Children's Television
...of the most time consuming activities is watching television. Most children plug into the world of television long before they enter school: 70% of child-care centers use TV during a typical day. In a year, the average child spends 900 hours in school and nearly 1,023 hours in front of a TV. Television plays a large role in the social, emotional, and cognitive development of children today. One good quality that television has is that it conveys information and happenings around the world that they may not otherwise know about, but some people have been questioning whether television does more harm than good. Many have been analyzing what affect violence in adult shows as well as children's shows may have on children.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) guidelines say children older than two should watch no more than 1 to 2 hours a day of quality programming. However, according to the AAP, kids in the United States watch about four hours of TV a day. And, according to the guidelines, children under age 2 should have no "screen time" such as TV, videotapes or DVDs, computers or video games, at all. The first two years of a child's life is the critical time for brain development. Such activities help young children develop the skills they need to grow cognitively, emotionally, physically, and socially.
Inappropriate television viewing may have an undesirable effect on learning and cognitive development. The time spent viewing television limits the amount of time a child has contact and interaction with other children, the number of opportunities a child has to use his or her imagination in creative play and the amount of time and activities devoted to acquiring reading and other skills. A reduction in the time spent on homework and other activities important for school achievement is associated with television viewing. Sleep is interfered with...
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