Expert Warns Letting Infants Watch TV Can Be Harm

A leading child expert is warning parents to limit the amount of television children watch before the age of two, after an extensive review showed that it can do more harm than good to their ongoing development

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 15th Sep, 2017 ) : A leading child expert is warning parents to limit the amount of television children watch before the age of two, after an extensive review showed that it can do more harm than good to their ongoing development.

Professor Dimitri A Christakis, from the Seattle Children's Research Institute and the University of Washington, USA, has also expressed considerable concerns about DVDs aimed at infants that claim to be beneficial, despite a lack of scientific evidence.

Professor Christakis' extensive review looked at 78 studies published over the last 25 years and reiterates the findings of numerous studies he has carried out with colleagues into this specialist area, Health news reported.

He points out that as many as nine in ten children under the age of two watch tv regularly, despite ongoing warnings, and some spend as much as 40 per cent of their waking hours in front of a TV.

"No studies to date have demonstrated benefits associated with early infant TV viewing" says Professor Christakis, whose review looked at the effect that TV has on children's language, cognitive skills and attentional capacity, as well as areas for future research.

"The weight of existing evidence suggests the potential for harm and I believe that parents should exercise due caution in exposing infants to excessive media" he says.

"TV also replaces other more important and appropriate activities like playing or interacting with parents." There have been concerns about infants viewing TV for the last four decades but it has only been in recent years that studies have provided the empirical data to back up those concerns.

"The explosion in infant TV viewing and the potential risks associated with it raise several important policy implications" concludes Professor Christakis. "First and foremost, the lack of regulation related to claims made by people promoting programmes and DVDs aimed at infants is problematic.

Educational claims should, and can, be based on scientific data. Despite this, the Names of the products and the testimonials they use often convince parents that TV viewing has a positive impact on their infants.

"Secondly, parents need to be better informed about what activities really do promote healthy development in young children. This may provide some defence against the aggressive marketing techniques being employed. "Last, but not least, more resources need to be made available to fund critical research related to the effects of media on young children."