TV Time and Kids

I know there's a lot of back and forth on the subject of kids and TV. There has been for years. It happens in our house sometimes as I'm sure it does in yours as well.

Well today there was an article on Health.com about TV time and kids. Feel free to read it here. It discusses the effects TV has on young children and the potential adverse effect it has on them when they enter school.

The article focuses on a study done by the School of Psychoeducation at the University of Montreal, in Quebec. They've concluded the following:

Each additional hour of TV that toddlers watch per week translates into poorer classroom behavior, lower math scores, less physical activity, and more snacking at age 10

Apparently they conducted their study over a 7 year period on 1,300 kids and followed up with them in fourth grade to see how they were doing. The findings, they said were thus:

Each additional hour spent in front of the TV per week at age two-and-a-half corresponded to a 7% decrease in classroom engagement, a 6% decrease in overall math achievement, and a 10% increase in being bullied by peers.

They go on to discuss the actual detriment of TV itself and how the "overexposure" impacts children. Although researchers can't seem to agree on the physical effects, researchers are seeming to agree that TV is just bad.

However, the article, which I must say is very balanced and well done, does continue on to the other side of the fence, which was expressing criticism of the study. Their red flag, which is often my soapbox, was that the study omitted one major factor: what the kids were watching. The opposing Dr. said,

parents should distinguish between mind-numbing cartoons and educational programs such as Sesame Street. “Parents need to know that the best-quality shows have a curriculum,” he says. “They’re trying to teach your child something, anything from the letter k to skills like how to share or how to handle a conflict.”

Parents, it seems that the jury is still out. Once again the TV is caught in the middle; one side stating that TV is just bad bad bad and the other side saying that it doesn't matter.

My two cents: I think that both sides of the fence can agree on one thing: make sure that your children are watching stimulating, age appropriate programming. Don't let them sit in front of the TV all day watching inappropriate shows. Watch with them and work with them. The television, like any other source of media (newspaper and books included) can and should be monitored by the parents. Yes, I said parents. It is our responsibility to ensure that kids have a chance to be kids. They only have one shot at this wonderful thing called childhood. Don't ruin it for them.