It started innocently enough: a few minutes of Curious George on PBS in the morning while my husband and I got dressed. Very soon, however, my toddler was standing in front of the blank television and begging for “George! George! George!”
We’ve allowed the love affair to continue, though we ration her time with the monkey.
Sometimes, I wonder if even a little bit of TV hurts her still-developing brain. I long- vowed to be a no-television parent. But she gets such a kick out of the show, and—let’s be honest—it’s nice to apply lip gloss without a two-year-old simultaneously plundering your makeup drawer.
I’ve read the reports. I know research shows television can make kids fatter and more aggressive and can hurt their performance at school. A relatively new study from a Cornell University professor claims a possible link between television and autism. But it seems that most of the studies are about kids who watch lots and lots of television.
For instance, a Stanford University study showed that third graders with televisions in their bedrooms scored lower on standardized tests than children without televisions in their rooms.
I’m not thinking about wiring the nursery, just allowing a few minutes of PBS.
So I asked an expert, Susan Linn, author of Consuming Kids: The Hostile Takeover of Childhood. Susan is also an instructor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and the associate director of the media center at the Judge Baker Children’s Center in Boston.
Susan recommends absolutely no television for children under age two, citing a recommendation from the American Academy of Pediatrics. Susan says television takes babies away from creative play and interacting with parents, two important things for development. She also says there is research linking television viewing to bullying behavior in very young children.
My daughter just celebrated her second birthday (with a Curious George cake). Is a little television OK now?
Susan says TV is still not the best way for older children to spend their time. Sure, some programs have educational value. However, the accompanying advertising is a negative. Networks like Nickelodeon carry regular commercials, while PBS has controversial sponsorships that Susan says are basically the same thing as commercials.
Advertising encourages children to want things that may not be particularly good for them, she says. (SpongeBob Macaroni and Cheese, anyone?).
Also, she says, “you are teaching children to turn to screens for stimulation and soothing.”
Linn acknowledges that unplugging the television isn’t easy these days, when parents are so busy.
“People really, really, really want it to be OK,” Susan says. “Life would be easier if you could put children in front of the tube and not worry about it. The reality is, it’s a lot more complicated than that.”
In other words, she doesn’t think George is such a great idea.
What do you think?
