TODDLER TV
Television exerts an almost inescapable influence in today’s world. Statistics show that children ages 2-17 spend almost 20 hours per week watching TV and most of that time is unsupervised. Some research suggests that more TV watching correlates to higher levels of violence, ADHD, obesity, academic and social problems, and even autism in children.
It is tempting for parents to put on a movie for their kids in order to buy themselves a little down time. This free, built-in baby sitter is just too good to pass up. Many well-intentioned parents justify this by providing only educational videos or programs for their child thinking that they are actually accelerating their learning. Although there was great hope at one time that educational programming could teach effectively and thereby increase a child’s learning opportunities, studies have not supported that idea.
For a toddler, time spent in front of the television is time taken away from normal developmental activities. We have known for years that little brains learn by interacting with the environment. In other words, we learn about a ball by playing with a ball…not by watching a ball on TV. The same is true for virtually everything we learn at an early age. It seems that the key element to effective learning is interacting.
Television lacks that necessary component of interacting. Watching TV is an “input only” type of activity where the child does nothing but sit and watch. This activates only small parts of the brain that generally involve recognition of objects and sounds and not brain areas that are involved in higher-level learning. Producers of children’s programs understand this and try to make their lessons as “hands-on” as possible, but the results are still lacking.
Early problem-solving skills are especially affected by restricted interaction. Humans begin to learn how to problem solve from the moment they are born by experimenting with their environment. For infants, crying generally solves all problems. As we get older and our world expands, we are confronted with new obstacles and problems that require developing and implementing a plan. Dealing effectively with these obstacles is an essential aspect of healthy development. As adults, the ability to deal with our problems effectively, without frustration, is a key to a successful life.
For a toddler, then, figuring out how to get the ball from under the chair, is an important task. What if my arm is too short? What can I use to reach it? What if the ball is stuck? Can I get it from the other side better? What if I can’t see it? How can I keep it from going under there again? Can I do this myself? For a new little brain, these problem solving opportunities represent the foundation of autonomy and self esteem.
The very best educational TV program can’t do that.
It is tempting for parents to put on a movie for their kids in order to buy themselves a little down time. This free, built-in baby sitter is just too good to pass up. Many well-intentioned parents justify this by providing only educational videos or programs for their child thinking that they are actually accelerating their learning. Although there was great hope at one time that educational programming could teach effectively and thereby increase a child’s learning opportunities, studies have not supported that idea.
For a toddler, time spent in front of the television is time taken away from normal developmental activities. We have known for years that little brains learn by interacting with the environment. In other words, we learn about a ball by playing with a ball…not by watching a ball on TV. The same is true for virtually everything we learn at an early age. It seems that the key element to effective learning is interacting.
Television lacks that necessary component of interacting. Watching TV is an “input only” type of activity where the child does nothing but sit and watch. This activates only small parts of the brain that generally involve recognition of objects and sounds and not brain areas that are involved in higher-level learning. Producers of children’s programs understand this and try to make their lessons as “hands-on” as possible, but the results are still lacking.
Early problem-solving skills are especially affected by restricted interaction. Humans begin to learn how to problem solve from the moment they are born by experimenting with their environment. For infants, crying generally solves all problems. As we get older and our world expands, we are confronted with new obstacles and problems that require developing and implementing a plan. Dealing effectively with these obstacles is an essential aspect of healthy development. As adults, the ability to deal with our problems effectively, without frustration, is a key to a successful life.
For a toddler, then, figuring out how to get the ball from under the chair, is an important task. What if my arm is too short? What can I use to reach it? What if the ball is stuck? Can I get it from the other side better? What if I can’t see it? How can I keep it from going under there again? Can I do this myself? For a new little brain, these problem solving opportunities represent the foundation of autonomy and self esteem.
The very best educational TV program can’t do that.
