Into the Minds of Babes

Posted by: Lauren Young on October 01

As readers of this blog know, I’m a bit obsessed about letting my son watch TV. I’m certain his brain is turning to mush every time I plunk him down in front of the television with his “friends” Dora or Calliou. When a copy of “Into the Minds of Babes: How Screen Time Affects Children From Birth to Age 5” by Lisa Guernsey (Basic Books) crossed my desk, I knew I had to interview the author. I checked in with Guernsey, a former New York Times reporter, to find out more about her book as well as to get her take on today’s study by the American Academy of Pediatrics that says consistent, heavy television viewing (more than two hours a day) throughout early childhood can cause behavior, sleep and attention problems. Here are edited excerpts:

Q: How good is the research out there on TV and kids?
A: When I started this project, I thought I’d find a couple of studies about video affecting children’s brains. While I only found a few studies that answer very specific questions (about brain development), there is a lot of research out there on how children learn from observing, what they are seeing, hearing, what they imitate. Outside the circle of media research is a lot of research being done on language development.

Q. Why did you decide to write this book?
A. One of the first thing I heard as a new parent is the recommendation from the American Academy of Pediatrics that children under the age of two should not watch more than an hour of television each day. When I was writing the book with a newborn and two-year-old, things evolved. We certainly got to the point after the craziness of the newborn/toddler world where we’d have at least an hour of TV in the morning, usually on Noggin or Playhouse Disney, or even more often on DVR.

Q. What do you think about the latest research linking television to children’s behavior problems?
A. I got a copy of the new AAP study (last week) and have been poring over it. It is interesting, helpful, but a little complicated. I appreciate that it is trying to dig deeper to find out what forces are driving the negative behaviors often attributed to TV.

A couple of points that I might make about the study, given what I have learned over the past several years is that 20% of the respondents reported TV exposure of more than 2 hours at both 2.5 years old and 5.5 years old. In other words, this study doesn't align with conventional wisdom that the majority of parents are putting children in front of TV for hours on end.

Despite some of the focus on attention problems in earlier studies, there is no evidence here that viewing as toddlers or preschoolers has an impact on attention. A link between TV and negative behavior (including attention problems) did show up, however, when there was heavy viewing at BOTH 2.5 and 5.5 years old. There's still a lot of sorting to do on what is causing what…

It's worth noting that sustained exposure didn't seem to have any ill effects when it came to social skills, except for self-control...In short, the study doesn't necessarily speak to parents who let their children watch TV in moderation—say, 30 minutes to an hour each day. It does provide some relief to parents who let their 2-year-olds watch a lot of TV but cut back on TV-watching by the time the kids entered kindergarten. And it points to a need to delve into what is happening in the lives of children who watch more than 2 hours a day throughout their toddler, preschool and kindergarten years. I wonder, for example, about how much time they have to simply play.

Q. So what shows do you recommend for children?
A. Well, a lot solid research has been done on Barney. Some parents might say, “Oh God, do we really have to turn on Barney?” The reason why Barney is good is because it is paced according to daily life, so children can follow what is happening on screen. The show uses a lot of repetition so children can process what they are hearing. Any parent can relate to that. How many times do you have to tell you child: “Go get your Crocs. We are going outside.”?

Participation is one of the things that is not as present on Barney, but you will find more of it on Dora, Blue’s Clues, and Sesame Street. While having the narrator or a character on screen ask a question and wait for an answer might seem fake to parents, children want to talk back, get involved, and answer questions. It’s an intellectual moment in their minds. Little Einsteins and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse also include moments where children have mental work to do, although there is no research on these shows yet.

Q. What shows do you let your children watch?
A. One show my older daughter just started watching is Pinky Dinky Doo. It uses a lot of repetition as well as some good narrative techniques to try to introduce children to new vocabulary—it’s one of those shows that runs in the exact same format every time. Each episode opens the same way, in the same room and a fun problem is solved by going into the story box. A story is told, it ends, and then there is a review session using fun games to go over vocabulary. It may sound rote, but when you watch the show, it’s creative and fun.

Dragon Tales was another eye opener, especially for the messages it tells. The reason why is because most of the show is focused on resolving a problem as opposed to focusing on the conflict. At a young age, it’s not as helpful to focus on conflict. Children are going to home in on that conflict and the resolution will go right over their heads. Clifford and Arthur are usually considered great for kids, but often it’s a lot about the problem, and a very short part of the program is spent on the solution.

Another show I’m very excited to see is called Super Why. It was created by the same person who is the co-creator of Blue’s Clues.

My three-year-old still loves Dora and she also likes Calliou. My five-year-old wants nothing to do with Dora. She’s moved on to Between the Lions and Postcards From Buster.

Q. What surprised you the most when you were researching this book?
A. I learned that background TV can do some harm. I’m not saying houses should be silent tombs, but it can be hard for a seven-month old to make distinctions and hear the words you are speaking if they have background noise to compete with. Almost 40% of families with a young child say they have the TV on most or all of time when they are at home.

We should be thinking what it means when raising children in an environment when there is a constant distraction. Research shows background TV affects the amount of time a child spends with a toy. It also shortens parents’ interactions with each other, and it impacts the way children hear sounds as well as the way they develop language.

Q. And what’s your conclusion about young kids watching TV?
A. I started this project from a worried parent’s point of view. I came to conclusion that we can relax a little bit. Parents today are getting so many messages: Make sure you do this, and don’t do that. They are told that even an hour of television per day for an 18-month old might be setting them down a path they can never come back from.

When you look at daily life, and how media is used in households, it is not dominating life at all—most of us are not plunking our kids in front of videos for hours on end. Sure, we may use a video to give mom and dad a break…but there is little evidence that video in moderate amounts is doing any damage whatsoever. To me, that was a relief to discover.

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