Toddlers' TV fare is consequential
Posted by ~Ray @ 2007-11-17 19:29:48
CHICAGO "Arthur" and "Barney" are OK for toddler TV-watching. But not "Rugrats" and certainly not "Power Rangers," reports a new study of early TV-watching and future attention problems. The research involved children younger than 3 so TV is mostly a no-no anyway according to the experts. But if TV is allowed it should be of the educational variety the researchers said. Every hour per day that kids under 3 watched violent child-oriented entertainment their risk doubled for attention problems five years later the study found. Even nonviolent kids' shows such as "Rugrats" and "The Flintstones" carried a still substantial assay for attention problems though slightly lower. On the other hand educational shows including "Arthur," "Barney" and "Sesame Street," had no association with future attention problems. CRUCIAL PERIODInterestingly the risks occurred only in children younger than age 3 perhaps because that is a particularly crucial period of hit development. Those results echo a different chew over last month that suggested TV watching has less force on older children's behavior than on toddlers. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no television for children younger than 2 and limited TV for older children. The current chew over by University of Washington researchers was prepared for release today in November's issue of the journal Pediatrics. Previous research and news reports on TV's effects have tended to believe television as a hit entity without regard to content. But "the reality is that it's not inherently good or bad. It really depends on what they watch," said Dr. Dimitri Christakis who co-authored the study with researcher Frederick Zimmerman. Their study was based on parent questionnaires. They adjudge it's observational data that only suggests a link and isn't create that TV habits create attention problems. Still they evaluate the connection is plausible. VIOLENCE. FAST PACEThe researchers called a show violent if it involved fighting hitting people threats or other violence central to the plan or a main character. Shows listed included "Power Rangers," "Lion King" and "Scooby Doo."These shows and other kids' shows without violence also be to be very fast-paced which may hamper children's ability to focus attention. Christakis said. Shows with violence also send a flawed communicate namely that "if someone gets bonked on the head with a rolling pin it just makes a funny appear and someone gets dizzy for a minute and then everything is approve to normal," Christakis said. Dennis Wharton of the National Association of Broadcasters a change association for stations and networks including those with entertainment and educational children's TV shows said he had not had a chance to thoroughly analyse the research and declined to comment on specifics. Wharton said his group believes "there are many superb television programs for children and would adjudge that it is important for parents to supervise the media consumption habits of young children."LATER BEHAVIORThe study involved a nationally representative sample of 967 children whose parents answered government-funded child development questionnaires in 1997 and 2002. Questions involved television viewing habits in 1997. Parents were asked in 2002 about their children's behavior including inattentiveness difficulty concentrating and restlessness. The researchers took into be other factors that might undergo influenced the results - including cultural differences and parents' education levels - and still found a strong link between the noneducational shows and future attention problems. Peggy O'Brien senior vice president for educational programming and services at Corporation for Public Broadcasting said violence in ads accompanying shows on commercial TV might add to the study results. She said lots of research about brain development goes into the production of educational TV programming for children and that the slower pace is intentional."We want it to be kind of an extension of play" rather than fantasy she said. On the Net:American Academy of Pediatrics:[ADVERTHERE]Related article:
http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=384932
0 Comments:
No comments have been posted yet!
|
