TV For Under-2s Not Beneficial

Sticking on a DVD for your toddler might keep them entertained but don't expect any more than that according to a study.

Harvard research scientists from The Centre on Media and Child Health yesterday released a study which debunked claims that watching TV under the age of two could improve a child's language and visual motor skills.

This is the first long-term study to look at the link between infant TV viewing and their language and visual motor skills in their first three years.

Lead author Dr Marie Evans Schmidt said although her study failed to find that moderate TV watching damaged children's development she urged parents to exercise caution given other recent research.

"Certainly some of those would suggest that infants watching TV are at increased risk for obesity, sleep disturbances and possibly attention problems," she said.

"When parents make decisions of what's best for their families, they have to look at the body of research and I think that there is more evidence of harm than benefit."

Tarragindi mother Aleesha Hampson has learnt to restrict TV viewing for her two-year-old son Noah and 10-month-old Elijah.

Ms Hampson, who like most parents worries about the impact screen time can have on children, had a strict no-TV policy when her first son Noah was born.

Things changed when his younger brother Elijah came along just more than a year later, and she found she would sometimes rely on TV as a babysitter while she juggled her mothering duties.

But the more Noah watched, the more he wanted to watch. He would resist nap time and have tantrums when the TV was switched off.

"He's now limited to no more than two hours a day," she said.

Dr Schmidt, who has two daughters aged three and nearly two, understands that controlling television viewing can be challenging, particularly for parents of more than one child.

"Certainly, with the three year old I'm much more flexible so long as she is watching educational TV," she said.

"I prefer that my younger one not watch very much at all. But I will admit that she's got more exposure than her sister did because sometimes her sister's watching while she's not taking her nap."

A recent analysis of 78 studies of TV viewing spanning 25 years found TV can do more harm than good for infants yet some toddlers spend up to 40 per cent of their waking hours watching TV.

Link: Childrens' TV Watching Guidelines