Forty percent of 3-month-olds watch TV, DVDs, or videos

[derby378]

About 40% of America's infants are watching television, DVDs, or videos by 3 months old, according to Dr. Frederick J. Zimmerman and his associates at the University of Washington, Seattle.

The median age for initiating TV viewing in children is 9 months, and approximately 90% of babies are regularly watching by age 24 months.

"It is clear that the American Academy of Pediatrics' recommendation of no screen time for children younger than 2 years has not been widely heeded," the researchers said in the May issue of the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine.

TV viewing is now routine for preverbal infants and babies, who "start watching television at a very young age and watch a lot of it," they noted.

http://www.mdconsult.com/das/news/body/70382911-2/mnfp/0/185567/1.html?nid=185567&date=week&pos=&general=true&mine=true

[Solly Mack]

1. and programming certainly reflects its audience

[elias7]

2. TV is being studied as a possible trigger of autism

[proud2BlibKansan]

10. They are sure it can cause brain damage in kids under 2

[shenmue]

13. What the hell?

That's pretty ridiculous.

[monmouth]

3. These children then grow up to be writers for television...ugh

[Mabus]

4. worse: Faux Noise anchors and personalities

:eyes:

[Skidmore]

6. No, they don't learn how to socialize properly.

I watched my daughter with her first child. Between the teevee and the toys that talk to you and jump all over the place when you push a button, the child was not learning to play and interact. We had a discussion. The teevee was turned off and batteries were taken out of those toys. This grandma does not buy electronic toys for children. Anyway, the manner in which that child played and interacted with others changed drastically.

[Eurobabe]

7. Good for you, there is no reason for an infant to watch the telly

Baby Einstein be damned.

[Skidmore]

8. I agree. It's lazy parenting.

I know people are busy, but people these days are so worried about everything that life has become clinical endeavor. They are also afraid of their shadows now. As a result, children are not taught how to interact with others but to fear and they are shut up in these little insular worlds. You can't be 100% safe or healthy all the time. You exercise reaonable care, but, as a society, we have become irrational. Let the children play.

[Eurobabe]

17. Precisely. Kids aren't allowed to just do nothing anymore

Every free minute has to be crammed with some THING that will make them smarter, faster, more competitive, ad nauseum. Thankfully I raised my kids in the 80s, I wouldn't want to be a parent today for all the (poisoned?) tea in China.

[derby378]

24. Interesting observation...

And, of course, these poor kids never get the chance to just sit down, be quiet, and enjoy the silence once in a while.

[Eurobabe]

25. It's very interesting to see the difference with German kids

they actually play outside, ride public transportation BY THEMSELVES, enjoy Sundays with their families. Children barely old enough to walk are given little wooden two wheeled bikes (no training wheels) and trail behind momma or poppa. And they are also not obese. Hmmmm...

[Mabus]

26. Whenever we watch a friend's kid we do stuff

We actually do stuff. It depends on the age and interests of the kid(s) but we've done beadwork, made books out of construction paper (the kids make up the stories and illustrate them), jigsaw puzzles, making cookies/cake (plus decorating), played video games (we play against each other, I don't start the game and walk away), walked dogs, fixed a bicycle, played basketball, trip to the library, weeded the garden/yard and dropped Mentos in a variety of colas to determine which combination has a bigger reaction (Diet A&W).

The kids have also helped me cook dinner. We plan what we are going to have and then we make a shopping list and go to the store. When we cook the kids mostly measure the ingredients and help do hand mixing. They've learned a number of things like you can make things from scratch (not prepackaged or frozen); they've learned about measurements (cups, teaspoons, tablespoons) and therefore fractions; they've learned about time and patience (at the same time they learned that undercooked carmel corn is chewy ;)); and they've learned to enjoy the fruits of their labor with a nice glass of organic milk.

Damn! I just realized why I get asked to watch kids all the time. They're having too much fun here.

[Robbien]

5. Jeeze. How scary is that

But these results answers quite a few questions.

[proud2BlibKansan]

9. Well it is certainly evident when they start kindergarten

By the age of 5, many kids are used to being entertained by the boob tube and have zero attention spans for learning. One of the worst things a parent can do is stick their child in front of the TV before they are 5 or 6 years old.

Remember the lady who developed the Einstein Baby videos who bush praised at the SOTU? I was screaming at my TV that she was helping parents raise brain damaged zombie kids.

[porphyrian]

11. 90% of American TV, DVD and video entertainment too stupid for anyone over 3 months old.

I think that's a trend by design.

[shenmue]

12. It's the parents' fault.

There is no TV that switches itself on and forces people to watch it.

Stop complaining about what's on. Start complaining about the parents.

[Monk06]

14. When my son was 3 mo old he spent most of his waking hours drooling on my beard.

[The2ndWheel]

15. Wow, who knew something that was basically everywhere

would be seen by basically everyone. Next to air, is anything more ubiquitous than video?

"It is clear that the American Academy of Pediatrics' recommendation of no screen time for children younger than 2 years has not been widely heeded,"

I found that sentence funny. Are they God?

Unless there is someone from that organization in every home watching the kid, or if parents aren't so busy trying to earn enough to support the kid, it's not easy to heed the advace given from up on high.

Want more kids to stop watching? Get rid of the video. Not just in the home, but everywhere. Street corners, store windows, phones, cars, airplanes, etc, etc, etc.

[Dora]

16. I'll see that 40% and raise it 35%! 75% of infants, toddlers and preschoolers watch 1 hr min daily

We don't have a television, and we manage without pretty well. I can understand, though, the temptation to use tv/video to entertain a toddler. If we had a TV, it would be on all the time - that's why we don't have one.



http://www.utexas.edu/opa/news/2007/05/human_ecology07.html

Study Finds High Media Use in Infants, Toddlers and Preschoolers
May 7, 2007

E-mail this article

AUSTIN, Texas—Seventy-five percent of infants, toddlers and preschoolers watch television daily for an average of more than one hour, report researchers from The University of Texas at Austin in their comprehensive study of media use among children ages zero to six.

This is the first study to provide comprehensive information on the extent of media use among young children in the United States.

“Young children today are growing up in a media-saturated environment with almost universal access to television, and we found that a striking number—one-fifth of zero- to two-year-olds and more than a third of three- to six-year-olds—have a television in their bedroom,” said Vandewater, associate professor of human development and family sciences and director of the Children and Media Research Center.

“Media and technology are here to stay and are virtually guaranteed to play an ever-increasing role in daily life, even among the very young,” she said.

Though the American Academy for Pediatrics has made strong recommendations about media use for young children, Vandewater said that prior to this study there were no baseline data on media use in these age groups.

This new research is particularly important given the recent explosion in media marketed to the very youngest children, including DVDs aimed at infants and video games for preschoolers.

“Now we know how these young children are using media today, and we can begin to study the effects—both positive and negative—that this media use may be having on their development,” said Vandewater, also the associate director of the university’s Population Research Center.

Vandewater’s study, published in the May issue of the journal Pediatrics, was designed and analyzed in partnership with the Kaiser Family Foundation. The researchers analyzed information about children from interviews with 1,045 parents. Analyses were weighted to represent national distributions of ethnicity and income.

[Kber]

18. Well, define "watching"

When my daughter was 3 months old, "we" watched the entire Civil War documentary series by Ken Burn, which I Tivo-ed. During the 2:00 am feeding we'd plop on the couch. I'd get a glass of water and a snack, she'd pick a boob, and we'd check in on the status of the Army of the Potomic.

Real mother /daughter relationship building stuff.

If she grows up to be a Civil War battle re-enactment nut, I guess we'll know who to blame, though.

[Solon]

19. When I babysit my toddler nephew, I have the Science or Discovery channel on...

They, outside of FSTV, LINKTV, and Comedy Central, for 2 hours a day, are the only stations worth the cost of satellite. We go out to play ball or something, then, when he is ready for some downtime, he can learn about dinosaurs(favorite: T-Rex), or space, or something else educational.

I'm buying the Planet Earth Series on DVD so that he can watch it, it usually doesn't come on when he is here, and it is simply incredible.

[mainegreen]

20. Screw TV. I'm indoctrinating my kid with music.

He's already a singer and 'dances' and drums to the rhythm of whatever music is playing.
:D

[Dora]

22. Music trumps television!

Our two year old can identify all the pieces of his daddy's drumset. That's my boy!
:D

[devilgrrl]

21. Wow! What a EARTH SHATTERING study.

Studying newborn's TV viewing habits! Now there's time well spent!!!!!

[Dora]

23. You don't think so? n/t