So I started digging around and found a couple good articles to jump start my new found interest in the effects of television on children. I discovered an article from The Globe and Mail in Canada titled (funny enough) "Children and Television." It explores different scientific research of certain studies with 2 1/2 to 5 1/2 year olds. It argues that television is dangerous and destructive to a babies' mind. As one scientist put it, "There are sensitive periods" in a child's development. Their solution is for parents to take action and remove televisions from their child's room. This is great for my research because it dives right into the meat of my thesis. I also appreciate this find because it is from a strong opinion formed by educational and professional scientific studies and research. Their article made me think more heavily about the necessity of television for babies and toddlers. I babysit three toddlers who tell me that their moms say it is "OK" if they watch some television or a movie, which really means, "My mommy never lets me watch tv but your are the babysitter. You are supposed to let us get away with this stuff." When do kids starting viewing television as a substitute babysitter? What is it about the programs that they are exposed to that make them want to keep watching day after day?
Well, it wouldn't be fair of me to leave out the "pro" side of television viewing for kids and toddlers. I dug deep and found this really awesome editorial from inside Newsweek called "Kids: To TV or Not TV?" by Anna Kuchmen Gillham. If you couldn't already guess, she is for children's programming. She works with a professor in Pennsylvania's Annenburg School for Communication, Deborah Linebarger. Together they ran studies on their own children and suggest that there might be certain age groups that can handle a small amount of television at an early age. They even think it can help kids with language development. So all those episodes of Sesame Street teaching me about letters and words contributed to my awesome vocabulary and oratory skills today...sweet. They even gave suggestions like setting time limits, choosing shows that are previously scrutinized beforehand, and even watching the show with their kids and talking about it afterward. I like that. Our children need more of that intimate connection with their parents earlier in life than later. It fosters such a close and loving bond between a parent and child. That made me think of all those kid shows that are really trying to educate their viewers as apposed to just entertaining them. I am going to find out more about those kinds of shows and do more research on them...
In the meantime, my search for sources isn't over yet. This is all just part of my mission to find more kids programs and make them useful to their child viewers. I'm gonna dive back into cyberspace and libraries. There's so much out there all waiting to be discovered!
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