young?
First, the bad news is really bad news. “It was shown that excessive observation at the age of three years is associated with problems of control of attention, aggressive behavior and poor cognitive development. Frederick Zimmerman, a Washington, DC researcher.
In this article, we will look at suggested links between screen time and lesser vocabulary, ADHD, autism, and violent behavior. Then we will look at how you can use children's television and movies to help your child learn.
LOWER LANGUAGE SKILLS A study by the University of Washington shows that 40% of three-month-old babies and 90% of two-year-olds regularly watch TV or movies. The researchers found that parents allowed their children and kids to watch TV, children's videos / DVDs, other children's programs and programs for adults.
What can we learn from this study?
* “Most parents are looking for what is best for their child, and we found that many parents believe that they provide opportunities for the development of education and brain development by exposing their children to 10-20 hours per week,” says researcher Andrew Meltsoff, developmental psychologist.
* According to Frederick Zimmerman, lead author of the study, this is bad. “The impact of television takes time from more development-specific actions, such as a parent or adult educator, and an infant engaged in free play with dolls, blocks or cars ...,” he says.
* Infants aged 8 to 16 months who considered children's programs knew fewer words than those who did not consider them.
“The more videos they watched, the fewer words they knew,” says Dr. Dimitri Krikakis. "These children gained 10% less language skills than babies who did not watch these videos."
* Meltzoff says that parents “instinctively correct their speech, look in their eyes and social signals to support language acquisition” - obviously, something that a machine cannot do!
* Surprisingly, it didn’t matter whether the parent was watching with the baby or not!
Why do these children learn more slowly? Dr. Vic Strasburger, a professor of pediatrics at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine, says: "Children need face-to-face communication to find out that the crucible is laid in the brain during early development."
ADHD Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is characterized by problems with attention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. The link between ADHD and early TV viewing was noted by Dimitri A. Krikakis, MD, MPH et al.
"Unlike the one with which real life unfolds and is experienced by young children, television can depict rapidly changing images, scenery and events." We found that early exposure to television was associated with subsequent attention problems. ”
The researchers investigated data for 1278 children aged one year and 1345 children aged three years. They found that an extra hour of daily television viewing at these ages translates into ten percent more than the likelihood that a child will show ADHD behavior before the age of seven.
Autism Autism is characterized by poor or absent language skills, poor social skills, unusual repetitive behavior and obsessive interests. A study by Cornell University has shown that higher rates of autism appear to be associated with higher screen times.
Researchers suggest that "a small part of the population is vulnerable to the development of autism because of its core biology and that too many or some types of early childhood television serve as a trigger for this condition."
In his commentary on this study in Slate, Gregg Easterbrook notes that autistic children have abnormal activity in the visual processing of their brains. As these areas develop rapidly during the first three years of a child’s life, he wonders if problems can cause excessive viewing of bright two-dimensional screen images. I find this comment very interesting, as it is applicable to the full spectrum from “quality children's programming” to the material for adults.
BEHAVIOR OF PEOPLE The National Association for the Education of Young Children has identified the following problems of concern to children who observe violence on television: * Children may become less sensitive to the pain and suffering of others. * They may be more prone to being aggressive or harmful to others. * They may be more afraid of the world.
The American Psychological Association reports several studies in which some children watched a violent program, while others watched a non-violent one. Those in the first group were slower to intervene, either directly or for help when they saw young children who fought or broke toys after the program.
Now that we know the bad news ...
Can I use movies at all? I think that it is. I believe that the key is to USE the program, and not just LOOK at it. Most people know that it is very good for babies to read, but nobody will place the book in front of the child and leave, thinking that it will bring her any benefit at all!
Download your child or click on the rhythm of classical music or children's songs.
Be very, very picky about what a small child is watching, and watch him. The program demonstrates kindness, kindness, generosity ... any values you want your kid to know?
When she is old enough to refer to images of people, animals, and toys, talk to her about what she sees. "Look at the puppy." He plays with the kitten. "The hungry birds are hungry, they call their mother." Oh no! The lamb is lost.
Make screen time special — and very limited — the time you share. Treat a movie about a child or small child, how you feel about a book — as another tool to give you topics for interaction with your little one.
