(Editorial): This is Your Child’s Brain on Television

Parents, do you allow your young child to watch television? Why or why not? And what do your kids watch?

“Even at only one day of life there is a discernable physiological reaction to what a baby is hearing” and this reaction has monumental affects on the growth of a child during the stage of life in which the brain grows the most, ages 0 – 3.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that kids under 2 years old not watch any TV and that those older than 2 watch no more than 1 to 2 hours a day of quality programming.

Of course we would like to create a world of learning for our children with educational tools, technology and other ways to stimulate their brain activity. Today’s question, is it possible to feed your child TOO MUCH stimulation or better yet, would the wrong kind of stimulation have harmful affects on the brain?

Prolonged exposure to rapid image change during critical period of brain development would precondition the mind to expect high levels of stimulation, leading to inattention later in life.
In other words, later real life will be “boring” and cause a more likelihood to have attention problems.

Each hour of TV per day before the age of 3 increases attention problem by 10%. However cognitive learning (museum visits, reading to them, etc) reduces their chances of attention problems by roughly 30%. Content is key.

Television shows and movies that have fast moving scene transitions with lots of flashing lights and/or colors, high action sequences, overly emphasized music segments, etc have what can be detrimental affects on a child’s brain with either inability to maintain focus, hyper activity, inability to decipher reality from fantasy or other results later in life.

Children need more real time play and less fast paced media.

The average American child will witness 200,000 violent acts on television by age 18. Kids may become desensitized to violence and more aggressive. TV violence sometimes begs for imitation because violence is often promoted as a fun and effective way to get what you want.

Many violent acts are perpetrated by the “good guys,” whom kids have been taught to admire. Even though kids are taught by their parents that it’s not right to hit, television says it’s OK to bite, hit, or kick if you’re the good guy. This can lead to confusion when kids try to understand the difference between right and wrong. And the “bad guys” on TV aren’t always held responsible or punished for their actions.

Young kids are particularly frightened by scary and violent images. Simply telling kids that those images aren’t real won’t console them, because they can’t yet distinguish between fantasy and reality. Behavior problems, nightmares, and difficulty sleeping may follow exposure to media violence. -Source

Check out this video by pediatrician, research and parent Dr. Dimitri Christakis

There is a reason it is called “television programming”. Instead, take the time to limit your children’s television watching by going out and living life with them first hand.