Television for children under Two will harm development
Research by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) show that media watched passively on television or computer screens by children under the age of two will delay the child’s ability to talk as well as hinder other areas of development.
These guidelines were issued as a result of the surge in DVD’s targeting the 0-2 year old age group and 90% of parents admitting that their infants watch some sort of electronic media.
Instead of watching television parents should encourage independent play and talk to the infant more to help develop language skills and make them more active rather than sitting passively. Beware of DVD’s that are promoted as educational DVD’s. According to pediatricians children in this age group are too young to understand what is shown on the screen.
The AAP also recommends that parents cut down their own television viewing time as well as this will reduce the time they interact with the child and the less you talk to the child the longer he will take to talk.
The AAP recommends no more than two hours of television a day for children over two years. The best way to stimulate a developing brain is to allow unstructured play.