TV and Babies - The Debate Continues
The debate over babies and television continues. Here is a post from my Yahoo Group and here is my reply.
Sitting your infant down in front of one of those $20 Baby Einstein
videos may not make him a genius, but it can't hurt, right? ... Right?
But bright colors, soft music and soothing narrations aside, the
experience may actually set very young children back a bit, a study
in today's Journal of Pediatrics suggests: For every hour spent
watching, infants understand fewer words than those who don't watch.
videos may not make him a genius, but it can't hurt, right? ... Right?
But bright colors, soft music and soothing narrations aside, the
experience may actually set very young children back a bit, a study
in today's Journal of Pediatrics suggests: For every hour spent
watching, infants understand fewer words than those who don't watch.
Researchers used random telephone surveys of more than 1,000
parents, asking how many words from a list of 90 or so their child
understood. For older kids, parents said how many their child used.
parents, asking how many words from a list of 90 or so their child
understood. For older kids, parents said how many their child used.
For babies ages 8 to 16 months, every hour each day spent watching
videos marketed for brain-building translated into six to eight
fewer words understood, compared with kids who didn't watch.
Whether parents watched alongside their babies didn't matter.
For older kids -- 1 1/2 to 2 years old -- the smart-baby videos
showed no effect.
The data don't track long-term progress, but it does suggest the
benefits of more hours of face time and fewer videos, says lead
researcher Frederick Zimmerman of the University of Washington
school of public health. "If parents can avoid them altogether, I
think that's good."
Parents spent $2.5 billion in 2005 on infant brain-building
products, Fortune magazine says.
Zimmerman, co-author of the 2006 book The Elephant in the Living
Room: Make Television Work for Your Kids, says the new findings
challenge makers of Baby Einstein, Brainy Baby and other videos to
produce research -- not just parent testimonials -- showing their
products' benefits. "None of them have done any research to date,"
he says.
Representatives of the two companies did not immediately respond to requests for interviews
videos marketed for brain-building translated into six to eight
fewer words understood, compared with kids who didn't watch.
Whether parents watched alongside their babies didn't matter.
For older kids -- 1 1/2 to 2 years old -- the smart-baby videos
showed no effect.
The data don't track long-term progress, but it does suggest the
benefits of more hours of face time and fewer videos, says lead
researcher Frederick Zimmerman of the University of Washington
school of public health. "If parents can avoid them altogether, I
think that's good."
Parents spent $2.5 billion in 2005 on infant brain-building
products, Fortune magazine says.
Zimmerman, co-author of the 2006 book The Elephant in the Living
Room: Make Television Work for Your Kids, says the new findings
challenge makers of Baby Einstein, Brainy Baby and other videos to
produce research -- not just parent testimonials -- showing their
products' benefits. "None of them have done any research to date,"
he says.
Representatives of the two companies did not immediately respond to requests for interviews
c) USA TODAY, 2007
I have seen this study mentioned before. It was not a controlled
study and when they say educational television viewing that does not
exclude cartoons. The bottom line is that parents need to do what is
right for them and their families.
I personally love Baby Einstein, not for its great educational
content, because in that it is definitely lacking, but I like the
music and the videography. I watched this with my little ones and we
enjoyed it, but there isn't anything to learn from it. It is purely
entertainment. But hey, sometimes we all need some entertainment. I
prefer to have my babies entertained and peaceful as opposed to
screaming when I need to get something done. I would not recommend
having babies watch more than 1 hour of television a day either.
People are giving Brainy Baby a bad rap. Have you ever watched
Brainy Baby? They do not attempt to teach babies to read but they
talk plenty and explain all kinds of things to babies. They tell you
about colors and animals and all sorts of stuff. They are very
educational. I learned a few things watching the videos as well.
The reason they claim babies are learning fewer words than babies
that don't watch TV is because they are assuming that videos, such as
Baby Einstein, with little to no speaking, are not exposing children
to language. If your child is hearing language, there is definitely
stimulation occurring, as opposed to just looking at pretty pictures.
When parents spend time reading to their children they are
stimulating their intellects. They are building vocabulary and
preparing them for literacy. One study shows that the amount of
words a baby hears by the age of 2 will determine their future
academic success. That is eye opening. In our Monki See videos we
have lots of narration and poetry, because these are important in
creating connections between what words say and what the words mean.
We are almost ready to launch our second video. It has lots of
poetry and narration in it. In our tweaking here my little ones are
already reciting some of what they have heard. That's not a bad thing.
When my oldest, almost 14 years old was a baby, we watched Sesame
Street. There was not much else. Before she was two she knew her
numbers and her letters and a whole bunch of other stuff that some
kids aren't exposed to until preschool. In a perfect world, maybe we
wouldn't need to ever have our children watch TV, but in my world, of
working, chores and home schooling and raising 6 children, there are
the moments, usually in the first 2 years of life, that we need that
little break to get something done, and in those cases, I really love
the option of putting on an educational video or two.
As a rookie mom 13 years ago, somedays I let me daughter watch 2
hours of television out of desperation to get my daily tasks done.
She does not suffer from ADD or ADHD. She began learning to read and
write at 3 years old. She is an intelligent and wonderful child.
There are so many great things you can teach your babies through
video these days. Here are a few of my favorites.
The whole Signing Time series
Sesame Street's - Learning About Letters and Getting Ready to Read
Little Pim
Brainy Baby Spanish
Monki See Monki Doo
Baby Einstein- Baby Newton This video actually does teach the shapes
very well.
For parents that want to teach their baby something that is new to
them also, videos are a great choice for learning together.
study and when they say educational television viewing that does not
exclude cartoons. The bottom line is that parents need to do what is
right for them and their families.
I personally love Baby Einstein, not for its great educational
content, because in that it is definitely lacking, but I like the
music and the videography. I watched this with my little ones and we
enjoyed it, but there isn't anything to learn from it. It is purely
entertainment. But hey, sometimes we all need some entertainment. I
prefer to have my babies entertained and peaceful as opposed to
screaming when I need to get something done. I would not recommend
having babies watch more than 1 hour of television a day either.
People are giving Brainy Baby a bad rap. Have you ever watched
Brainy Baby? They do not attempt to teach babies to read but they
talk plenty and explain all kinds of things to babies. They tell you
about colors and animals and all sorts of stuff. They are very
educational. I learned a few things watching the videos as well.
The reason they claim babies are learning fewer words than babies
that don't watch TV is because they are assuming that videos, such as
Baby Einstein, with little to no speaking, are not exposing children
to language. If your child is hearing language, there is definitely
stimulation occurring, as opposed to just looking at pretty pictures.
When parents spend time reading to their children they are
stimulating their intellects. They are building vocabulary and
preparing them for literacy. One study shows that the amount of
words a baby hears by the age of 2 will determine their future
academic success. That is eye opening. In our Monki See videos we
have lots of narration and poetry, because these are important in
creating connections between what words say and what the words mean.
We are almost ready to launch our second video. It has lots of
poetry and narration in it. In our tweaking here my little ones are
already reciting some of what they have heard. That's not a bad thing.
When my oldest, almost 14 years old was a baby, we watched Sesame
Street. There was not much else. Before she was two she knew her
numbers and her letters and a whole bunch of other stuff that some
kids aren't exposed to until preschool. In a perfect world, maybe we
wouldn't need to ever have our children watch TV, but in my world, of
working, chores and home schooling and raising 6 children, there are
the moments, usually in the first 2 years of life, that we need that
little break to get something done, and in those cases, I really love
the option of putting on an educational video or two.
As a rookie mom 13 years ago, somedays I let me daughter watch 2
hours of television out of desperation to get my daily tasks done.
She does not suffer from ADD or ADHD. She began learning to read and
write at 3 years old. She is an intelligent and wonderful child.
There are so many great things you can teach your babies through
video these days. Here are a few of my favorites.
The whole Signing Time series
Sesame Street's - Learning About Letters and Getting Ready to Read
Little Pim
Brainy Baby Spanish
Monki See Monki Doo
Baby Einstein- Baby Newton This video actually does teach the shapes
very well.
For parents that want to teach their baby something that is new to
them also, videos are a great choice for learning together.
Posted by Krista G. at 9/14/2009 3:26 PM 
Categories: Educational Videos, My experiences
Tags: Babies and television babies and tv
Categories: Educational Videos, My experiences
Tags: Babies and television babies and tv
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