Watching Television can be beneficial for Young Children
Kassi Layton
English 102
Jean Akers
May 11, 2017
Since the invention of television, watching television has evolved to become an integral part of our lives. Today, the average household has 2 or 3 TV sets. Over the last 3 decades a plethora of research has shown that television viewing can negatively impact young children, especially infants. However recent studies have found that children under the age of 5 can learn from watching the right TV in the right way and that parents can employ a number of techniques which can enhance the learning capabilities of their young children from TV.
Back is the 50s and 60s when most families had only one TV set in the house and viewing choices were limited. These facts made TV viewing a family activity; when the TV was on the whole family usually watched together. As the amount of household viewing and the number of sets per household has increased, the family TV time has, more likely than not, become solo viewing time. Also, this has caused an increase in the viewing times of young children increase and the age at which children first watch TV to decrease.
Studies show that excessive TV watching early in life can negatively affect several areas of childhood development such as parent/child interaction, cognitive and language development and social/emotional delays (AAP). Ages 0 to 5 is a critical time of brain development, building secure relationships and establishing healthy habits. TV exposure takes away the time that a child needs to develop those important skills that can only be acquired during the first two years. These skills such as language, creativity, motor and social skills, are developed by play, exploration and interacting with real people. Parent-child interaction decreases while watching TV which means the development of these skills also decreases. When parents use TV as a babysitter the interaction is totally absent.
Language is learned through interaction with other people only and not by people on TV or passive listening while watching TV. Young children who started watching TV before their 1st birthday and who watch over 2 hours each day were six time more likely to experience language delay as those who watched less and begin watching later in age. The authors of one study concluded that "audible television is associated with decreased exposure to discernible human adult speech and decreased child vocalizations" (Chonchalya). This is one possible explanation for the association of delayed language development and young children TV exposure.
TV also affects the way children learn. When children enter school, they have to make a change from being a primarily visual learner to a listening learner. Excessive TV viewing which detracts from family interaction will make this transition harder thus causing negative impact on the child's school learning and social skills.
Social development can also be negatively affected by TV. Social development can be negatively affected when an infant reacts to the TV screen but receives no reaction back. If there is no feedback, how is social development going to take place? Infants need people talking to them and expressing emotions face-to-face. As young children get older they learn to behavior from characters on TV, good or bad. They will believe what they see on TV is real and are the appropriate way to act.
Several studies done by Dimitri Christakis have focused on the negative effects of TV viewing on young children and infants. These studies found that by the age of 7, children who watched TV as babies are more likely to have problems with impulsiveness, concentrating and paying attention. The findings also showed that these children were less able to recognize letters and numbers by the time they entered school.
A heavy diet of fast-paced TV and distorted reality can wire babies brains to always expect fast-paced input. Television directed at young children usually has quick edits, rapid scene changes and employs bright colors and rapid motion making the real world slow and boring. Dimitri Christakis thinks that TV exposure can over stimulate childrens' minds. He says, "Their minds come to expect a high level of stimulation and view that as normal. ...and by comparison, reality is boring."
Studies show that children's health is also negatively affected by TV watching. According to a University of Montreal, the more TV that a young child views the more likely it is that he will be obese and less muscularly fit. Children believe what they see on TV so they will learn to accept the validity of those less then true ads. This could lead to unhealthy lifestyle choices. And remember ALL TV viewing replaces physical activity.
Other studies have found the TV viewing can cause irregular sleep schedules among children, especially young children. It is very important that children have regular sleep patterns. The irregular sleep schedules can carry over to adolescence with teenagers experiencing sleep disorders. Altered sleep patterns are even more of a problem if the child has a TV in its bedroom (Kaiser). At study done by Dimitri Christakis found that 30% of preschool age children have a TV set in their bedroom.
The likely cause of TVs detrimental effects on childhood development is known as the video deficit effect. Video deficit happens because an infant's ability to learn multi-step sequences of actions from a televised demonstration is significantly less than an infant's ability to learn from a live demonstration (Anderson & Pempek). Children up to 3 years in age exhibit video deficit.
When watching TV, children must transfer what they learn from a 2D television screen to the 3D world. This can be difficult for infants and toddlers because the poor quality of visual information on TV makes a less detailed representation of the information in children's memory. This then causes difficulties in transferring the information that was learned to the real world. So video deficit can be seen as a transfer problem.
However, it has been argued that inconsistent knowledge transfer is likely a result of poor comprehension of the original content rather than indicative of the limited transfer possibilities of TV (Fisch et al., 2005). The study focused on children's allocation of cognitive resources during TV viewing of two forms of content: narrative and educational. When a child is familiar with a TV program there is less comprehensive focus on the narrative and more on the educational content. In other words the more familiarity that a child has, the more he will learn from educational programs. So increasing prior knowledge of the TV program content or the characters can reduce information processing demands. This may be a way to fix video deficit.
In 1999, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) issued a policy about the benefits of educational media as well as the harmful risks the TV poses for children under two years old. The statement said:
"Pediatricians should urge parents to avoid television viewing for children under the age of 2 years. Although certain television programs may be promoted to this age group, research on early brain development show that babies and toddlers have a critical need for direct interactions with parents and other significant caregivers ... for healthy brain growth and the development of appropriate social, emotional and cognitive skills. Therefore, exposing such young children to television programs should be discouraged"(AAP).
In 2011, the AAP revised its guidelines to include:
- Babies and toddlers up to 18 month old: No screen time, with the exception of video chatting with family and friends.
- Toddlers 18 months to 24 months: Some screen time with a parent or caregiver.
- Preschoolers: No more than 1 hour a day of educational programming, together with a parent or other caregiver who can help them understand what they are seeing.
But are these AAP guidelines the most viable approach? The Zero to Three organization put out a guide that examined dozens of studies. The focus was on adult-child interaction as the key ingredient for children's development. This guide doesn't say no TV (Guernsey). Also what about those cuddle moments when a child curls up in its parent's lap to watch TV. These can be very bonding and beneficial moments. A study done at the University of Siena found that watching cartoons can help soothe the pain of sick children which could indicate the a little entertainment TV can be a relief for children's stress and/or pain.
Another questioning author is Michal Rich who was once part of the AAP's committee on children and media. He wrote, "In our zeal to advocate for children, we have largely ignored the positive effects of using media...".
The AAP even made more revisions to its guidelines in Oct 2016 giving a slight node to media viewing for toddlers and even infants:
- For children younger than 18 months, avoid use of screen media other than video-chatting. Parents of children 18 to 24 months of age who want to introduce digital media should choose high-quality programming, and watch it with their children to help them understand what they're seeing.
- For children ages 2 to 5 years, limit screen use to 1 hour per day of high-quality programs. Parents should co-view media with children to help them understand what they are seeing and apply it to the world around them.
Because of the large amount of research that has been done, most parents are aware the studies discourage exposing very young children to television. But the reality is starkly different from the AAP recommendations. TV is a constant presence in the home. A study done by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 74% of all infants and toddlers have watched TV before they turn 2. By 3 months of age, 40% of children regularly watch TV. This percentage increases to 90 by the age of two. The medium age for the introduction of TV exposure is 9 months (Frederick, Simmerman, Christakis).
Nearly all children live (99%) live in a home with a TV set, 50% have three or more TVs, and 1/3 (36%) have a TV set in their bedroom (Rideout). Two-thirds of 0 to 6 year old live in a home where the TV is on at least half the time or more, even if no one is watching. One-third of those children live in "heavy" TV households, where the TV is always or most of the time, on.
Even with all the recommendations that infants have minimal exposure to TV, the amount is likely to remain high because of the high prevalence of TV in homes. There are other reasons why parents of young children continue to let them watch TV. Parents might not always understand that infant learning from TV is cognitively complex. They perceive TV as passive and easy to process (Frederick). Many people believe that the major reason that young children watch TV is because parents are using TV as a babysitter. However, 29% of parents thought that TV is educational and good for their children's brain. The next major reason was that parents think TV is enjoyable or relaxing for the child. Babysitting was actually the last of the three major reasons. Parents used TV as a babysitter because they needed to get things done (Frederick, Simmerman, Christakis). TV blaring in the background can be almost as determintal as to young children as watching too much TV. The noise from TV being constantly on in the background can have a huge disruptive influence for young children. Thirty-five percent of the children live in a home where the TV was on "most of the time" or "always" even if no one was watching. This is very concerning because Dr. Sally Ward's research that has been over the past 20 years has found that children who live in a home where there is almost always background TV noise, have trouble paying attention to voices in other situations that have background noise. This could lead to poor attention in class once they enter school. It's also known that children in heavy-television households watched more TV. Another negative affect is the parent-child interactions are drowned out and are less frequent in the presence of background TV. Also play and attention spans of children 3 and under were shorter in length in the presence of background TV.
The good news is that despite the AAP's discouragement for TV exposure for children under two, new research has found that toddlers CAN learn from educational children's programs. Another study even indicated that infants as young as 6 months can learn from television (Barr, Muentener, & Garcia, 2007) although it is difficult for infants to transfer information from 2D to 3D (Barr 2010). Transfer deficit can be reduced through repetition and the addition of age-appropriate visual and verbal cues. Adding repetition and visual and auditory cues to children's programming enhances transfer of knowledge (Hayne). Yes, that's right. Young children can learn from TV if it's the right programs and if a parent watches with the child and talks to them about what they're watching. The cognitive skills of preschool children increase from watching educational television programs, including their math and school readiness scores at age five (Wartella, Richert, & Robb, 2010).
One study found that TV viewing by preschoolers slightly increased reading scores (Christakis). A study done by William Thorn of Marquette University, noted that beginning at 24 months, television content can provide substantial education enrichment. The Early Window Project found that children who watch Mister Rogers' Neighborhodd or sesame Street or other education show performed significantly better than those who watched other kinds of programs (Thorn).
Even the recent AAP policy statement says kids as young as 15 months can learn from media when a caregiver is present and involved. The new guidelines have changed from "avoid all screens under age 2" to avoid solo media use in this age group. These new guides focus more on WHO else is watching with the children rather than just WHAT is being watched. The AAP recommends, "Co-view with your children, help children understand what they are seeing and help them apply what they learn to the world around them." This AAP statement also indicated that there is more evidence that children ages 2 to5 have the ability to transfer knowledge from screen to the real world, including early literacy and math, and positive social and emotional skills and behaviors (Kamenetz).
In Oct 2016, the AAP even revised their screen time guidelines:
- For children younger than 18 months, avoid use of screen media other than video-chatting. Parents of children 18 to 24 months of age who want to introduce digital media should choose high-quality programming, and watch it with their children to help them understand what they're seeing.
- For children ages 2 to 5 years, limit screen use to 1 hour per day of high-quality programs. Parents should co-view media with children to help them understand what they are seeing and apply it to the world around them.
Recent research has found that there is evidence to show that a very young child can understand what's on TV. Children as young as two years old were found to have beliefs about specific brands that were seen on TV. Also if children don't understand what they are watching on TV, they will pay less attention to it. And it was shown that if one year olds watch an actor react negatively to an object, the child will avoid that object. This shows emotional reactions can be learned from TV viewing. (Pasnik)
Well designed TV programs can improve cognitive, literacy and social skills for preschool children. Exposure to high quality TV programming during preschool years facilitates later academic performance during adolescence. But what constitutes a designed, quality, program for young children? Quality shows have characteristics that prompt learning in young children. Some of these characteristics are pro-social messages, familiarity, repetition, labels and interaction with their young viewers. Sesame Street incorporated several of these characteristics and studies show that watching Sesame Street increases learning of language for its target audience, 3 to 5 year olds.
Shows with pro-social messages can positively affect behavior. The major goal of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood was to develop pro-social behavior in children. A study done by Stein and Freidrich found that children who watched several episodes of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, exhibited more pro-social and helping behavior in comparison to children who viewed the same amount of super hero cartoon viewing. Another study had children watch Daniel Tiger Neighborhood, a show for 4 year olds and younger and their parents which tries to foster social skills for school readiness. The study found that children who had regular parent-child communication about TV, showed greater empathy, emotion recognition and self-efficacy. Characters that are positive role models can help children make positive lifestyle changes.
Studies have shown that toddlers under two years of age can learn cognitive, logical reasoning skills from TV when the character is socially meaningful to them. A socially meaningful character is one that is familiar to young children they have previously learned from that character. As a character becomes socially meaningful to a child the more that child trusts the character and learns from that character. Socially meaningful characters are a key reason that very young children learn from TV (Lauricella). When young children are watching an unfamiliar character they are most likely trying to process who or what that character is instead of focusing on what is being taught. Children who are familiar with the characters, like them and relate well to them. Therefore the children learned more from these characters because they pay greater attention to them.
Repeated presentation of the same TV program maintains attention and increase comprehension of TV content by preschoolers (Skouteris & Kelly). Comprehension and learning improved for preschool age children with episode repetition (Crawley). Children who repeatedly watched Dora the Explorer, Blue's clues, Clifford the Big Red Dog, and Arthur were able to identify more words at 30 months than children who did not view (Linebarger & Walker)
Enhanced learning in young children takes place when there is repetition within a TV show like repeatedly showing the same new words or sequences.(Barr). Very young children can learn by watching a demonstration on TV repeatedly. One study showed that after viewing a video showing an adult putting together a rattle, several times, infants could assemble the rattle as well as those who saw a live demonstration (Barr 2007). One study showed that repetition facilitated infant imitation from TV demonstrations which indicated that previous studies may have underestimated infants' ability to learn from TV (Barr 2007)
Shows that use labeling help young children to learn. Studies done by the Children's Televsion Workshop proved that vocabulary acquisition was most effective from TV when the image on the screen display a picture for the word or the word itself, and when it is accompanied by frequent repetition (Thorn).
Studies have shown that character and program familiarity influences attention, processing and learning (Piotrowski). The more familiar the TV character, the more likely it is that children will learn from a TV program featuring that character (Lauricella). Also, children who are more familiar with the program demonstrated increased comprehension of the education content with the program (Piotrowski). The socio-emotional skills of children who were familiar with the characters on Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood were better than those who weren't. Again familiarity was important to children learning from the show. One study even found that program familiarity was positively associated with attention in infants (Barr et al. 2008).
For young children, high familiarity and participatory cues leads to the highest education content comprehension (Piotrowski). In some children's educational TV programs the character talk directly to their young viewers. This use participatory cues encourages to interact with the character. A study done in 2014 by Jessica Piotrowski, proved that for preschool children, frequent watching of these types of shows, bolstered children's learning. However, the key in this study was familiarity. Only those children familiar with the cues actually experienced learning benefits. Participatory these cues engage children's motor and language skills, increasing the amount of mental effort in the program, thus increasing learning. In another study children who actively responded to cues to be verbal or physical, were more likely to understand the central story content (Calvert).
When children are interactively involved with a TV program, it is more beneficial to children's learning and the later knowledge transfer to the real world. Children's programs such as Dora the Explorer and Blue's Clues try to promote social interaction with the character. The character will stop and look directly at the viewing child and talk to or ask question or encourage interaction and then pause to let the children respond. Children are more likely to understand the content of a children's television program when they respond to a character's interactive question. (Calvert) Here's where parental interactive comes into play. Whereas, character's feedback to the children's responses are limited, parents can give them better feedback on their responses which will further their learning from TV.
Faced with so many conflicting studies and the realities of day-to-to living, what is a parent to do? As parents go about their busy lives, it's tempting to let their children watch TV while they get something done or to just take a few minutes for their own down time. TV can be entertaining and educational and a part of a healthy childhood as long as it isn't abused. Children can experience whole new worlds, cultures and ideas outside their own. They can visually learn things that just reading or conversation might not teach.
TV time can enhance daily life if thoughtfully managed by parents. If not it can interfere with important activities such as individual play, face-to-face interaction, family time, and healthy activities. Television becomes a positive influence when parents manage the viewing habit of their children. Based on the positive research that children can learn from TV, there are a variety of things that parents can do to create a learning environment that supports children's knowledge transfer to the real world.
When children are watching TV, parents should encourage the children to make TV viewing an active leaning experience by singing, dancing and other interactions with the TV characters. Parents should be part of the interaction. They can talk to the kids, ask questions, and provide narrative and feedback about what is being watched. When parents help to interpret a show's content, children's experiences are enriched and their learning expanded. Helping children make the connection between what they see on a screen and the real world is another way parents can enhance learning. The AAP states that starting around 15 months the chief factor that facilitates toddlers' learning [from TV] is parents watching with them AND reteaching the content (AAP). So for children younger than 2, adult interaction is crucial during television use.
Parents should encourage repetitive viewing of educational TV shows. According to Piotrowski's study that was reviewed previously, parents are encourage to support the repetitive viewing of their child's favorite educational TV program in order to enhance its familiarity and subsequent educational potential while keeping in mind healthy viewing habits.
Children naturally want to watch the same TV program or videos over and over again until parents are about to lose their minds. But repetition helps children to learn better from being exposed to the same thing. (Taylor). So while it may be tedious for parents, children should be allowed to repeatedly watch the same program over a period of several day because this can help children's learning, memory and transfer of information to the real world.
When considering what to let their children watch, parents should think of the three C's: content, context and the child (Guernsey). Be choosy about which TV shows to let your children see. Young children should be limited to only those educational and pro-social children's programs that have been proved to be beneficial to learning. Children who watch these types of TV shows when in preschool will watch educational programs when they get older. One long-term study found preschoolers who watched educational programs usually have higher grades, are less aggressive and put more value into their schooling when they are in high school (Anderson). Violent shows are to be avoided. Switching from violent content to education/pro-social content, results in significant improvement in behavior. A good reason for parents to watch with their children is to be aware of the context of the program and be there to explain situations if necessary. And be mindful of the needs of your child. Each child reacts in their own unique way to what they see. TV shows should be appropriate for age and personality. Child characteristics may influence how much TV children watch. Plenty of data suggest that WHAT children watch (content) and HOW they watch (context) is more important than how much time is spent watching TV.
As the research has shown, it is most important for parents to co-view. Co-viewing is when parents watch TV with their child. Research on parent-child interactions while watching TV indicates that infant looking time and engagement are strongly influenced by parents' gaze, engagement and description of content (e.g., Demers, Hanson, Kirkorian, Pempek, & Anderson, 2013). A study of 15-48 month olds found that children who watched TV without parental guideance, were 8 times more likely to have a language delay compared to children whose parents watch with them (Chonchalya). However, only 32% of parents say they watch TV every time their child watches (Frederick).
One study discovered a definitive change in a child's heart rate when he watched a program with a parent instead of when the parent was not in the room. "That physiological change is an indicator of how much effort is put into learning from the program as the brain-body connection relates the importance of the program to the parent's presence". (Watson) Why would a parent being in the room, motivate children to learn? It may be that a child will think a show is important if the parent is present or the child thinks the program meets with the parent's approval. Children are more interested in activities if their parents are involved so it makes sense that children would be more interested in TV is their parent is interested too,
Parents should set a good example with their TV habits because parent TV use is a strong predictor of child TV use. Children should not just be parked in front on the TV. Their TV use should be moderated by their parents; moderate use of TV that doesn't interfere with a healthy lifestyle. Video deficit and over stimulation are two another reasons that children's TV viewing should be moderated. Choose shows that promote your values and share your beliefs and values. When the show is over, turn the TV off. Parents should reserve time to watch adult-directed TV when children are not present and limit having the TV on in the background when children are playing.
Parents should not allow TV in childrens' bedrooms. Children who have a TV in their bedroom have more sleep problems. They also watch more TV than those that don't have a TV in their bedroom. As previously stated, more TV time can lead to developmental problems It's also a good idea to end screen TV one hour before bedtime.
Nancy Dicksy, M.D. said, "A good question to ask in every household - if a child (or an adult) wasn't watching TV, what else he or she could be doing?" If the alternative can be a healthy activity such as reading or outside play, then great! However, if he's just going to sit around doing nothing or worse yet, whining, fighting or generally causing havoc, then maybe, just maybe, watching TV is a better option.
Creating a media plan is one way for parents to actively manage exposure to TV. TV time should work for the entire family within their values and parenting style. Parents should consider what role they want TV to play in their family life and then create goals and rules for media use and stick to them. Some questions that might parents might consider while making a media plan are:
- how will children use the TV;
- how can parents serve as role models for TV use;
- when will and when won't TV be on (dinner time, bedtime);
- where will and where will there not be TV (bedroom).
According to a recent study, pointed out another benefit from making a media plan; parents who made rules pertaining to which shows children are allowed to watch were more likely to watch TV with their children (Pasnik)
TV is an engrained part of popular culture which cannot be easily ignored. Therefore it is imperative for parents and children to learn how to use it wisely. This practice takes guidance and practice just like any other skill. So parents be of good cheer! Children's TV does have the potential to be educational for young children. No screen time has turned into mindful screen time because not all children's TV programs are created equal. While some provide a good learning platform for young children, others are better suited to entertainment purposes only. Watching TV with your child and making the experience more interactive can enhance the educational value for your child." (Taylor)
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