Most 2 Year Olds Watch 1.5 Hours of TV A Day Despite Warnings

According to the May issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. 40 percent of three month year old children and 90 percent of children under 2 years of age watch TV regularly, DVD's or Videos.

Warnings Warnings Warnings

"The public health implications of early television and video viewing are potentially large. There are both theoretical and empirical reasons to believe that the effects of media exposure on children’s development are more likely to be adverse before the age of about 30 months than afterward," the authors note. Recent studies suggest that what children younger than two years watch and whether they watch it alone or with a parent may be important for their vocabulary development.

Surveys

Surveys were conducted which involved 1009 parents by Frederick J. Zimmerman, PhD; Dimitri A. Christakis, MD, MPH; Andrew N. Meltzoff, PhD
The surveys where to draw the following conclusions about children viewing TV under the age of 2.

conclusion

Parents should be urged to make educated choices about their children's media exposure. Parental hopes for the educational potential of television can be supported by encouraging those parents who are already allowing screen time to watch with their children.

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