TV bad for baby brain development
I remember hearing people say that leaving the TV on for children will “help them pick up more words”. However on the contrary, study shows that this is not true. Instead, the steady stream of noise coming out of the TV makes no sense to children, hence it doesn’t help them learn. What teaches children speech is interaction with the usage of words and phrases. This is what enables children to learn how to express themselves. Bringing up kids can be an enormous challenge. At the same time, I believe this is also a very rewarding experience for the parents.
Study finds TV bad for baby brain development
From correspondents in Washington, Agence France-Presse, June 02, 2009 09:52am
(from news.com.au)
Having the television on constantly in a household with infants and toddlers is bad for brain and language development, a US study claims.
The study claims the constant television noise reduces the number of words kids hear and say.
It found that for every hour that the television is on with the volume turned up in a household with small children, the children heard between 500 to a thousand fewer words from adults.
“Audible television clearly reduces speech for both infants and their caregivers within the home and this is potentially harmful for babies’ development,” University of Washington professor of pediatrics Dimitri Christakis said.
“Adults typically utter approximately 941 words per hour.
“Our study found that adult words are almost completely eliminated when television is audible to the child.
“These results may explain the association between infant television exposure and delayed language development.”
Constant exposure to television could also explain attentional and cognitive delays in children, he said, since language development is believed to be key in brain development in early childhood.
For the study, 329 children ranging in age from two months to four years wore special vests with a chest pocket that held a small digital recorder.
The children wore the vests on random days for up to two years.
The recorder captured everything the child said and heard during continuous 12- to 16-hour periods, and was only removed when the child napped or slept, was bathed or went for a ride in the car.
When the researchers counted the number of words uttered by adults and vocalisations by children, as well as vocal interactions between grown-ups and kids, they found that having the telly on resulted in significant reductions in all speech, regardless of whether it was being actively watched or just on in the background.
“Television is not only a poor caregiver substitute, but it actually reduces the number of language sounds and words babies hear, vocalise and therefore learn,” Dr Christakis said.
“We are increasingly technologising infancy, which may prove harmful to the next generation of adults.”
The study was published in the June issue of the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.
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