Videos

I am slowly wading into uncharted waters with Taylor. Well … uncharted for me, that is. For the first time in two years she is paying attention to the TV. Recently, her favorite movies are “Fish,” Finding Nemo, and “Bunny,” Watership Down. Luckily, these are the only two movies or TV shows she has paid attention to. But how much TV should she watch? How many times should she watch her movies in one day? Is having the TV on during the day, whether she is watching it or not, negatively affecting her cognitive development?

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, the answer is yes to all of my questions. On one of the websites I browsed this morning I found a startling statistic: For every hour of TV a toddler watches, the child has almost a ten percent higher chance of developing attention problems that could be diagnosed as ADHD by age seven. In other words, a toddler watching three hours of TV daily has a 30 percent higher chance of having attention problems in school. In addition, at least one expert believes that the insistent noise of television in the home may interfere with the development of ‘inner speech’ by which a child learns to think through problems and plans and restrain impulsive responding to external stimuli (www.whitedot.org).

As a teacher, I know from first-hand experience that ADD and ADHD diagnoses are real, albeit, in my non-medical opinion, over diagnosed. However, those kids truly afflicted with ADD or ADHD struggle with nearly everything and anything that demands concentrated attention. The kids I am thinking of struggle to do the simplest takes such as sitting still, taking notes, or waiting their turn before blurting out an answer in class.

The article further explains a child’s brain is rapidly developing, but certainly not as fast as we think. For example, when a baby first discovers his or her fingers there is a period of neutral pattering that occurs as the brain literally maps the connections between “I have fingers” and “this is how they work.” As one would expect, sitting in front of a mesmerizing TV show does not allow enough time for those connections to be made. In my own experience, this explains why Taylor spends minutes saying “turtle” over and over again¬ when watching Finding Nemo– even though the turtle scenes have passed by, instead of calling out all of the animals in rapid succession as they appear on the screen; her brain is too busy processing what she saw.

Am I unwittingly putting my children at risk because Taylor likes to watch Finding Nemo or I like to watch the Military Channel or the DIY (Do It Yourself) home improvement channel during the day? I guess so. I would like to think that I am counteracting the effects of the TV by playing with the kids throughout the day, taking them outside for walks or allowing them to discover the outdoors, or taking them to the park. But am I doing enough? Does the TV cause that much irreparable damage so quickly? How much television should I let my kids watch or listen to? Can I go without the TV? The experts say that no child under the age of two should watch television. And children over the age of two that watch television have an increased risk of developing ADD, ADHD, aggressive behaviors, and obesity. One would think that the answer to my questions is simple: turn off the television. But then again, how many of those experts are stay-at-home mothers or fathers? Would they be willing or able to keep the TV silent throughout the day, everyday?

While I am not addicted to watching the television– I haven’t had a favorite TV show since the introduction of Friends in 1994– I do like watching some shows and I like the occasional classic movie. And at the same time, I certainly do not like the idea of inundating my children with systematic and overwhelming squawking from any source. Maybe moderation is the answer? Besides watching the morning and evening news, there are no shows or mini series I watch throughout the day. Possibly, the mere act or striving towards less television watching will produce the same results as purposeful deprivation? Possibly.