TV not recommended for kids under two
Experts say educational TV programs and videos have a little benefit but more probable negative effects on children under the age of two.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), there is little evidence to support advertising claims that special television programs and videos targeted at babies and toddlers can improve their social and language skills.
The new guidelines warned that spending children’s time in front of the tube can limit their creative play time and reduce their interactions with parents and other toddlers.
TV times can also disrupt sleep and meal routines which are critical processes in a baby’s developmental journey, said Dr. Ari Brown, a spokeswoman for the AAP, and lead author of the new guidelines.
”This updated policy statement provides further evidence that media -- both foreground and background -- have potentially negative effects and no known positive effects for children younger than two years,” the new guidelines suggested. ”Thus the AAP reaffirms its recommendation to discourage media use in this age group.”
The new recommendations are the same as those APP issued in 1999 but also warning parents about how their own TV habits may delay their children’s ability to talk.
”When the TV is on the parent is talking less,” Brown told AFP. ”There is some scientific evidence that shows that the less talk time a child has, the poorer their language development is.”
”In today’s 'achievement culture', the best thing you can do for your young child is to give her a chance to have unstructured play, both with you and independently. Children need this in order to figure out how the world works,” Dr. Brown recommended parents.
Experts updated AAP guidelines after the explosion of baby DVDs targeting the 0-2 age group, and due to the fact that as many as 90 percent of parents acknowledge that their infants watch some sort of electronic media, He added.
The so-called educational videos are not benefiting kids under two because they are too young to be able to understand the images on the screen, the guidelines said.
"The educational merit of media for children younger than two years remains unproven despite the fact that three quarters of the top-selling infant videos make explicit or implicit educational claims," AAP added.
Source: presstv.ir
