|
Babies and TV: Three simple guidelines for parents
by Alexandra M. Tornek and Scott H. Tornek
Since we founded our young-children’s educational media company back in 1997, one of the most common questions we receive from our customers and friends relates to television viewing guidelines for their babies and toddlers. When we first began producing programs for this age group, television programs, as well as educational home videos specifically created for babies, simply did not exist. Since then, of course, there has been an explosion in such programming, yet for new parents, the questions remain the same: “As a responsible new parent, should I let my baby watch TV, and if so, how do I make this a proper learning experience?”
Our answer to the first question is a qualified, “Yes.” Alexandra, as a result of her background as an infancy researcher, has always believed that the television can be used as a wonderful, stimulating vehicle for early childhood learning, but with the proper content, and usage guidelines. The feedback we have received over the years from customers as well as educators and experts has supported this viewpoint. Parents have had incredible learning experiences with certain types of programming.
But the question remains, how do parents make sure they are, indeed, being responsible parents with regard to the TV? Here are three simple guidelines that we feel will help:
Choose Age-Appropriate Programs
Television as we know it is meant to entertain us as adults. “Mute” the sound on your TV set and count how many “jump-cuts,” or abrupt scene changes, you see. Our adult brains are able to process information quite quickly and “fill in the gaps” to convert a series of well-calculated, individual scenes into a meaningful story experience.
Children, however, need more time to absorb information, and so you will notice, for instance, a preschool program (for ages three to six years old) is typically slower than a program geared for adults. Take this a step further, and imagine what a baby’s needs are at, say, one year of age, in order to process material in this format. Not only do babies need more time to absorb the information, but the information itself must be specialized for their age level as well.
What does this translate to? In part, what attracts babies visually is innate. For instance, infants will prefer to look at objects high in contrast, such as the pupils of the eyes or the source of mother’s milk (the nipple). Not surprisingly, when watching television, bold, high-contrast, colorful, simple images and concepts are the types of visuals your baby will be able to best absorb and process. In addition, due to their age, slow-moving images with few, or no, abrupt scene changes are best matched to these early stages of development. Music, too, should be gentle or playful, but never loud or startling.
In general, show your baby something new and they will need time simply to focus on it, and then once they have “found” the object you are presenting, only then can they study it and play with it. Remember, just because a program seems slow and possibly boring for us as adults, it doesn’t mean that it is too slow for your baby!
Parents Should Participate
Human interaction is a vital component to raising your baby. Studies have shown that in environments where babies are deprived of social interaction, they suffer both physically and intellectually. This applies to any activity you do during the day, from changing diapers to feeding your baby. In short, talking, touching and making eye contact with your baby will help them thrive. Studies have shown that babies understand your language well before they learn to speak, so just because your child doesn’t answer you, doesn’t mean they’re not listening, and learning!
These principals of participation and interaction apply to watching television too. Asking questions to your child, naming objects that appear on the screen; dancing, clapping or singing to the music soundtrack, are all ways in which parents can optimize television viewing as an educational and enriching experience for their child. As a result, the programs you choose for your child’s enrichment should provide ample “space” for you as parent to interact with your child. You can also get creative with how to use the television. Pause the video you’re watching and take the time to point or name things for your child. As your baby becomes verbal, ask them questions and allow them time to “answer.” Another technique: “Mute” the sound and narrate. The mute and pause buttons can become effective, interactive parenting tools!
Monitor Viewing
It is important to monitor not only what your child is watching, but how much. Television unfortunately, for adults as well as children, can become a bad habit if over-used. To control this, set a specific time in your schedule when you and your child will watch television together. Of course, parents certainly should not feel obliged to watch television daily, nor will your child be at a “loss” if they don’t watch television on a regular basis.
In general, with regard to TV monitoring, short increments are the best rule. Use “TV time” as you would any activity, such as reading a book or playing with a toy. One sitting can be as short as five minutes. We often are asked: “How much should my baby watch per day?” For babies three to nine months, we believe a good “rule of thumb” for television activities is about 10 or 15 minutes a day; for nine to eighteen months old, up to about 30 minutes a day. Of course, there is no need to worry about that one crazy day when your child watches more than thirty minutes of television.
Babies can become over-stimulated, too. Hence, it is important to watch for cues from your baby that it is time for a new activity. If your baby looks away, starts to play with something else, gets fidgety, or cries, it is time for another activity. Of course, if your baby becomes unhappy during any kind of stimulating play activity, television or otherwise, it’s time to take a break. And don’t forget the basics when your child seems unhappy: it might be time for a nap, a feeding or a diaper change!
|
