Television vs Children

what bother you more violence or nudity

2012-01-22T00:41:00.000-08:00

I found this article interesting, even if when he speak about the use of bad langage, it made me think how annoying it is for me to constantly hear bad word on French TV... Having to tell your kid not to use certain bad words they are hearing all the time on TV can be challenging. Well, for us it is kind of easy as they are not watching much TV...

What TV Harms Children More: Seeing a Person Murdered or Seeing a Person Naked?

by Judge H. Lee Sarokin

Retired federal judge

As the Supreme Court (FCC v Fox Television Stations) once again wrestles with government control of profanity and nudity on broadcast television, I marvel at the focus. Children can watch murders, rapes, kidnappings, stabbings and beatings a hundred times a day, but it appears they need protection from profanity and nudity! In considering the difficult First Amendment questions, should the Court be asking whether there is a need or justification for the regulations? The statute and regulations creates a "safe haven" -- safe from what?

The network that allowed Janet Jackson to bare her breast for a millisecond was fined $550,000. The supposed basis for these regulations is to protect our children. How are children harmed by seeing a bare breast or a naked behind? I am not talking here about pornography or obscenity -- which also have their own definition problems -- but language and nudity. What happens to the children of the country after seeing a breast or even an entire naked person? When we were kids we called them "dirty pictures" and somehow we have incorporated that concept into law (and survived and even enjoyed the experience). Every child has or will see someone naked during their lifetime. Are they somehow traumatized by seeing them when they are young?

And to me, the concern about profanity is even more ludicrous. How are children harmed by the old label of "curse words" a la George Carlin? If children hear those words and their parents don't want them to use them, they can say so. But there is no intrinsic harm in hearing them. All of us would draw some lines when it comes to what should be available on TV -- broadcast and cable. "We know it when we see it," but that standard is different for everyone and too vague to provide guidance. The availability and competition of cable makes the restrictions even more problematic. It's like a father saying: "We don't allow that kind of language here -- go next door if you want to hear it!"

Also, there is the irony of those who insist on regulating profanity and nudity on TV. Although many favor it, the social conservatives are the moving force -- advocates of family values. But those are the same persons who insist that government should stay out of their private lives, and, at the same time, want it to tell TV broadcasters what they can say and show and families what they can see and hear. I am all for protecting children where they need protection, but my view is that far more harm comes from the barrage of violent, criminal activity on TV rather than from profanity and nudity.

Finally, if the Court should determine to allow "fleeting expletives" on TV in the name of free speech, it certainly will not cause anywhere near the harm to children that Citizens United has caused to the entire country.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/judge-h-lee-sarokin/fcc-vs-fox-television-_b_1206380.html

Why my children have their own computer and email and do not watch TV?

2011-11-19T13:44:00.000-08:00

Well, let's see why I would let my children have their own laptop and email while their are not watching TV?

First of all, they are learning since the beginning that TV and Computers are tools. We may watch TV programs from time to time that we did record so we can watch them at our convenience without commercial and all-together.

Computer and the internet are tools that we did use since a long time. For example we enjoy watching video on specific subject on YouTube, like watching a program from the History Channel about the Mayflower, or listening to other kids saying their poetry...

We do not have video games in our home and we will never have any as we consider those a waste of time. We favor real activities and communication over the virtual one. However, my children do have their own laptop and email so they can also communicate with their family and friends via internet. Email is also a tool and a great one to push kids to enjoy writing.

They do get some CD-Rom with educational activities. They like to use those from time to time. They are also getting used to navigate the internet (learning from us at the same time, some so important safety rules). They are using it to do some research for school and prepare some presentation.They enjoy typing their work using Word. Fun to do for 4 grader.

They are also very familiar with MSN and Skype as they use them since years to communicate with their grand-parents who live far away. That way, they do see and talk to each other every week!

They also have an I pad. They are very familiar with it as well. And in any case, they definitely identify TV and computer as tools.

'I don't let my children watch morning television... it turns them into zombies,'

2011-10-07T13:56:00.000-07:00

said an article written by JO CLEMENTS.

"...Fiona Phillips has revealed she has banned her children from watching breakfast television, because it turns them into ‘zombies’.

The former GMTV presenter, who is married to the show’s editor-in-chief Martin Frizzell, said she finds early morning television irritating and listens to the radio instead..."

A good observation made a many studies: the worse time for children to watch television is actually the morning!

Well, depending what and how, if it is a teacher showing a piece of documentary to illustrate her lesson, In other word using a video as a tools and in a specific context, this is not the same.

In that context children are supposed to be engaged in the screening as they will speak about it at the end with their professor.

On the other end, showing a movie or a cartoon in the morning will probably encourage a passive state of mind in the children. This is why parents and teachers should avoid showing those programs in the morning.

What do I need to know about children and TV?

2011-10-01T22:11:00.000-07:00

Very interesting article published by the University of Michigan about child development:

What do I need to know about children and TV?
Television (TV) has its good side. It can be entertaining and educational, and can open up new worlds for kids, giving them a chance to travel the globe, learn about different cultures, and gain exposure to ideas they may never encounter in their own community. Shows with aprosocial message can have a positive effect on kids' behavior; programs with positive role models can influence viewers to make positive lifestyle changes. However, the reverse can also be true: Kids are likely to learn things from TV that parents don't want them to learn. TV can affect kids' health, behavior and family life in negative ways.

It's worthwhile for parents to think about what role they want TV to play in their family. Consider:

A great deal is known about children and television, because there have been thousands of studies on the subject. Researchers have studied how TV affects kids' sleep, weight, grades, behavior, and more. It’s worth looking at what the research says when deciding how to manage television in your family.
Spending time watching TV can take time away from healthy activities like active play outside with friends, eating dinner together as a family, or reading. TV time also takes away from participating in sports, music, art or other activities that require practice to become skillful.
TV viewing starts earlier than other forms of media—often beginning before age two. In recent years, TV, video and DVD programs geared to babies and toddlers have come on the market—and now even a cable channel for babies. We don't know yet what effect TV-viewing by babies may have on their development. We do know that time spent watching TV replaces time spent interacting with caregivers and other children. Social interaction is critical to a baby's healthy development.

How big a presence is TV in kids' lives?

TV viewing among kids is at an eight-year high. On average, children ages 2-5 spend 32 hours a week in front of a TV—watching television, DVDs, DVR and videos, and using a game console. Kids ages 6-11 spend about 28 hours a week in front of the TV. The vast majority of this viewing (97%) is of live TV [1].
71% of 8- to 18-year-olds have a TV in their bedroom [1a]; 54% have a DVD/VCR player, 37% have cable/satellite TV, and 20% have premium channels [2].

Media technology now offers more ways to access TV content, such as on the Internet, cell phones and iPods. This has led to an increase in time spent viewing TV, even as TV-set viewing has declined. 41% of TV-viewing is now online, time-shifted, DVD or mobile [2a].
In about two-thirds of households, the TV is "usually" on during meals [3].
In 53% of households of 7th- to 12th-graders, there are no rules about TV watching [4].
In 51% of households, the TV is on "most" of the time [5].
Kids with a TV in their bedroom spend an average of almost 1.5 hours more per day watching TV than kids without a TV in the bedroom.
Many parents encourage their toddlers to watch television.

Find out more about TV in the lives of children ages zero to six.
Find out more about media in the lives of 8- to 18-year olds.

As you can see, if your child is typical, TV is playing a very big role in their life. Here are some key research findings to keep in mind as you decide what kind of role you want TV to play in your family:

TV viewing is probably replacing activities in your child' s life that you would rather have them do (things like playing with friends [6] , being physically active, getting fresh air,reading, playing imaginatively, doing homework [7], doing chores).
Kids who spend more time watching TV (both with and without parents and siblings present) spend less time interacting with family members. [8]
Excessive TV viewing can contribute to poor grades [8a], sleep problems, behavior problems, obesity, and risky behavior.
Most children’s programming does not teach what parents say they want their children to learn; many shows are filled with stereotypes, violent solutions to problems, and mean behavior.
Advertisers target kids, and on average, children see tens of thousands of TV commercials each year [9]. This includes many ads for unhealthy snack foods and drinks. Children and youth see, on average, about 2,000 beer and wine ads on TV each year [10].
Kids see favorite characters smoking, drinking, and involved in sexual situations and other risky behaviors in the shows and movies they watch on TV.
More on how television viewing affects children.
For more detailed information on these and other issues, read on.

Does TV affect children's brain development?
With television programs—and even a cable channel—designed and marketed specifically for babies, whether kids under two years of age should be watching becomes an important question. While we are learning more all the time about early brain development, we do not yet have a clear idea how television may affect it. Some studies link early TV viewing with later attention problems, such as ADHD. However, other experts disagree with these results. One study found that TV viewing before age three slightly hurt several measures of later cognitive development, but that between ages three and five it slightly helped reading scores [11].

The American Academy of Pediatrics takes a "better-safe-than-sorry" stance on TV for young children [12].

"It may be tempting to put your infant or toddler in front of the television, especially to watch shows created just for children under age two.
But the American Academy of Pediatrics says: Don't do it!
These early years are crucial in a child's development. The Academy is concerned about the impact of television programming intended for children younger than age two and how it could affect your child's development. Pediatricians strongly oppose targeted programming, especially when it's used to market toys, games, dolls, unhealthy food and other products to toddlers.
Any positive effect of television on infants and toddlers is still open to question, but the benefits of parent-child interactions are proven. Under age two, talking, singing, reading, listening to music or playing are far more important to a child's development than any TV show."

In addition, TV can discourage and replace reading. Reading requires much more thinking than television, and we know that reading fosters young people's healthy brain development. Kids from families that have the TV on a lot spend less time reading and being read to, and are less likely to be able to read [13].

What about TV and aggressive or violent behavior?
Literally thousands of studies since the 1950s have asked whether there is a link between exposure to media violence and violent behavior. All but 18 have answered, "Yes." The evidence from the research is overwhelming. According to the AAP, "Extensive research evidence indicates that media violence can contribute to aggressive behavior, desensitization to violence, nightmares, and fear of being harmed." [14 ] Watching violent shows is also linked with having less empathy toward others [14a].

An average American child will see 200,000 violent acts and 16,000 murders on TV by age 18 [15].
Two-thirds of all programming contains violence [16].
Programs designed for children more often contain violence than adult TV [17].
Most violent acts go unpunished on TV and are often accompanied by humor. The consequences of human suffering and loss are rarely depicted.
Many shows glamorize violence. TV often promotes violent acts as a fun and effective way to get what you want, without consequences [18].
Even in G-rated, animated movies and DVDs, violence is common—often as a way for the good characters to solve their problems. Every single U.S. animated feature film produced between 1937 and 1999 contained violence, and the amount of violence with intent to injure has increased over the years [19].
Even "good guys" beating up "bad guys" gives a message that violence is normal and okay. Many children will try to be like their "good guy" heroes in their play.
Children imitate the violence they see on TV. Children under age eight cannot tell the difference between reality and fantasy, making them more vulnerable to learning from and adopting as reality the violence they see on TV [20].
Repeated exposure to TV violence makes children less sensitive toward its effects on victims and the human suffering it causes.
A University of Michigan researcher demonstrated that watching violent media can affect willingness to help others in need [20a]. Read about the study here: Comfortably Numb: Desensitizing Effects of Violent Media on Helping Others.
Viewing TV violence reduces inhibitions and leads to more aggressive behavior.
Watching television violence can have long-term effects:

A 15-year-long study by University of Michigan researchers found that the link between childhood TV-violence viewing and aggressive and violent behavior persists into adulthood [21].
A 17-year-long study found that teenaged boys who grew up watching more TV each day are more likely to commit acts of violence than those who watched less[22].

Even having the TV on in the home is linked to more aggressive behavior in 3-year-olds. This was regardless of the type of programming and regardless of whether the child was actually watching the TV [23].

What parents can do:

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, media education can help kids become less susceptible to the bad effects of watching violent TV. Some studies have shown that kids who received media education had less violent behavior after watching violent programs. Teach your kids to be media savvy. Find out more about media literacy.
Watch with your kids, so if the programming turns violent, you can discuss what happened to put it in a context you want your kids to learn.
Know what your kids are watching. Decide what programs are appropriate for their age and personality, and stick to your rules.
To minimize peer pressure to watch violent shows, you may want to talk to the parents of your child's friends and agree to similar rules.
Visit YourChild: Managing Television: Tips for Your Family for more ideas.

For more on TV violence and kids:

Key Facts: TV Violence—a report from the Kaiser Family Foundation.
A 1993 summary of some of the research on TV violence and behavior.
Television Violence: Content, Context, and Consequences.
The National Television Violence Study (NTVS).
Television Violence: A Review of the Effects on Children of Different Ages—a 1995 70-page report and review of the literature.
Violence in the Media--Psychologists Help Protect Children from Harmful Effects: Decades of psychological research confirms that media violence can increase aggression.
Comfortably Numb: Desensitizing Effects of Violent Media on Helping Others—This study by a University of Michigan researcher demonstrates that watching violent media can affect willingness to help others in need.
Joint Statement on the Impact of Entertainment Violence on Children: Congressional Public Health Summit—a statement of the American Academy of Pediatrics, American. Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, American Psychological Association, American Medical Association, American Academy of Family Physicians, American Psychiatric Association.

Can TV scare or traumatize kids?

Children can come to view the world as a mean and scary place when they take violence and other disturbing themes on TV to be accurate in real life.

Symptoms of being frightened or upset by TV stories can include bad dreams, anxious feelings, being afraid of being alone, withdrawing from friends, and missing school.
Fears caused by TV can cause sleep problems in children [24].
Scary-looking things like grotesque monsters especially frighten children aged two to seven. Telling them that the images aren't real does not help because kids under age eight can't always tell the difference between fantasy and reality.
Many children exposed to scary movies regret that they watched because of the intensity of their fright reactions.
Children ages 8-12 years who view violence are often frightened that they may be a victim of violence or a natural disaster.
Violent threats shown on TV can cause school-aged kids (8-12) to feel fright and worry. When the threat is shown as news it creates stronger fears than when it is shown as fictional [25].

How does watching television affect performance in school?

TV viewing may replace activities that we know help with school performance, such asreading, doing homework, pursuing hobbies, and getting enough sleep.
One research study found that TV's effects on education were long term. The study found that watching TV as a child affected educational achievement at age 26. Watching more TV in childhood increased chances of dropping out of school and decreased chances of getting a college degree, even after controlling for confounding factors [26].
Watching TV at age four was one factor found to be associated with bullying in grade school [27].

Can TV influence children's attitudes toward themselves and others?
Let's take a look at what kids see on TV, and how it can affect their beliefs about race and gender:

Children learn to accept the stereotypes represented on television. After all, they see them over and over.
When non-whites are shown on TV, they tend to be stereotyped.
A review of the research on gender bias shows that the gender-biased and gender-stereotyped behaviors and attitudes that kids see on television do affect how they see male and female roles in our society.
Television and movies do not often show Asians or Asian Americans, and when they do, they fail to show the diversity in Asian American culture [28].
Thin women are disproportionately represented on TV. The heavier a female character, the more negative comments were made about her [29].
In 1990's commercials, white men more often were depicted as strong, while white women were shown as sex objects. African American men more often were portrayed as aggressive and African American women, as inconsequential [30].
Ads for household items, like cleaning products, usually feature women [31].
G-rated movies are commonly viewed by younger children—often over and over on DVD, and perceived by parents as safe for little kids. However, in these movies, whether live action or animated, males are shown more than females, by three to one, they are not often shown in relationships, and do not solve problems peacefully [32].
In G-movies, characters of color are under-represented, and are usually shown as sidekicks, comic relief, or bad guys. Male characters of color are more aggressive and isolated [33].
Music videos over-represent black males as aggressors, and white females as victims, compared to actual demographic data [34].
To learn more, visit the Center for Media Literacy's page on Stereotyping and Representation

How are children portrayed on TV?
A study by a group called Children NOW of how children are shown on local TV news, found that [35]:

Almost half of all stories about children focus on crime (45%).
Children account for over a quarter of the U.S. population but only 10% of all local news stories.
African American children account for more than half of all stories (61%) involving children of color, followed by Latino children (32%). Asian Pacific American and Native American children are virtually invisible on local news.
African American boys are more likely than any other group to be portrayed as perpetrators of crime and violence whereas Caucasian girls are most likely to be shown as victims.

Can TV affect my child's health?
Yes, TV is a public health issue in several different ways. First of all, kids get lots of information about health from TV, much of it from ads. Ads do not generally give true or balanced information about healthy lifestyles and food choices. The majority of children who watch health-related commercials believe what the ads say. Second, watching lots of television can lead to childhood obesity and overweight. Finally, TV can promote risky behavior, such as trying dangerous stunts, substance use and abuse, and irresponsible sexual behavior.

Children who watch more TV are more likely to be overweight

University of Michigan researchers found that just being awake and in the room with the TV on more than two hours a day was a risk factor for being overweight at ages three and four-and-a-half. [34]
The effects can carry on into adult weight problems. Weekend TV viewing in early childhood affects body mass index (BMI), or overweight in adulthood. [35]
University of Michigan researchers and their colleagues who investigated whether diet, physical activity, sedentary behavior or television viewing predicted body mass index(BMI) among 3- to 7-year-old children, found that physical activity and TV viewing are most associated with overweight risk. TV was a bigger factor than diet. Inactivity and TV became stronger predictors as the children aged [36].
Children who watch TV are more likely to be inactive and tend to snack while watching TV.
Many TV ads encourage unhealthy eating habits. Two-thirds of the 20,000 TV ads an average child sees each year are for food and most are for high-sugar foods. After-school TV ads target children with ads for unhealthy foods and beverages, like fast food and sugary drinks [37, 38].
All television shows, even educational non-commercial shows, replace physical activity in your child's life.
While watching TV, the metabolic rate seems to go even lower than during rest [39]. This means that a person would burn fewer calories while watching TV than when just sitting quietly, doing nothing.
The food and beverage industry targets children with their television marketing, which may include commercials, product placement, and character licensing. Most of the products pushed on kids are high in total calories, sugars, salt, and fat, and low in nutrients [40].
Children watching Spanish-language TV after school and in the evening see lots of ads for food and drink. Much of it targets kids and most of the ads are for unhealthy foods like sugared drinks and fast food. This advertising may play a role in the high risk of overweight in Latino kids [40a].
Results from recent studies have reported success in reducing excess weight gain in preadolescents by restricting TV viewing [41].

Childhood TV habits are a risk factor for many adult health problems

One study looked at adults at age 26, and how much TV they had watched as children. Researchers found that "17% of overweight, 15% of raised serum cholesterol, 17% of smoking, and 15% of poor fitness can be attributed to watching television for more than 2 hours a day during childhood and adolescence." This was after controlling for confounding variables [42].

Children may attempt to mimic stunts seen on TV

Injuries are the leading cause of death in children, and watching unsafe behavior on TV may increase children's risk-taking behavior.
Kids have been injured trying to repeat dangerous stunts they have seen on television shows.
Many kids watch TV sporting events. Researchers surveyed TV sports event ads to assess what kids might be seeing. Almost half of all commercial breaks during sporting events contained at least one ad that showed unsafe behavior or violence[43].

Watching TV can cause sleep problems

Television viewing is associated with altered sleep patterns and sleep disorders among children and adolescents.
Regular sleep schedules are an important part of healthy sleep. A recent study found that infants and toddlers who watch TV have more irregular sleep schedules. More research is needed to find out whether the TV viewing is the cause [44].
Those sleep disturbances may persist. Teens who watched three or more hours of TV per day had higher risk of sleep problems by early adulthood [45].
Find out more in this research brief from the Kaiser Family Foundation: Children’s Media Use and Sleep Problems: Issues and Unanswered Questions.

TV viewing may promote alcohol use

The presence of alcohol on TV runs the gamut from drinking or talking about drinking on prime-time shows, to beer ads, to logos displayed at sporting events.
Many studies have shown that alcoholic drinks are the most common beverage portrayed on TV, and that they are almost never shown in a negative light.
Recent studies have shown that exposure to drinking in movies increases the likelihood that viewers themselves will have positive thoughts about drinking [45a].
Alcohol has damaging effects on young people’s developing brains—and the damage can be permanent. TV ads are a major factor in normalizing alcohol use in the minds of children, adolescents and college students [46].
Ads for alcohol portray people as being happier, sexier, and more successful when they drink. Alcohol advertising, including TV ads, contributes to an increase in drinking among youth [47].
Television ads for alcohol, such as "alcopop," which combine the sweet taste of soda pop in a liquor-branded malt beverage, may target youth, especially girls and Hispanic and African American kids [47a].
The Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY) at Georgetown University found that in 2003, the top 15 prime time programs most popular with teens all had alcohol ads [48].
Alcohol is increasingly advertised during programs that young people are more likely to watch than people of legal drinking age [49].

Kids who watch TV are more likely to smoke

Even though tobacco ads are banned on TV, young people still see people smoking on programs and movies shown on television. The tobacco industry uses product placement in films. Smoking in movies increased throughout the 1990s [50] .
Internal tobacco industry documents show that the tobacco industry purposefully markets their product to youth. The industry uses subtle strategies like logos at sporting events, product placement, and celebrities smoking to get around the ban on TV advertising for their products [51] .
Kids who watch more TV start smoking at an earlier age. The relationship between television viewing and age of starting smoking was stronger than that of peer smoking, parental smoking, and gender [52].
Recent research has shown that exposure to smoking in movie characters increases the likelihood that viewers will associate themselves with smoking [52a].
Find out more about kids and tobacco.

Kids get lots of information about sexuality from television

Most parents don't talk to their kids about sex and relationships, birth control and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Most schools do not offer complete sex education programs. So kids get much of their information about sex from TV.
Kids are probably not learning what their parents would like them to learn about sex from TV.
Sexual content is a real presence on TV. Soap operas, music videos, prime time shows and advertisements all contain lots of sexual content, but usually nothing about contraception or safer sex.
The number of sex scenes on TV has nearly doubled since 1998, with 70% of the top 20 most-watched shows by teens including sexual content [53]. Fifteen percent of scenes with sexual intercourse depict characters that have just met having sex. Of the shows with sexual content, an average of five scenes per hour involves sex.
Watching sex on TV increases the chances a teen will have sex, and may cause teens to start having sex at younger ages. Even viewing shows with characters talking about sex increases the likelihood of sexual initiation [54]. (Read more about this study.)
Watching sexual content on TV is linked to becoming pregnant or being responsible for a pregnancy. Researchers found that even after controlling for other risk factors, the chance of teen pregnancy went up with more exposure to sex on television [55].
On the flip side, TV has the potential to both educate teens, and foster discussion with parents. Watch with your kids, and use the sexual content on TV as a jumping-off point to talk with your teen about sex, responsible behavior and safety.
To find out more, read:

The American Academy of Pediatrics' (AAP) Parent Page on Sex, the Media and Your Child
The AAP' s policy statement on Sexuality, Contraception and the Media

How can I find out more about kids and TV?

Here are some websites with helpful information:

The Smart Parent's Guide to Kid's TV—from the AAP.
Guia para Ver la Television en Familia, a Spanish publication from the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC).
Guidelines for Rating Children’s Television, a guideline from PBS Ready To Learn.
Pautas para la evaluación de los programas de televisión para niños, the above guideline, in Spanish.
Special issues for young children (2-11 years) and Special issues for teens address some developmental issues.

Talking with kids about the news—10 tips for parents.
The Federal Communication Commission's (FCC) page on children's educational TV.

Visit these related topics on YourChild:

What are some organizations that work on issues around kids and TV?

The Center for Media Literacy believes in empowerment through education—that kids need to learn how to think critically about TV and other media.
Media Awareness Network is a Canadian group with a wealth of information for parents.
The Center for Screentime Awareness sponsors National TV Turn-Off Week each year. Future TV Turn-Off Weeks are in Spring and Fall: April 19-25, 2010 & September 19-25, 2010. TV-Turnoff Week is supported by over 70 national organizations including the American Medical Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, National Education Association, and President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.

References

Written and compiled by Kyla Boyse, RN. Reviewed by Brad Bushman, PhD

http://www.med.umich.edu/yourchild/topics/tv.htm

SpongeBob impairs little kids' thinking, study finds

2011-09-13T23:28:00.000-07:00

You may read this article in the LA Times and see how industry would denie anything in the name of profit.
By Eryn Brown, Los Angeles Times / for the Booster Shots blog

September 12, 2011, 6:06 a.m.

Watching just a short bit of the wildly popular kids TV show"SpongeBob SquarePants" has been known to give many parents headaches. Psychologists have now found that a brief exposure to SpongeBob, Patrick, Squidward and the rest of the crew also appears to dampen preschoolers' brain power.

Angeline Lillard and Jennifer Peterson, both of the University of Virginia's department of psychology, wanted to see whether watching fast-paced television had an immediate influence on kids' executive function -- skills including attention, working memory, problem solving and delay of gratification that are associated with success in school.

Television's negative effect on executive function over the long term has been established, the researchers wrote Monday in the journal Pediatrics, but less is known about its immediate effects.

To test what those might be, Lillard and Peterson randomly assigned 60 4-year-olds to three groups: one that watched nine minutes of a fast-paced, "very popular fantastical cartoon about an animated sponge that lives under the sea;" one that watched nine minutes of slower-paced programming from a PBS show "about a typical U.S. preschool-aged boy;" and a third group that was asked to draw for nine minutes with markers and crayons.

Immediately after their viewing and drawing tasks were complete, the kids were asked to perform four tests to assess executive function. Unfortunately for the denizens of Bikini Bottom, the kids who watched nine minutes of the frenetic high jinks of the "animated sponge" scored significantly worse than the other kids.

"Connecting fast-paced television viewing to deficits in executive function ... has profound impacts for children's cognitive and social development that need to be considered and reacted to," wrote University of Washington pediatrics professor Dr. Dimitri A. Christakis, an authority on children and the media, in an editorial accompanying the study.

A different type of expert begged to differ. Nickelodeon, the network that airs "SpongeBob SquarePants," told CNN that "having 60 non-diverse kids, who are not part of the show's targeted demo, watch 9 minutes of programming is questionable methodology. It could not possibly provide the basis for any valid findings that parents could trust." The network noted that "SpongeBob" is intended to be viewed by kids ages 6 to 11 and not by preschoolers.

Video Games for more violence

2011-07-26T16:17:00.000-07:00

Not surprisingly, boys maintain a slight edge over girls in overall gaming, with 65 percent of boys playing screen games daily. The most worrisome part of video games is the cycle of violence from screen to seat: 63 percent of teens who play games report that fellow gamers become mean or overly aggressive while playing with them. Additionally, there's a wealth of evidence that playing violent video games makes teens less empathetic to others’ suffering. Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center have even shown that after playing violent video games, players' brain networks responsible for suppressing inappropriate or unwarranted aggression become less active. In an effort to improve the media landscape for kids, CommonSenseMedia has launched a site that includes reviews and age-specific searches for appropriate video games and more.

http://www.physorg.com/news116155534.html :

The yellow area of the brain is the right lateral orbitofrontal cortex, or right ltOFC, which has been previously associated with decreased control over a variety of behaviors, including reactive aggression. The first graph illustrates that as the number of violent movies watched increased, the right ltOFC activity diminished. The second graph shows that when subjects watched the non-violent control clips, there were no systematic changes in the activation of this area. Credit: Columbia University Medical Center

Violence is a frequent occurrence in television shows and movies, but can watching it make you behave differently?

Although research has shown some correlation between exposure to media violence and real-life violent behavior, there has been little direct neuroscientific support for this theory until now.

Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center’s Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) Research Center have shown that watching violent programs can cause parts of your brain that suppress aggressive behaviors to become less active.

In a paper in the Dec. 5 on-line issue of PLoS ONE, Columbia scientists show that a brain network responsible for suppressing behaviors like inappropriate or unwarranted aggression (including the right lateral orbitofrontal cortex, or right ltOFC, and the amygdala) became less active after study subjects watched several short clips from popular movies depicting acts of violence. These changes could render people less able to control their own aggressive behavior. Indeed the authors found that, even among their own subjects, less activation in this network was characteristic of people reporting an above average tendency to behave aggressively. This characteristic was measured through a personality test.

A secondary finding was that after repeated viewings of violence, an area of the brain associated with planning behaviors became more active. This lends further support to the idea that exposure to violence diminishes the brain’s ability to inhibit behavior-related processing.

None of these changes in brain activity occurred when subjects watched non-violent but equally engaging movies depicting scenes of horror or physical activity.

“These changes in the brain’s behavioral control circuits were specific to the repeated exposure to the violent clips,” said Joy Hirsch, Ph.D., professor of Functional Neuroradiology, Psychology, and Neuroscience and Director of the Center for fMRI at CUMC, and the PLoS ONE paper’s senior author. “Even when the level of action in the control movies was comparable, we just did not observe the same changes in brain response that we did when the subjects viewed the violent clips.”

“Depictions of violent acts have become very common in the popular media,” said Christopher Kelly, the first author on the paper and a current CUMC medical student. “Our findings demonstrate for the first time that watching media depictions of violence does influence processing in parts of the brain that control behaviors like aggression. This is an important finding, and further research should examine very closely how these changes affect real-life behavior.”

Source: Columbia University Medical Center

some stats

2011-07-26T15:37:00.001-07:00

http://www.frankwbaker.com/mediause.htm

Screen Time limits

2011-06-28T23:17:00.000-07:00

Michelle Obama Calls for Limits on Screen Time in Childcare Settings

We’re so pleased that earlier this month, First Lady Michelle Obama unveiled an important new effort to reduce children’s screen time in childcare settings and at home. As part of her new Let’s Move! Child Care initiative: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/06/08/first-lady-unveils-lets-move-child-care-ensure-healthy-start-youngest-ch

We are often hearing this common expression: "Life is too short"

We are also hearing or saying "I do not have enough time to do this or that"

But let's do an honest experience and count how many hours we spend in front of a screen, watching TV, Video or Video Games. And let's count it on a week or a month.

Let's also add our children screen time.

And then, let's calculate how many hours that will be, let say, on 10 years and see how many days were spent watching a screen?

Do preschoolers need mandatory screen time?

2011-05-25T21:04:00.000-07:00

With preschoolers already spending an average of 32 hours per week with screens outside of classrooms, the last thing they need is mandatory screen time in school or daycare.

The National Association for the Education of Young Children has issued a draft of its new position statement on Technology in Early Childhood Programs. Because NAEYC is the nation's premier professional organization for early childhood educators, the statement will have a profound effect on young children's media use both in and out of classrooms.

http://www.naeyc.org/positionstatements/technology

101 Screen-Free Activities

2011-04-30T23:11:00.000-07:00

At Home

1. Listen to the radio.

2. Write an article or story.

3. Paint a picture, a mural or a room.

4. Write to the President, your Representative, or Senators.

5. Read a book. Read to someone else.

6. Learn to change the oil or tire on a car. Fix something.

7. Write a letter to a friend or relative.

8. Make cookies, bread or jam and share with a neighbor.

9. Read magazines or newspapers. Swap them with friends.

10. Go through your closets and donate items to Goodwill, the Salvation Army, or a local rummage sale. Have a garage sale.

11. Start a diary/journal.

12. Play cards.

13. Make crafts to give as gifts. Try a new craft.

14. Do a crossword puzzle or play Sudoku.

15. Save money: cancel your cable TV!

16. Learn about a different culture. Have an international dinner.

17. Teach a child some of your favorite childhood games.

18. Study sign language.

19. Write a letter to your favorite author.

20. Cook dinner with friends or family.

21. Make cards for holidays or birthdays.

22. Play chess, bridge, or checkers.

23. Play charades.

24. Have a cup of coffee and a conversation.

25. Repair or refinish a piece of furniture.

26. Make a wooden flower box.

27. Wake up early and make pancakes.

28. Read a favorite poem. Read poems by poets new to you.

Outdoors

29. Learn about native trees and flowers in your area.

30. Plan a picnic or barbecue.

31. Go bird watching. Learn the names of local birds.

32. Walk the dog. Wash the dog.

33. Plant a garden. Work in your garden.

34. Take a nature hike.

35. Feed fish or birds.

36. Watch the night sky through binoculars and identify different constellations. Observe the moon.

37. Learn to use a compass.

38. Take photographs and then organize them into an album.

39. Do yard work.

40. Go camping.

41. Take an early morning walk.

42. Climb a tree.

43. Watch a sunset; watch the sunrise with a friend.

Around Town

44. Attend a community concert. Listen to a local band.

45. Visit the library. Borrow some books.

46. Visit a local bookstore.

47. Visit the zoo.

48. Visit the countryside or town. Travel by bus or train.

49. Attend a religious service.

50. Walk to work or school.

51. Attend a live sports event.

52. Look for treasures at a yard sale.

53. Try out for a play. Attend a play.

54. Collect recycling and drop it off at a recycling center.

55. Learn to play a musical instrument.

56. Go to a museum.

On the Move

57. Go roller skating or ice skating.

58. Go swimming. Join a community swim team.

59. Start a community group that walks, runs or bikes.

60. Organize a game of touch football, baseball, or softball in the local park.

61. Go for a bicycle ride.

62. Learn yoga.

63. Play soccer, softball or volleyball.

64. Play Frisbee.

65. Workout.

66. Go dancing. Take a dance class.

In Your Community

67. Organize a community clean-up or volunteer for charity.

68. Become a tutor.

69. Join a choir. Sing!

70. Start a bowling team.

71. Visit and get to know your neighbors.

72. Start a fiction or public policy book group.

With the Kids

73. Make paper bag costumes and have a parade.

74. Design a poster for Screen-Free Week.

75. Discover your community center or local park activities.

76. Blow bubbles.

77. Draw family portraits.

78. Build a fort in the living room and camp out.

79. Research your family history. Make a family tree.

80. Invent a new game and teach it to your friends.

81. Make a sign to tape across the TV during Screen-Free Week.

82. Play hopscotch, hide & seek, or freeze-tag.

83. Organize a neighborhood scavenger hunt.

84. Play board games with family and friends.

85. Clean up or redecorate your room.

86. Make puppets out of old socks and have a puppet show.

87. Write a play with friends. Perform it at a nursing home.

88. Construct a kite. Fly it.

89. Go on a family trip or historical excursion.

90. If it’s snowing, go sledding or make a snowman.

91. Create a collage out of old magazine pictures.

92. Shoot hoops with friends. Play a round of H.O.R.S.E.

93. Make a friendship bracelet.

94. Create a cookbook with all your favorite recipes.

95. Tell stories around a campfire.

96. Plan a slumber party.

97. Bake cakes or cookies and invite friends for a tea party.

98. Construct a miniature boat and float it on water.

99. Write a letter to your grandparents. Make a special card.

100.Create sidewalk art with chalk.

101.Everyone! Have a huge party to celebrate a Screen-Free Week!

Green hour

2011-04-30T22:54:00.000-07:00

A Green Hour is time for unstructured play and interaction with the natural world. In 2007, the National Wildlife Federation launched GreenHour.org, an online resource providing parents the inspiration and tools to make the outdoors a part of daily life.

NWF recommends that parents give their kids a "Green Hour" every day.This can take place in a garden, a backyard, the park down the street, or any place that provides safe and accessible green spaces where children can learn and play. Scientific researchshows kids are happier and healthier when outdoor time is in better balance with indoor time.

http://www.nwf.org/Get-Outside/Be-Out-There/Why-Be-Out-There/What-is-a-Green-Hour.aspx

Family Meals: Let’s Bring Them Back

2011-04-30T22:43:00.000-07:00

We can’t overstate the importance of screen-free family meals. Eating together and engaging in conversation builds strong family bonds. It’s an opportunity to help kids get in the habit of reflecting on their day, sharing stories, telling jokes, and talking about what’s going on in the world. It’s often during family meal conversations that family stories and family history get

passed down from generation to generation. Family meals can ensure healthier eating,

1 especially when they are screen-free.

2 They are linked to healthier behavior and closer child-parent bonds, particularly among adolescents.

3 The more family meals teenagers have, the less likely it is that they will engage in substance abuse and other anti-social behaviors.

4 The meals also contribute to a closer, more honest, and more authentic bond between

parents and kids. Three out of four teenagers report that they talk to their parents about what’s going on in their life during family meals.

5 And eight out of ten parents report that they find out more about what’s going on in their children’s lives when they eat together.

6 It’s easier to maintain family meals throughout adolescence when they are an enjoyable tradition early on. If, however, you’ve drifted away from family meals and want to embrace them again, try to plan ahead so that eating together is not overly stressful for anyone.

For single parent families, or when two parents are in the workplace, meal preparation, and cleaning up afterwards, can feel burdensome. It makes a big difference if everyone—even the youngest members—has a role to play.

Distribute tasks like meal preparation, serving, setting and clearing the table, and washing dishes among all members of the family. Or work together—it’s more fun that way. Try to agree on the menu beforehand, so that there’s no tension about likes and dislikes of the food being served. For many families these days, work and school schedules make it impossible to eat together every day. If you can only manage to do it one, two, or three nights per week, aim for the same day(s) of the week and at the same times. Creating a regular schedule will make it easier to turn family meals into a lasting tradition.

And remember—concentrate on the food and each other. Avoid electronic distractions!

1. Woodruff, S. J., et al. (2010), Healthy eating index-C is positively associated with family dinner frequency among students in grades

6-8 from Southern Ontario, Canada. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 64(5), pp. 454-460.

2. Fitzpatrick, E. et al., (2007). Positive effects of family dinner are undone by television viewing Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 107, pp. 666-671.

3. Survey from the Center for Alcohol and Substance Abuse (2010). The Importance of Family Dinners IV. New York: Columbia University; Sen, B. (2010). The relationship between frequency of family dinner and adolescent problem behaviors after adjusting for

other family characteristics. Journal of Adolescence, 33(1), pp. 187-196.

4. Ibid.

5. Sen, B. (2010). The relationship between frequency of family dinner and adolescent problem behaviors after adjusting for other family characteristics. Journal of Adolescence, 33(1), pp. 187-196.

game night and screen-proof our home

2011-04-30T22:16:00.000-07:00

What a fun night is game night!

My children got a few new game for their birthday and tonight they wanted to play Clue Harry Potter edition. So their father read the direction and we all played it. It was fun!

I hope you do have those game night in your home.

I would also like to share with you those tips to screen-proof your home:

1- Rearrange the furniture. Turn your living room and family room into places for interaction, games and conversation, not mini theaters.

2. Make children’s bedrooms.

3. After Screen-Free Week, set consistent limits about children’s screen-time.

• No more than 2 hours per day on weekends and no recreational screens during the school/work week would be great.

And remember, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no screen time for babies

and toddlers under age 2.

4. Set limits on your own screen time. The example you set is as important as your rules.

5. Institute screen-free (and phone-free) meals. Talk, laugh, tell stories, and enjoy your food.

6. Try not to rely on screens as a babysitter.

7. Involve children in household chores, projects, and meal preparation.

8. Designate at least one day each week as Family Screen-Free Day

who is watching those programs?

2011-04-27T22:28:00.000-07:00

CSI, Law and Order, Crimunal Minds... but who is watching those programs?

Those scenario are sick! I had to watch one or two to make my own opinion and I can tell you that I got nightmares! I am still haunted by those sick people depicted and analysed and exposed to us over and over again.

What is wrong with those producers?

Don't they see what they are doing by showing so many crime and deviated people?

All my friends around me cannot stand those programs.

I can just imagine that those enjoying seeing those are kind of sick themselves.

Even more scary for me is that considering that commercials repeat over and over the same message to persuade viewers to spend money on their product, how those program are working? Showing over and over crime and perversion?

I am convinced that they are nourishing all perversion in so many individual watching them.

What kind of messages television are carnying?

I understand the interest for police work like depicted in the old fashion show, Columbo or Agatha Christie. But all those series are sick!

Obviously adult are not responsible enough to simply not watch otherwise those shows will not proliferate . Isn't that time for the producers to take charge? Is profit going to be the lead to our new word?

Feeding people junk because it give a bigger profit that healthy?

Showing sick show because of the profit, denying all the impact those may have on our society?

I am sure that people sleep a lot better after watching an happy show like, let say "Dancing with the star" than after watching a sick one like Criminal minds. This one seems the worse to me right now as he really make the criminal the stat of the show, digging in his mind and perversity.

So yes I am asking, who is watching those sick programs?

cyber addiction

2011-04-13T16:16:00.000-07:00

Just in third grade and already spending hours every weeks playing video game: seem familiar? If you know a child like this you should read this article:

We all enjoy the benefits of the Internet, and for many of us it is also an indispensable tool for work, education, and communication. While time spent on the Internet can be hugely productive, for some people compulsive Internet use can interfere with daily life, work and relationships.

When you feel more comfortable with your online friends than your real ones, or you can’t stop yourself from playing games, gambling, or compulsively surfing, even when it has negative consequences in your life, then you may be using the Internet too much. Learn about the signs and symptoms of Internet addiction and how you can get balance back in your online life:

http://helpguide.org/mental/internet_cybersex_addiction.htm

Screen-Free Week is almost here!

2011-04-11T21:54:00.000-07:00

Screen-Free Week is almost here! On April 18-24, children, families, schools, and communities around the country will turn off entertainment screen media (TV, video games, computer games, apps, etc.) and turn on life. It’s a chance to unplug and read, play, daydream, create, explore nature, and spend more time with family and friends.

Since 1996, millions of children and their families have participated in Screen-Free Week (formerly TV-Turnoff). Each year, thousands of parents, teachers, PTA members, librarians, scoutmasters, and clergy organize Screen-Free Weeks in their communities.

Q: Why turn off all the screens completely? Can we do it for just one day?
A. Turning off the screens for seven full days helps participants realize that life without screen-time is not impossible and may actually be more fun. A week-long turnoff allows sufficient time to develop habits likely to be more productive and rewarding. A one-day turnoff is easier—but doesn’t give people enough of a break from the noise to reassess the power of screens in their lives.

Q: Are all screens bad? What about PBS?
A. One purpose of Screen-Free Week is to leave behind judgments about the quality of programming and focus instead on creating, discovering, building, participating and doing. Regardless of the quality of media, there is no denying that, for most children today, time spent with screens overwhelms all other leisure activities—and that too much screen time is harmful. Use Screen-Free Week as a catalyst for enjoying the world.

a new book which seems interesting

2011-04-02T18:59:00.000-07:00

I did not read it yet but this book seems interesting.

FAST MEDIA, MEDIA FAST is an exciting guide for taking a liberating media fast in an age of increasingly fast media. It is the first book to provide readers a practical, user-friendly and thought-provoking guide to gaining a newfound control and understanding of their relationship with the media. This researched, seasoned manual provides specific guidelines, important areas for thought, creative options and life-changing opportunities.

FAST MEDIA, MEDIA FAST also shows how to take control of the media choices in our lives. This book is not a judgmental, media-bashing sermon, but rather an inspiring guide to cultural nutrition. In fact, most people do not typically choose to eliminate all media from their lives when they return from a fast, but rather make more informed and conscious choices about what to consume, how much, when, and why. Fasters also return more rested, revitalized, and thoughtful, often excited about new directions and purpose, or about being better organized and centered.

The reader of FAST MEDIA, MEDIA FAST will find out how to eliminate or minimize problems – stress, overwork, waste, burn-out, fuzziness, speed-up, apathy, emptiness, ebbing relationships -- which come from media overdoses in our modern world. She will learn that there are alternatives which allow us to regain control over our lives. FAST MEDIA, MEDIA FAST acquaints us with how fast media are changing our lives, and what we can do about it. Many readers will rediscover original thinking, creativity, what they always wanted to do, and to become deeply fulfilled in their lives.

http://gaetacommunications.com/store/FAST-MEDIA-MEDIA-FAST-Hardcover-Book.html

Commercial, repeat and food

2011-02-27T21:42:00.000-08:00

Did you notice how many commercial and particularly how many commercial for junk food are in your favorites programs?

I am always astonished and even shocked by the amount of commercial American television shows in every single programs. And as News warn more and more American people about the danger of over eating and eating unhealthy, you may see almost simultaneously, a News report about obesity for example and then 4 or 5 commercial about pizza, ice-cream, Mc Donald, jack in the box...

Commercial repeat numerously because it works, it does create a desire or even a need in the person brain. One who finished to eat his diner and watch a TV program may feel hungry again after watching so many commercial about food and may get up to eat some more while watching his programs and more commercials about more food.

This is even more dangerous on young brain. Children are prompt to desire whatever they see. If you are walking in front of a candy store, there is a great chance your little one will suddenly desire some candy, even if a minute before he was not even thinking about any. It is the same with commercial and even worse as it works like if you are walking many time in front of the candy store!

Unhappily for us, greed is the nerve of the economy today. What is important is to make as much money as possible, as much profit as possible, so it does not matter that junk food are unhealthy and even becoming dangerous for the health. As long as people buy it, it is profitable and this is what is important.

As a result one end up with News report telling you how bad that kind of food is for your health while the following commercial is pushing you to run buy some.

The solution: boycott commercial and junk food!

Junk food will not be replaced by healthy food while it is still profitable, industrial do not care about people health. But people are free to make the right choices for themselves and their children.

My children are completely aware of all this as I raise them with media literacy. They know that commercial are designed to create unnecessary desire and need. They are also plenty aware of what junk food are and why it is bad for the body.

I wish media literacy to be taught in elementary school. Young children are naturally open minded and curious. They could learn how to protect themselves from the influence of commercial. It would also be nice to teach them more about nutrition.

Spelling and the internet

2011-02-21T10:46:00.000-08:00

I do love the internet, it is so useful and fun for homework.

We often look on the web for picture and illustration of a special subject, like for example when social studies speak about native american and we can look for picture and even videos who make the lesson more exciting.

Another thing we do every week is a spelling test. It is an exciting and fun one as it is with my father as the extra student of the "class".

My children are really happy to work with their grand-father :-)

I play the part of the teacher as always. My 3 students listen to the dictation and carefully write it. Then they all read the text one after the other. Then their grand-father gave them "how many mistakes would be excused" and we correct together.

It makes the whole process a fun one!

Then if their grand-father have some more time, they will read to him :-) They may also read to their grand-mother :-)

Thank's to the internet and skype!

After school

2011-02-17T17:03:00.001-08:00

One mom was proudly telling me today that her son is playing video games "only one hour after school every day". Appreciation of what is good for your family is something very personal. Each time a parent speak to me about how much screen time his child is spending, it makes me think about what my children are doing at that same time.

So today, as soon as they got home, they went to play outside for a couple of hours. My son was practicing his rip-stick skills while my daughter was having fun with their new hula hoop. Then they both played with their skate-board until I asked them to come back inside.
They are now reading the new book they just borrowed from the school library.

Yesterday they did enjoy some screen time, playing with their typing instructor on their laptop. Hopefully they will improve their typing skills :-)
This program is pretty well done and fun to do. They also have some educational cd-rom which are entertaining as well. I was amazed by how much they learned with those, and learned about all kind of field, geography, history, science... In case you wonder which cd-rom are those, they are coming from France, they are like virtual magazines which include a story, some games, some art and craft and plenty of information on a multitude of subject.

Screen and family

2011-02-02T21:39:00.000-08:00

did you notice how much a screen, any screen, fill up the space and the time?

Let say that the children come home and their dad is on his computer, what happen? The children will certainly be happy to see their dad, say hi to him and eventually cuddle a little, they may even attempt to talk a little with him, if they do not feel that they are interrupting him from something which may be very important.

In fact, body language will guide them with what they will chose to do. If their father do not move much, keep his eyes on his computer or get back to it very quickly without moving from where he is sitting, the children will make it short and will go to do something else. On the other end, if their dad put his computer down or even better close it, and give them full attention, then the children will fully enjoy spending time with him, speaking about their journey, starting a real conversation.

You may observe this interaction in your own home, and not only with your husband but may be with yourself. It works for any screen, if you are watching TV and do not wish to be interrupted, your children will feel it because of your body language (or may be because you will ask to not be disturb).

When parents are fully available for their children, open to dialogue, it appears that the children enjoy sharing this time with them to talk about their journey. They will also certainly enjoy playing games with them.

I did observe in many families where parents love their own screen time that the child reproduce the same behavior. For instance, in this family where the father enjoy watching television and movies most of the time, his son does not really look to spend time with him playing or talking but instead watching a movie with him.

In an other family where the father spend most of his time on his computer, his son enjoy spending a lot of hours playing video games. Actually the son in the first case loves video games as well. In both case, kids are not involved in much active activities, they are not interested by the practice of a sport.

I am sure you could share some more examples and please do.
In some families, the TV is on in the living room, a parent may be on his computer and the children are in their bedroom watching their TV or playing video games. It is a very common family situation that can be find in any social level. Every one in the family is plug to a screen. Every one seem perfectly satisfy. Most of those families do not understand what could be wrong with this picture. After all, everybody in the family is happy, they are all enjoying their own "space". Let's say that it is a common evening, mom is cooking diner, eventually watching her program, Dad is watching his or doing his stuff on his computer and the children are watching their programs or playing video games or doing what ever they want on their computer. everybody is happy and satisfy. And it is like that everyday! Because everyday, mom has to prepare diner, dad has some stuff to do on his computer or a show to watch on TV and the children adapted to the setting, organizing their own center of interest around a screen.

But on week-end, they do stuff together, they may go out a little, have company. they may go out of town. Yes happily there is week-end where family may have more opportunity to really do something together away from a screen.

I believe it is worth observing your own family, your own interaction with your children and the consequence on your family communication and exchange.

Why we do not have time for TV

2011-01-14T19:52:00.000-08:00

Beside the fact that after school our children like other have homework, after-school sport and like to relax doing their own things which in our home is reading, we do not have time for TV because of plenty of other things. Yesterday we went to the beach until sundown and have some friends over for diner. The children were having an amazing time playing together, and it is so nice to see 4 children laughing for hours.

Tonight, it was piano time, my daughter was practicing and as she was playing a waltz, I started to teach my son how to dance the waltz. Dad started to teach the dancing to and in no time the four of us were waltzing as my daughter wanted to learn it too :-)

Before going to bed, my children played piano, composing their own music and having fun, my daughter was enjoying teaching piano to her brother.

About piano, I would like to tell you this little story: I was visiting some friend the other day, they have 3 wonderful children, nice, smart and interesting. The boy is about 11 year old and plays the piano. He is pretty good and enjoys it. He was speaking to me about all those kids he knows who are spending hours playing video-games. It is not that he does not like video-games but he does not understand that they spend so many hours a week playing them.
He was nice enough to play a piece of music for us and then he told me "they play video-games, I play piano, my piano is my games-box"

Still no time for TV

2010-12-18T21:49:00.000-08:00

Tonight again, we could not have watch TV, we were too busy. Before diner, we took some clay and the four of us, my two children, my husband and me, sculpted some white air dry clay. We made some little characters that we will be happy to paint when the clay will be dry.

We then started to read some fun magazines they just got from France. And during the diner, we laugh a lot as my children were telling us all the new jokes they have discover.

After diner we read a little more and we started a game: a bingo! Bingo is fun for all age, particularly when you always have some surprise prizes for each winner. The fun is also to announce each number faster and faster, so each player must read all his numbers really fast to not miss any.

And after the bingo, as it is vacation, the children grabbed again their magazine to do some cross puzzles.
Playing many games, particularly board games or cards games, is an activity we love in our house. I would say that reading and playing games are the main activities in the evening.

What do we do without TV?

2010-12-14T19:18:00.000-08:00

When I speak with other parents or children I noticed that most of them have the same routine on school days, they get home, have their snack, or get their snack on their way to after-school activities, do their homework and then get some free time to play with their video-games or watch TV.

As I often say, we do not have much time to watch TV in our home, we do have a lot of activities after school and we do have homework too.

Just thinking about what we are doing when homework is done ?

Well, we laugh a lot. Tonight my children finished to prepare little card and present to bring to school and it took them a great deal of time. They had to create, design, write and decide when and to whom.

Then it was time for diner. After a little talk we decide to play one of my kids favorite game at the table: "les incollables" a game of questions and answers adapted to their grade, kind of a "trivial pursuit" adapted to each grade. It is fun and challenging and make them learn some stuff on the way. One of tonight question was an anagram from this word: "ceinturon". This is a French word and they are working on this anagram since half an hour now, with a lot of giggles!

As they are having a lot of trouble with this anagram, they are creating tone of new words with those letters and get even more giggles from all this creation's frenzy.

Oh well, I am going to interrupt them sadly as it is time for bath.

TV in the car

2010-12-13T21:10:00.000-08:00

Today, I noticed a TV in the Van before me, a cartoon was on. A child was watching. I thought about what I do in the car with my children.

First what we do when I pick them up from school, well we talk! It is a fun time to recall what happen at school, exciting. It became a routine of sharing their day in their world.

We also sing in the car, and very often actually. My daughter likes to sing all the song she is writing, my son enjoy to learn them too and they put up the show.

We also listen to music for sure, mostly my son's favorites lately, a compilation of all the music he loves. We also listen to all kind of different music, from children song to rock and roll.

And we listen to stories, particularly if we are in the mood for a quiet relaxing time. We have a bunch of great stories, audio-books that we can all enjoy.
And as it is Christmas time, we are listening to Christmas stories right now.

Our car is turned easily as a fun place to be. So when I saw this TV with cartoon, I felt sad. TV help to silence anything and everything.

Thalassa and the discovery of the world

2010-11-13T17:50:00.000-08:00

My children love the French Magazine anyone may watch on TV5monde, the French channel all over the world. Here is how TV5 presents Thalassa: Georges Pernoud and the entire "Thalassa" crew take you on board each week to visit faraway destinations and discover different cultures, people and continents."

This magazine is an amazing windows on the world, those reporters are discovering interesting situations, stories, people which gave us an opportunity to learn a lot about our planet, human kind, animals, culture...

It's not only the opportunity to learn about all those fascinating facts but also learn more about geography and professions that our children do not have much opportunity to cross in their daily life: scientists who work and research on all kind of field regarding ocean and nature, botanist, ecologist, marine biologist, microbiologist, zoologist...

My son really enjoy a lot this magazine :-)
I am not sure that children who watch TV on a daily basis and watch essentially entertainment programs like cartoon and movies, will be as interested by that type of program...

I would say that watching TV pretty rarely is making those program even more attractive. I can see that watching my daughter reaction, she loves entertainment, cartoons, movies. But she also loves watching TV so when I propose to my children to come watch "Thalassa" she is simply happy to watch something. But if I was to ask her, do you want to watch Thalassa or a cartoon or a movie, I know she will choose the cartoon or the movie. My son will still choose Thalassa.

And this is not the only example I have around me, I saw that when I was visiting homes where children watch television daily, they are not watching much documentary. I did this experience in a public school too, in second grade, in a class of 26 children, we show the children a fun documentary about the solar system, after 5 minutes already a few children were not watching anymore, then a few more and after 15 minutes only 6 children were still watching attentively the documentary, all the other were chatting, day dreaming or playing. All those children (beside mine) are watching television daily, most of them are also playing video-game daily.

I believe that those children got used to be entertain by those fictional programs, to not have to think, be in a passive state and that they became addicted to this.

It seems that children who do not watch TV programs daily and do not watch many fictional programs, have a better chance to appreciate documentaries.

Pictures in their brain

2010-10-26T14:27:00.000-07:00

Special effects are an interesting aspect of movies so I showed my children videos of special effects, one was a video of a workshop actors attend in order to learn and experiment flying effect fight.. They sure loved them, seeing those adult pretending to fight and having fun.

I also show them two scenes of "Crounching tiger, hidden dragon", fight scenes, one where the father get a weapon in his head and end up dead. Not a good image, too hard. My son was chocked and a little disturbed. I remind them quickly that he was not dead, that it was just an actor and ask them to imagine which special effect have been used in order to give this appearance to the actor.

They just have screen how to make an hand looked bloody with a piece of glass in it, even if they found it disgusting, it gave them a good start to imagine how to make this "weapon looked inside the head" May be a piece of cardboard painted in a metallic silver color and glue on his head? They took the time to brainstorm some solution. The scene was so present in their head that the next day they told it to their friend, and the day after to another one. They had to share, they had to speak it out, they had to digest it, to proceed it.

The whole fight which is violent (it is still a fight) disturbed more my son than my daughter. He does not like movies and particularly those where people are mean and violent, so the fight, even if he found it interesting, made him uncomfortable. So to process it, he mimed it. He pretended to fight like them. But I know my son, I know that those images were not welcome in his head. I thought he was ready to screen how those fight were choreographed and how those special effects where made, which he was really ready for, he liked to see the actors workshop. But he did not appreciated to see the actual scene.

I know it will take some time to "digest" those violent scenes. Watching images is never without consequences. Just remember how well you did sleep after seeing a violent movie or an horror one?

I recognize that I avoid programs like CSI or Criminal Mind for example, Those stories are vicious, deviated, sick and are easily disturbing my sleep. They can even haunted me, particularly if they speak about children.
I believe that my reaction as well as my children reaction, is healthy. It prove that we are still sensitive.
Showing violent images always has consequence on the brain and his functions. I happily continue to closely choose what kind of images my children are exposed to. I am always there, present, available and ready to help them proceed what they saw.
Happily they never saw a violent movie. They did not see Star Wars even if they know the stories pretty well as they read many star wars books. I did show them one or two scenes of some star wars, particularly one with Yoda, so they know what those movies are about. But at 8 years old, they are too young for those images.

Watching TV 'is bad for children'

2010-10-15T20:44:00.000-07:00

Children under two should not be allowed to watch any TV, experts say.

Older children should watch no more than two hours a day, the researchers at the Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Centre in Seattle said.

Each hour in front of the TV increased a child's chances of attention deficit disorder by 10%, their research in the Pediatrics journal showed.

The study of 1,345 children showed three hours TV a day made children 30% more likely to have the disorder.

Dr Dimitri Christakis at the children's hospital led the study. He said: "The newborn brain develops very rapidly during the first two to three years of life. It's really being wired."

Children who were exposed to the unrealistic levels of stimulation at a young age continued to expect this in later life, leading to difficulty dealing with the slower pace of school and homework, he said.

"TV can cause the developing mind to experience unnatural levels of stimulation," he said.

Rapid

This was made worse by the rapid image change that television makers used to keep young children interested, Dr Christakis added.

Parents were questioned about their children's viewing habits and asked to rate their behaviour at age seven on a scale similar to that used to diagnose attention deficit disorders.

The youngsters who watched the most television were more likely to rank within the top 10% for concentration problems, impulsiveness, restlessness and being easily confused.

Frederick Zimmerman of the University of Washington in Seattle, another of the authors, said it was impossible to say what a "safe" level of TV viewing would be for children between the ages of one and three.

"Each hour has an additional risk. You might say there's no safe level since there's a small but increased risk with each hour," he said.

"Things are a trade-off. Some parents might want to take that risk. We didn't find a safe level in that sense."

Between three and five per cent of children in the US are diagnosed with attention deficit disorder.

The researchers admitted there could be problems in the study as the parents' views may not be totally accurate.

Also it was not possible to know whether the children already had attention problems early on that attracted them to TV viewing.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3603235.stm

Too much screen time can psychologically harm kids

2010-10-15T20:28:00.000-07:00

Negative effects occurs no matter how active children were during the rest of the day, study finds

NEW YORK — More than two hours a day spent watching television or playing computer games could put a child at greater risk for psychological problems, suggests a new study.

British researchers found the effect held regardless of how active kids were during the rest of the day.

"We know that physical activity is good for both physical and mental health in children and there is some evidence that screen viewing is associated with negative behaviors," lead researcher Dr. Angie Page of the University of Bristol told Reuters Health in an e-mail. "But it wasn't clear whether having high physical activity levels would 'compensate' for high levels of screen viewing in children."

Page and her colleagues studied more than 1,000 kids between the ages of 10 and 11. Over seven days, the children filled out a questionnaire reporting how much time they spent daily in front of a television or computer and answering questions describing their mental state -- including emotional, behavioral, and peer-related problems. Meanwhile, an accelerometer measured their physical activity.

The odds of significant psychological difficulties were about 60 percent higher for children spending longer than two hours a day in front of either screen compared with kids exposed to less screen time, the researchers report in the journal Pediatrics. For children with more than two hours of both types of screen time during the day, the odds more than doubled.

The effect was seen regardless of sex, age, stage of puberty, or level of educational or economic deprivation.

Psychological problems further increased if kids fell short of an hour of moderate to rigorous daily exercise in addition to the increased screen time. However, physical activity did not appear to compensate for the psychological consequences of screen time.

Give kids screen-time budget
The researchers also found that sedentary time itself was not related to mental wellbeing. "It seems more like what you are doing in that sedentary time that is important," said Page, noting the lack of negative effect found for activities such as reading and doing homework.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39612834?ocid=twitter

Netflix vs TV

2010-10-13T11:41:00.000-07:00

The other day one of my friend was telling me that she was thinking about canceling the cable because she cannot control how much TV her son is watching. It is not easy for her to tell her son to turn off the TV, it turns easily to a struggle. Unhappily she was realizing that her son was not moving enough anymore and spending more and more time in front of the TV.
One of my friend had just canceled her cable to keep Netflix instead and was really happy with the result: No more commercial, only programs she approved, children still happy screening better programs.

So this is exactly what I suggested to my friend, Netflix appears to be a good alternative to TV. I am meeting a lot of parents who would like to limit their children screen time but do not know how. Most of them are mothers who also need to convince their husband that TV and video games are not good for the children. Many dads actually spent a lot of time in front of the screen, some for sport, some even for video games. So it makes it even more complicated for mothers to convince their children to reduce their screen time...

Netflix may be their best ally. And I would say that not exposing their children to commercials is already a great step forward.

why children may actually enjoy News?

2010-10-04T22:15:00.000-07:00

Let me first remind you that I do not think that children younger than 7 years old should watch news. Why 7 years old?
Well, simply because 7 years old is the age of reason. At 7 "plus or minus one," your child begins to problem-solve in a new way, using reason rather than pure intuition. He can start separating fantasy from reality.

First I should explain what the kind of news I am speaking about is. I am certainly not speaking about local news where you may see police chasing car, or report on all kind of crime happening in your city or what happen to stars...
I am speaking about real news; those which speak about international news, economy, politics, sciences, ecology... news that are not interrupted by commercials.

In fact news via the internet is certainly the best option to select the news your child can actually safely watch and learn from. TV can be windows on the world and not everything in the world is appropriate for his eyes.

So, let say that you do select some news from the internet that you find interesting like the oil spill disaster along the Gulf Coast for example, this disaster was worth showing and discussing about, it is raising your child awareness of ecology. Children are naturally feeling concerned by the well-being of the planet.

Children can also be interested by politics. They are naturally fascinated by their president and want to understand why all adult are looking at him as an important person. Plus they understand he has powers, and powers do fascinate children and not only in cartoon.

Children, who do not watch television programs and not much entertainment, may tend to be more receptive to news and factual programs. However, this is probably more a question of personality. Some children are naturally more attracted to fiction than fact and the other way too. Exactly like when choosing books in a library, some children will look for fact, sciences, geographic etc, and some will be more interested by fiction, novel, fantasy.

I would tend to think that with those who like fantasy better, it is even more important to preserve and encourage their interest for reality and their awareness for the world around them. The real world is also full of stories worth knowing and eventually watching. I am thinking for example of those people devote to a noble cause, like saving animal here or there on a planet. I know that both my children felt very concerned when they learned that some people around the globe where fishing too much, ignoring the future of the ocean, the fact that in 50 years we may not have any more fishes in the ocean if they do not stop to think short term. “So in 50 years, we will not have any more fish to eat…” This was very scary for them, and it is also a good lesson about the consequence of selfishness.

So yes, News can be used as a great tool to discover the world, discuss as a family about interesting subject and increase our children knowledge in a fun way.

Does parents want TV to raise their children?

2010-06-06T20:58:00.000-07:00

On one side, pediatrics are raising their voice to warn parents about the danger of television.
On another one, researches show also the bad influence TV can have on children in many ways.
Other studies show how hours spend watching TV are connected to overweight.
Other studies show the relation between Time in front of the screen and ADD.

So many studies, so many researches, many articles you may read on this blog and still so many parents leaving their children spend hours and hours in front of TV.

So many reasons as well, parents tired and needing a break, parents needing time to prepare diner, and the free baby-sitter so handy, right there, always available.

However, parents have always needed to have a break and TV did not exist. So I did they do?
Very simple, children did not need TV as TV did not exist. One need to drink and eat but no one need TV.
I can assure you that when children are raised without watching TV, they do not need it and they still give parents a break. They go in their bedroom to read quietly, they play with their toys, they go play outside, they take a long bath, they write songs...

Oh no!

2010-06-06T20:42:00.000-07:00

Disney making more money in the worse interest of our children!

By James Hibberd James Hibberd – Wed May 26, 8:11 pm ET

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Disney/ABC TV Group is shutting down decade-old cable channel SoapNet to make room for a new kids channel.

The company will launch Disney Junior, a 24-hour channel devoted to youngsters aged 2-7. The move will expand Disney Channel's current daytime programing block, Playhouse Disney, into its own network. The network will debut in 2012, taking advantage of the 75-million-home distribution of SoapNet.

"SoapNet was created in 2000 to give daytime viewers the ability to watch time-shifted soaps, before multiplatform viewing and DVRs were part of our vocabulary," said Anne Sweeney, co-chair, Disney Media Networks. "But today, as technology and our businesses evolve, it makes more sense to align this distribution with a preschool channel that builds on the core strengths of our company."

SoapNet mainly airs repeats of broadcast network daytime soap operas, particularly ABC programs, such as "All My Children" and "One Life to Live," as well as more contemporary titles like "One Tree Hill" and "Gilmore Girls."

With daytime soaps a dying breed on broadcast, and the kids TV market booming, it's no surprise Disney would shift the channel to target younger viewers.

Disney Junior will launch with 200 episodes annually of new series and current Playhouse Disney titles such as "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse," "Handy Manny" and "Jungle Junction," as well as showcase classic Disney movies such as "Little Mermaid."

Horror! more for the TV baby-sitter, less activities for the children. How many parents are going to resist?

News and children

2010-03-25T08:35:00.000-07:00

After 7 years old, children start to develop a different approach to what is happening around them. Sure, every child is different, some are more curious than other.

At this age, the difference between a child who was not exposed to TV programs and certainly not to fiction programs like cartoons and other movies shows clearly.

Children who did not watch fiction but did eventually watch other age appropriated videos like documentaries, show quick interest in non-fiction programs. In a second grade class for example, one would quickly noticed who are the children over-exposed to television and to fiction in particular. Those children have a hard time watching documentaries. And it is too bad, as there is some really good one out there, starting with the DK series. Those are a great resource for teachers who can illustrate many subjects with documentaries.

News could be fun and interesting to watch for those children starting second grade, depending of which news!

As a French person, I do not watch American news. First of all, I cannot stand the multiple commercial cuts and I would never expose my children to this constant brainwashing. So, I am indeed watching French news which are never, ever, interrupted by commercials. Because I am watching the news via the internet, I can select which subjects are appropriate to my children. And there is a few each time. Like the discovery of bones of a new species of human or the eruption of a volcano or the importance of eating vegetables…

At 7 years old, children really start to show interested about the world around them; they have so many questions in their head and are hungry for knowledge. Television as well as the internet can be a great tool if parents do select closely which programs their children are watching and take the time to speak about those programs with them during or after watching them.

This media education should be natural in every home as much as teaching our children good eating habits. Both of those take time, energy and commitment, and it is worth it.

COMPUTER SIMULATIONS CAN BE AS EFFECTIVE AS DIRECT OBSERVATION AT TEACHING STUDENTS

2010-02-20T09:23:00.000-08:00

This article was published in "RESEARCH" at Ohio State University:

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Students can learn some science concepts just as well from computers simulations as they do from direct observation, new research suggests.

A study found that people who used computer simulations to learn about moon phases understood the concepts just as well – and in some cases better – than did those who learned from collecting data from viewing the moon.

The results suggest the use of computer simulations in science classes may be an effective and often less expensive and time-consuming way to teach some science concepts, said Kathy Cabe Trundle, lead author of the study and associate professor of science education at Ohio State University.

“These results give us confidence that computer simulations can be effective in the classroom,” Trundle said. “But now we need to do further study to see if it works in others areas of science.”

Trundle conducted the study with Randy Bell, associate professor of science education at the University of Virginia. Their study appears online in the journal Computers & Education and will be published in a future print edition.

While there have been many studies examining computer use in the classroom, most have only examined whether students find computers easy to use and enjoy using them.

The few studies that have examined whether computers are effective for learning content have had mixed results, Trundle said. This study is an improvement because it actually compares people who used a computer simulation with those who had more direct observations.

“Our expectation was that the computer simulation would be at least as effective as direct observation in teaching about moon phases,” Trundle said.

“When we did our analysis, the simulation was just as effective in teaching two aspects of moon phases, and more effective in a third aspect. So we were excited by that.”

Participants in the study were 157 pre-service teachers-- master’s degree students who are in training to become early childhood teachers.

Studies have shown that the majority of people – including preservice students and the students they teach – do not understand the cause of moon phases.

This study examined how well these preservice teachers understood moon phases before and after taking a 10-week science methods course that included a unit on moon phases.

In contrast to traditional instruction, this class was inquiry-based, which meant that students learned from gathering data themselves -- either directly from viewing the moon or from the computer simulation. The participants then analyzed the data they gathered to identify patterns.

One class learned about moon phases using only a computer simulation, one group from nature alone, and a third group from both a computer simulation and nature.

The computer simulations were provided through a commercially available software program that allows users to visualize the movement of the sun and the moon through time from any point on Earth.

The researchers tested the participants’ understanding before and after the class in three areas: knowledge of sequences of moon phases, the causes of moon phases, and the shapes of moon phases.

Before the class, none of the preservice teachers had a complete scientific knowledge of the moon phases.

But after the class, teachers in all three groups – computer simulation only, nature only and simulation and nature – dramatically improved their scores. Up to 98 percent of the teachers showed they understood moon phases after the class was completed.

Those who used only computer simulations did just as well as others in learning causes of moon phases and shapes of moon phases. But those who used the simulations were actually slightly more likely than others to understand the sequences of moon phases.

“We believe that the computer simulation was more effective at teaching moon sequences because the students who used it had a complete set of data,” Trundle said.

“Those who observed the moon in nature didn’t – there were cloudy days and nights and other reasons why they couldn’t collect data every night they were supposed to.”

The ability to collect all the available data is just one reason why computer simulations may be better for teaching some science concepts.

“Classroom teachers don’t always have time to do nature-based instruction,” Trundle said. “In this case, computer simulations allow teachers to speed up instruction, which means students gather the same amount of data in a shorter period of time. It’s faster, easier and much less frustrating.”

Computer simulations may be especially important in teaching earth and space science, because it offers opportunities that aren’t available in the real world. For example, the software program used in this study allows students to see how the earth looks from the moon or from the sun, giving them a better perspective on how the earth-moon-sun system interacts.

Trundle said computer simulations might also be effective in teaching introductory biology. For example, students can take part in simulated animal dissections, overcoming some of the ethical and practical concerns.

Simulations would also allow students to “see” microscopic or even sub-atomic particles, giving them a better understanding of how particles interact.

“We’re finding that technology can help students learn and understand scientific concepts in a way that may be easier for teachers and just as effective for students,” Trundle said.

Contact: Kathy Trundle, (614) 292-5820; Trundle.1@osu.edu
Written by Jeff Grabmeier, (614) 292-8457; Grabmeier.1@osu.edu

What to show our children

2009-12-12T18:52:00.000-08:00

After 3 years old, showing a little bit of TV on special occasion can be fun if parent choose the program very carefully. I would recommend to avoid TV and rather show videotapes or dvd.

Not exposing our children to commercial is essential. So avoiding TV is logical and simple to do. There are tone of Video and DVD available and parents can choose the most appropriate. Documentaries are the best program for younger. In fact starting to choose cartoon to the young children is a mistake. Parents should keep the TV time for documentary, young children love all kind of documentary, particularly if they did not see anything else yet on Television. It is the perfect time to feed their natural curiosity. Documentaries about animal always get a great success!

Other programs with a slow pace are also interesting for young children and adapted to their rhythm of thinking. "Mister Roger neighborhood" is an amazing program for young viewers.

Winter vacation may be the perfect time to show some special movies like:
Caillou's holiday Movie
Chitty Chitty bang bang
Mary Poppins

Programs with no villain are more appropriate for young children, those with songs are the best. Children tend to reproduce what they see, re-enact with their friends at recess for example, so gentle programs will teach them gentle play.

If you have any doubt about this, just go to observe some game at recess. You will notice that the most agressive kids are the one watching violent programs and often to much TV.

TV Exposure May Be Associated With Aggressive Behavior in Young Children

2009-11-30T13:42:00.000-08:00

Three-year-old children who are exposed to more TV appear to be at an increased risk for exhibiting aggressive behavior, according to a new report co-authored by a researcher from Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine.

(Media-Newswire.com) - Three-year-old children who are exposed to more TV appear to be at an increased risk for exhibiting aggressive behavior, according to a new report co-authored by a researcher from Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine.

The report, which appears in the November issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, analyzed survey data from 3,128 mothers of children born from 1998 to 2000 in 20 large cities in the United States to examine associations of child television exposure and household television use with aggressive behavior in children.

“The study shows that there is an association between the number of hours that the television is on at home and early childhood aggression,” says co-author Catherine A. Taylor, assistant professor of Community Health Sciences at Tulane, who conducted the study with lead author Jennifer A. Manganello of University at Albany, State University of New York. “We also found that the number of hours a child directly spends watching TV is associated with increased aggression.”

The research is one of the few to look at television and aggression in very young children. The authors suggested that increased television use in the household could displace more positive childhood development activities and interactions with parents. Also, “it is possible that TV exposure may act directly to increase aggression by providing models for aggressive behavior or normalizing the behavior,” the authors state.

“Early childhood aggression can be problematic for parents, teachers and childhood peers and sometimes is predictive of more serious behavior problems to come, such as juvenile delinquency, adulthood violence and criminal behavior,” according to background information in the article. Various predictive factors for childhood aggression have been studied. These include parents’ discipline style, neighborhood safety and media exposure. “After music, television is the medium children aged 0 to 3 years are exposed to the most.” Although the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no screen media for children younger than age 2, studies consistently have found use of television in that age group.

According to study authors, “About two-thirds ( 65 percent ) of mothers reported that their ( 3-year-old child ) watched more than two hours of television per day.” On average, there were an additional 5.2 hours of household TV use per day.

Direct child TV exposure and household TV use were both significantly associated with childhood aggression, after accounting for other factors such as parent, family, neighborhood and demographic characteristics. “One explanation that could link both child and household TV measures with aggression involves the parenting environment,” the authors write. Households with higher rates of TV use may have fewer restrictions on children’s viewing habits such as exposure to unregulated television content. Increased household television use may also affect daily routines such as eating and communication patterns and may decrease time spent on other activities.

“Current American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations mainly suggest limitations for direct child exposure to TV and other media; however, our findings suggest that additional household TV use may also be an important predictor of negative childhood outcomes, such as early childhood aggression,” the authors conclude. “Future research in this area should consider inclusion of both of these TV variables along with additional parent-child interaction assessments, observational assessments when possible, quality and/or content of TV programs and longitudinal analyses.”

http://media-newswire.com/release_1105024.html

Study: Preschoolers watching TV at home-based daycare may spend hours in front of TV screen

2009-11-30T13:37:00.000-08:00

DONNA GORDON BLANKINSHIP

Associated Press Writer

3:35 AM PST, November 23, 2009

SEATTLE (AP) — Parents who thought their preschoolers were spending time in home-based day cares, taking naps, eating healthy snacks and learning to play nicely with others may be surprised to discover they are sitting as many as two hours a day in front of a TV, according to a study published Monday.

When added to the two to three hours many parents already admit to allowing at home, preschoolers in child care may be spending more than a third of the about 12 hours they are awake each day in front of the electronic baby sitter, said Dr. Dimitri Christakis, a pediatrician at Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle and a researcher at the University of Washington.

That's double the TV time he found in a previous study based on parental reports of home viewing, according to findings published Monday in the journal Pediatrics. The study is the first to look at TV watching in child care in more than 20 years.

The figures come from a telephone survey of 168 licensed child care programs in Michigan, Washington, Florida and Massachusetts. Christakis said he thought television use was probably underreported.

Of the child care programs surveyed, 70 percent of home-based child cares and 36 percent of centers said children watch TV daily. The children were watching TV, DVDs and videos. The study did not track what kind of programs were shown.

"It's not what parents have signed up for," Christakis said. "I'm not sure how many parents are aware of this."

The American Academy of Pediatrics discourages any television viewing of any kind in the first 2 years of life and recommends a daily limit of 1 to 2 hours of quality programming for older children.

Children go to day care to develop social skills, build on cognitive abilities and enjoy imaginative play, as well as allowing their parents to work, Christakis said.

"We know what's good for children and we know what's not," Christakis said. "High quality preschool can make a very, very positive difference. We're so far from meeting that, that we really have a lot of work to do."

His research found a difference between the amount of TV watching at home daycares and larger child care centers, although both reported some TV time.

The study found that among preschool-aged children, those in home-based day cares watched TV for 2.4 hours per day on average, compared to 24 minutes in centers. Toddlers watched an average of 1.6 hours in home care and about 6 minutes in centers. Only home-based day cares admitted putting infants in front of the TV, for an average of 12 minutes a day.

"It's alarming to find that so many children in the United States are watching essentially twice as much television as we previously thought," he said.

Other research has connected excessive TV watching during the preschool years with language delay, obesity, attention problems and aggression.

Dr. Michael Rich, director of the Center on Media and Child Health at Children's Hospital Boston, wasn't surprised by the findings in this study but he was forgiving of the parents and child care providers who put kids in front of the TV.

"In general, we still have a culture that sees television as benign," said Rich, who is also an associate professor of pediatrics at Harvard University. "This is an area where we're learning more and more all the time."

He compared society's growing knowledge of the impact of TV on child development to the early days of seat belt use. Today's parents and child care providers grew up on TV, Rich said, so it's understandable that they do not recognize the problem.

"We can always do better," he said.

Christakis said one of the main problems with TV for young children is that it takes away time that could otherwise be spent playing outside, being read to, playing with blocks and talking with adults and other children.

The study did not include passive TV time, when the TV is on in the background but no one is actively watching it. Christakis said any time a TV is on, children speak less and adults interact with them less frequently.

Instead of urging parents to turn off the TV, President Barack Obama might want to start sending the same message to child care providers, Christakis said.

"Hopefully this will serve as a wake-up call," he said.

____

On the Web:

Pediatrics: http://www.pediatrics.org

Center on Media and Child Health: http://www.cmch.tv

Seattle Children's Hospital: http://www.seattlechildrens.org

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/reprint/peds.2009-0862v1

Kids watch more than a day of TV each week

2009-10-27T21:27:00.000-07:00

The latest figures from Nielsen have children's TV usage at an eight-year high. Children's health advocates warn of adverse effects.

By Matea Gold

October 27, 2009

Reporting from New York - More than an entire day -- that's how long children sit in front of the television in an average week, according to new findings released Monday by Nielsen.

The amount of television usage by children reached an eight-year high, with kids ages 2 to 5 watching the screen for more than 32 hours a week on average and those ages 6 to 11 watching more than 28 hours. The analysis, based on the fourth quarter of 2008, measured children's consumption of live and recorded TV, as well as VCR and game console usage.

"They're using all the technology available in their households," said Patricia McDonough, Nielsen's senior vice president of insights, analysis and policy. "They're using the DVD, they're on the Internet. They're not giving up any media -- they're just picking up more."

The increase in consumption is in part the result of more programming targeted at kids, she said, including video on demand, which is particularly popular among young children who like to watch their favorite shows over and over again.

"When I was a kid, I had Saturday morning cartoons," McDonough said. "And now there are programs they want to watch available to them whenever they want to watch them."

The findings alarmed children's health advocates, who warned that increased television watching is linked to delayed language skills and obesity. A 2007 study by researchers at the University of Washington found that babies who watched videos geared to them learned fewer vocabulary words than infants who never watched the videos.

When kids are plunked in front of a screen, they're also missing out on critical opportunities to learn from their parents and develop imaginative play, experts said.

"I think parents are clueless about how much media their kids are using and what they're watching," said Dr. Vic Strasburger, a professor of pediatrics at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine and a spokesman for the American Academy of Pediatrics.

"The biggest misconception is that it's harmless entertainment," said Strasburger, who has written extensively about the effects of media on children. "Media are one of the most powerful teachers of children that we know of. When we in this society do a bad job of educating kids about sex and drugs, the media pick up the slack."

The academy recommends no screen time for children younger than 2 and less than an hour or two for those older than 2.

"There are some extraordinarily good media for kids," he said. "But even the best -- 'Sesame Street' for 5-year-olds -- kids shouldn't be watching five hours a day. They should be outside playing. They should be having books read to them."

The new data from Nielsen comes on the heels of the news that the Walt Disney Co. expanded its refund offer for its “Baby Einstein” videos after pressure from the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, which complained to the Federal Trade Commission about claims that the videos are educational. On Monday, Susan McLain, general manager of the Baby Einstein Company, issued a statement saying the company does not make such claims and that the refund offer is not an admission that the company misled parents in its marketing.

Susan Linn, director of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, said the way infants are exposed to media shapes their future relationship with television.

"Once you start hooking babies on media, it's harder to limit it," she said. "If we start children early in life on a steady diet of screen time and electronic toys, they don't develop the resources to generate their own amusement, so they become dependent on screens."

Networks that program specifically for children discounted the potential negative effects from the report's findings.

"Our programming for 2- to 5-year-olds is totally educational programming, and has been widely praised by advocates, widely praised by educators," said Dan Martinsen, a spokesman for Nickelodeon, the network behind such popular kids' shows as "Dora the Explorer," "Wonder Pets," and "Blue's Clues."

Kids ages 2 to 5 spent an average of 3 hours and 47 minutes a day watching television in the fourth quarter of 2008, up from 3 hours and 40 minutes in the fourth quarter of 2007, according to Nielsen. Older children watched an average of 3 hours and 20 minutes a day, up from 3 hours and 17 minutes.

In 2008, children spent 97% of their screen time watching live TV, although those ages 2 to 5 are increasingly watching shows through digital video recorders or DVDs. Younger kids also watch more commercials in playback mode, viewing 50% of ads, compared with the 44% watched by children ages 6 to 11. The data is based on Nielsen's national sample, which includes 6,700 kids ages 2 to 11.

matea.gold@latimes.com

Times staff writer Dawn C. Chmielewski contributed to this report.

Walt Disney Company to offer a full refund to anyone who purchased a Baby Einstein DVD

2009-10-22T12:08:00.000-07:00

The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood Reclaiming Childhood from Corporate Marketers

We've got great news. CCFC's ongoing campaign to stop the false and deceptive marketing of baby videos has had a stunning success. We've persuaded the Walt Disney Company to offer a full refund to anyone who purchased a Baby Einstein DVD in the last five years. The refund is only available for a limited time, so please help us spread the word now!

Our 2006 Federal Trade Commission complaint forced Disney to stop claiming that Baby Einstein videos were educational for infants, but the company made no move to compensate parents who purchased them.

We thought parents deserved better. So, with help from CCFC members like you, we kept the pressure on until Disney agreed to reimburse Baby Einstein customers.

The refund offer is a wonderful victory for families and anyone who cares about children. Recent research shows that screen time is not educational for babies. Now parents who purchased Baby Einstein DVDs, mistakenly believing the videos would make their babies smarter, can recoup their money.

You can help by spreading the word. Letting friends and family members know about the refund will help parents get their money back - it's also the perfect way to start a conversation about babies, marketing, and screen media. After all, a screen-free babyhood is a critical component of a commercial-free childhood.

What you can do:

1. If you've purchased a Baby Einstein DVD in the past five years, click here to learn how to get your refund: http://www.babyeinstein.com/%28S%283qnoffi1whnnnt55h2ljk355%29%29/parentsguide/satisfaction/upgrade_us.html

2. Share this email and our fact sheet on baby videos with any parents that you know.
3. Pass on news about the refund and our success on relevant blogs, parent listservs, and social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook.

Thanks for all you do,

Susan Linn
Director, CCFC

The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood
A Program of the Judge Baker Children's Center
53 Parker Hill Ave
Boston, MA 02120
www.commercialfreechildhood.org

It’s Not Just TV Anymore

2009-05-29T09:00:00.000-07:00

Written by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Tuesday, 26 May 2009 20:24

Today’s children are coming of age immersed in video gaming, Web browsing, and instant messaging. Many have cell phones, laptops, and hand-held video games. Others have created avatars of themselves, and some are raising robot pets in virtual worlds. What impact does this technology have on children?

A new journal issue co-edited by a human-computer interaction (HCI) professor from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a developmental psychology professor from the University of Washington explores the promises and perils ahead for children in technological environments.

The journal Children, Youth and Environments (CYE) this month published a special issue titled “Children in Technological Environments.” The issue examines the increasing prevalence of technology from various perspectives, including knowledge and education, social and moral development, culture and community, access and equity, relationship to nature, therapy and health, art and expression, and future scenarios. (Read it in its entirety at http://www.colorado.edu/journals/cye/19_1/)

“Today, technology is part of everyday life, and it can easily mediate or even replace other types of experiences,” said Nathan G. Freier, assistant professor of HCI in the Department of Language, Literature, and Communication, with a joint appointment in Information Technology, at Rensselaer. “Through past centuries, technologies have offered enormous benefits to children,” Freier said. “Written language, for example, can be incredibly beautiful, and compared to spoken language, the written word – from clay tablets, to pen and paper, to digital computers – has allowed for new depths and forms of communication and expression, an unfolding of human awareness.”

According to this research, today’s technology is more sophisticated and invasive. Children play multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs), which allows for large numbers of players to interact by controlling and developing their fictional characters in adventurous game settings. In 2006, MMORPG revenues exceeded $1 billion. Also, video games dominate children’s media entertainment. In more recent years, inexpensive robot pets and online virtual pets have become increasingly popular.

“Technology is good and it can help our lives, but let’s not be fooled into thinking we can live without nature,” said co-author, Peter H. Kahn Jr., associate professor in the Department of Psychology and adjunct professor in the Information School at the University of Washington. “We are losing direct experiences with nature. Instead, more and more we’re experiencing nature represented technologically through television and other media. Children grow up watching Discovery Channel and Animal Planet, playing with robotic pets, and taking virtual tours of the Grand Canyon on their computers. That’s probably better than nothing. But as a species we need interaction with actual nature for our physical and psychological well-being.”

Freier also noted that the interactions and amount of time that children are spending with technologies, particularly the Internet, communication technologies, and video games, are forcing educators to redefine what they mean by learning processes and outcomes.

The Future Impact of Yesterday’s Technology

The journal also highlights the fact that visions of the future as portrayed through media and literature (such as science fiction) are one of the powerful drivers of technological environments. In the mid-1960s, for example, Gene Roddenberry, creator of the original Star Trek television series, saw the value of small, handheld mobile communication devices; thus the “flip” design of the crew’s Communicators seemingly influenced the design of the common cell phone we see in use today. Also, the android character Data in Star Trek: The Next Generation shows us how fragile our own self-identity is when we look into the eyes of a man-machine and see our own reflection. And perhaps, the woman-machine in the classic Metropolis reflects our deep-seated nightmares of a future gone wrong.

Freier noted that we also see this tension play out in Asimov’s iRobot series of short stories in which robots are intentionally designed to benefit humanity, but all too often the robots (and humans, ironically) fall victim to their own immense complexity.

“It is obvious that today’s children are coming of age in yesterday’s science fiction future,” Freier said. “Children today know no other way of being, no other way of existing in the world. Our faith in the benefits of those who play a significant role in shaping our technological force is often balanced with the fears of the unknown and uncontrollable sinister force embedded within the technologies, often unbeknownst to the designers themselves.

“This process of balance – which leads to children’s intellectual, social, and moral development – will be, and already is, strongly shaped by the technological environments children inhabit,” he added. “Thus we need to design our technological environments wisely.”

According to the authors, the most important lesson to remember is that “we are not technological species, but one that came of age through deep and intimate daily contact with other humans and with an embodied, physical natural and often wild world – and we still need that world to flourish as a species.”

“In the years ahead, technological nature will get more sophisticated and compelling,” Kahn said. “But if it continues to replace our interaction with actual nature, it will come at a cost. To thrive as a species, we still need to interact with nature by encountering an animal in the wild, walking along the ocean’s edge or sleeping under the enormity of the night sky.”

To view the publication, visit http://www.colorado.edu/journals/cye/19_1/.

Exercise routine sparks brain development

2009-05-08T08:36:00.000-07:00

Parents urged to limit time on computer games

Cindy Stephen, For Neighbours

Published: Thursday, August 14, 2008

Although a good night's sleep and a healthy breakfast can prepare your child for a day of learning, experts are finding other smart ways to beef up the brain.

"Neuro-science is growing so much because of new technologies," says chartered psychologist Deb Skaret.

"We're finding that there are lots of things that parents can do to help facilitate the health and overall intellectual development and curiosity of their children."

Skaret, who holds a PhD in educational psychology from the University of Alberta, has long been a student of the brain and cites the latest research into how exercise benefits the muscle between your ears.

"We're learning how exercise is critical for brain development. It's like a spark," she says, adding that lack of physical activity can be connected to children with attention problems. She says American physician John J. Ratey tested junior high school students by running them on a treadmill before morning classes and found they were more alert in school.

Scientific research shows that exercise increases the fitness level and development of brain cells, and benefits the hippocampus (a seahorse-shaped brain structure) which is vital for memory and learning.

"I'm concerned about a child playing a lot of computer games and not having a balanced, recreational lifestyle. It's just a hypothesis, but I think we'll see greater challenges with kids holding down a conversation in the classroom. They're used to flashy stuff, and maybe it will be hard to sit down and enjoy a book," says Skaret, who jokes that the thumbs of future generations will be longer because of increased video games use.

Parents should encourage a balance of recreational activities and limit time on computer games, encouraging interaction and conversation with others.

Skaret also recommends parents monitor stressors in their children's lives.

"A little bit of stress is good. Hey, you got an assignment due, nothing like stress to help you get it done. But chronic stress, such as family fighting, and you get a child with constant anxiety," she says.

"Chronic stress creates cortisol which inhibits memory. If a child is sitting in school worrying, they can't concentrate or they learn something and it just falls through."

Cutting edge research still touts the benefits of sleep and adequate nutrition.

"Basically, when your brain doesn't have the nourishment it needs, you're foggy and fatigued. It's hard to stay focused," says nutrition specialist Theresa Riege of the Calgary Health Region.

Riege stresses the importance of a breakfast that is a combination of several food groups, particularly protein and whole grains, which will take longer to digest and help students keep their energy level up throughout the morning.

"Some children won't always be hungry upon first awakening," she says. If whole grain cereal or eggs don't appeal to them, Riege suggests thinking outside the traditional cereal box.

"Left-over pasta or even a ham sandwich is good. Whatever food goes into them should be as nourishing as possible," she says.

"Avoid that sweet sugar rush in the morning. It will get them going faster, but they'll lack energy by mid-morning and will inhibit their function from a thinking, and even play, perspective."

The Calgary Health Region, Nutrition and Active Living, has published a school nutrition guide book for schools, teachers and parents which is available on their website at http://www.calgaryhealthregion.ca/programs/nutrition/services/school nutrition.htm.

"It will give parents some food options and outlines some strategies for packing lunches and snacks," says Riege.

http://www2.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/neighbours/story.html?id=baeb2abe-f5f3-4456-ab2b-a476c144a142&p=2

TV Viewing Before the Age of 2 Has No Cognitive Benefit, Study Finds

2009-05-08T08:30:00.000-07:00

Environmental factors found to be more influential

March 2, 2009

Boston, Mass. -- A longitudinal study of infants from birth to age 3 showed TV viewing before the age of 2 does not improve a child's language and visual motor skills, according to research conducted at Children's Hospital Boston and Harvard Medical School. The findings, published in the March issue of Pediatrics, reaffirm current guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) that recommend no television under the age of 2, and suggest that maternal, child, and household characteristics are more influential in a child's cognitive development.

"Contrary to marketing claims and some parents' perception that television viewing is beneficial to children's brain development, no evidence of such benefit was found," says Marie Evans Schmidt, PhD, lead author of the study.

The study analyzed data of 872 children from Project Viva, a prospective cohort study of mothers and their children. In-person visits with both mothers and infants were performed immediately after birth, at 6 months, and 3 years of age while mothers completed mail-in questionnaires regarding their child's TV viewing habits when they were 1 and 2 years old. It was conducted by researchers in the Center on Media and Child Health at Children's, and the Department of Ambulatory Care and Prevention at Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care.

The study is the first to investigate the long term associations between infant TV viewing from birth to 2 years old and both language and visual-motor skill test scores at 3 years of age. These were calculated using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test III (PPVT III) and Wide-Range Assessment of Visual Motor Abilities (WRAVMA) test. The PPVT measures receptive vocabulary and is correlated with IQ, while WRAVMA tests for visual motor, visual spatial, and fine motor skills.

The researchers controlled for sociodemographic and environmental factors known to contribute to an infants' cognitive development, including mother's age, education, household income, marital status, parity, and postpartum depression, and the child's gender, race, birth weight, body mass index, and sleep habits. Using linear regression models, the researchers equalized the influences of each of these factors and calculated the independent effects of TV viewing on the cognitive development of infants. Once these influences were factored out, associations in the raw data between increased infant TV viewing and poorer cognitive outcomes disappeared.

"In this study, TV viewing in itself did not have measurable effects on cognition," adds Elsie Taveras, MD, MPH, senior author of the study and pediatrician at Children's. "TV viewing is perhaps best viewed as a marker for a host of other environmental and familial influences, which may themselves be detrimental to cognitive development."

While the study showed that increased infant TV exposure is of no benefit to cognitive development, it was also found to be of no detriment. The overall effects of increased TV viewing time were neutral. TV and video content was not measured, however, only the amount of time exposed. The researchers acknowledge follow-up studies need to be done, and they are quick to warn parents and pediatricians that the body of research evidence suggests TV viewing under the age of 2 does more harm than good.

"TV exposure in infants has been associated with increased risk of obesity, attention problems, and decreased sleep quality," adds Michael Rich, MD, MPH, the pediatrician who directs the Center on Media and Child Health and contributing author on this study and the current AAP Guidelines. "Parents need to understand that infants and toddlers do not learn or benefit in any way from viewing TV at an early age."

Contact:
Jamie Newton
617-919-3110
james.newton@childrens.harvard.edu

The Center on Media and Child Health, an affiliate of Children's Hospital Boston, Harvard Medical School, and Harvard School of Public Health conducts and translates research about the effects of media on child's health and development so that parents can make informed decisions about their children's media use. Parents can access this information about research as well as tips at www.cmch.tv.

Children's Hospital Boston is home to the world's largest research enterprise based at a pediatric medical center, where its discoveries have benefited both children and adults since 1869. More than 500 scientists, including eight members of the National Academy of Sciences, 11 members of the Institute of Medicine and 12 members of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute comprise Children's research community. Founded as a 20-bed hospital for children, Children's Hospital Boston today is a 397-bed comprehensive center for pediatric and adolescent health care grounded in the values of excellence in patient care and sensitivity to the complex needs and diversity of children and families. Children's also is the primary pediatric teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School. For more information about the hospital and its research visit:www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom.

Children who view adult-targeted TV may become sexually active earlier in life

2009-05-08T08:21:00.000-07:00

Longitudinal study tracked content viewed during childhood and adolescence

May 4, 2009

Boston, Mass. -- Early onset of sexual activity among teens may relate to the amount of adult content children were exposed to during their childhood, according to a new study released by Children's Hospital Boston. Based on a longitudinal study tracking children from age six to eighteen, researchers found that the younger children are exposed to content intended for adults in television and movies, the earlier they become sexually active during adolescence. The findings are being presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies meetings on Monday, May 4 in Baltimore.

"Television and movies are among the leading sources of information about sex and relationships for adolescents," says Hernan Delgado, MD, fellow in the Division of Adolescent/Young Adult Medicine at Children's Hospital Boston and lead author of the study. "Our research shows that their sexual attitudes and expectations are influenced much earlier in life."

The study consisted of 754 participants, 365 males and 389 females, who were tracked during two stages in life: first during childhood, and again five years later when their ages ranged from 12 to 18-years-old. At each stage, the television programs and movies viewed, and the amount of time spent watching them over a sample weekday and weekend day were logged. The program titles were used to determine what content was intended for adults. The participants' onset of sexual activity was then tracked during the second stage.

According to the findings, when the youngest children in the sample--ages 6 to 8-years-old--were exposed to adult-targeted television and movies, they were more likely to have sex earlier when compared those who watched less adult-targeted content. The study found that for every hour the youngest group of children watched adult-targeted content over the two sample days, their chances of having sex during early adolescence increased by 33 percent. Meanwhile, the reverse was not found to be true-that is, becoming sexually active in adolescence did not subsequently increase youth's viewing of adult-targeted television and movies.

"Adult entertainment often deals with issues and challenges that adults face, including the complexities of sexual relationships. Children have neither the life experience nor the brain development to fully differentiate between a reality they are moving toward and a fiction meant solely to entertain," adds David Bickham, PhD, staff scientist in the Center on Media and Child Health and co-author of the study. "Children learn from media, and when they watch media with sexual references and innuendos, our research suggests they are more likely to engage in sexual activity earlier in life."

The researchers encourage parents to follow current American Academy of Pediatrics viewing guidelines such as no television in the bedroom, no more than 1 to 2 hours of screen time a day, and to co-view television programs and have an open dialogue about its content with your children. They also suggest that--while the results demonstrate a longitudinal relationship--more research needs be done to understand how media influences children's growing awareness of human relationships and sexual behavior.

"Adolescent sexual behaviors may be influenced at a younger age, but this is just one area we studied," adds Dr. Delgado. "We showed how adult media impacts children into adolescence, yet there are a number of other themes in adult television shows and movies, like violence and language, whose influence also needs to be tracked from childhood to adolescence."

The study was funded by support by grants from the Maternal and Child Health Bureau and the Center on Media and Child Health. To view the AAP Television Guidelines click here.

Contact:
Jamie Newton
617-919-3110
james.newton@childrens.harvard.edu

Celebrate Turnoff Week: April 20-26

2009-03-19T16:21:00.001-07:00

CCFC is proud supporter of international Turnoff Week, a time for families to turn off screens, get active and involve themselves in their communities. Over 20 million people will participate and, with events being planned in every state, there is no excuse to find yourself alone and attached to the TV or computer. In December, the National Institutes of Health released a review of 30 years of studies on screen-times impact. The study reveals alarming health concerns, ones that lead to a breakdown of family and society. Turnoff Week is the first step in reversing this trend and a door to a new way of life. To find out more about how your family or your school can participate, please visit the Center for SCREEN-TIME Awareness at www.screentime.org

Obama in our direction

2009-03-19T16:01:00.000-07:00

Since President Barack Obama assumed office two months ago, he's put forth an ambitious political agenda. High on his list: Improving education and urging parents to do their part.

The $789 billion economic stimulus package includes $115 billion in new education funding, dollars that will be used for things like school renovation, special education and Head Start.

But Obama is also calling on parents to do what no government program can: "There is no program or policy that can substitute for a mother or father who will attend those parent-teacher conferences or help with the homework or turn off the TV, put away the video games, or read to their child. Responsibility for our children's education must begin at home," he told a joint session of Congress last month.

Food Company Found Guilty of Violating Kid Ad Ban

2009-02-20T12:40:00.000-08:00

In the Canadian Province of Quebec, it is illegal to advertise to
children under 13. And they mean it. This week, Saputo Inc., plead
guilty to twenty-two charges of violating the ad ban for using Igor
the Gorilla to market snack cakes in daycare centers. Similar charges
are pending against McDonald's, Burger King and General Mills.

Quebec's child advertising ban is wildly popular. A recent survey
found that nine out of ten Quebecers think that it is necessary to
control advertising targeting children. Most of the respondents
thought that the Consumer Protection Act (Loi sur la protection du
consommateur) banning advertising targeting children under 13 should
be enforced "more severely" (60%) or "as severely" (31%). For more
information, visit
http://www.commercialfreechildhood.org/news/2009/01/junkfoodwars.html.

Junk Food Ads Banned in UK

2008-11-29T08:41:00.000-08:00

Children’s Programs Will No Longer Include Ads for Junk Food by Jan Zeiger

The UK's telecommunications regulator, Ofcom, recently passed new regulations that will end all junk food advertising to television viewers under the age of 16.

It’s no secret that young viewers are inundated with ads, many of which glamorize food and beverages which could be considered “junk” due to their high fat, sugar, or salt content. A recent study on food-related advertising found 130 food-related ads in about 100 hours of preschool programming. More than half of these ads were geared towards children, with most of them promoting sugary cereals and fast food. Also noted in the report was the fact that the advertisements appeared to be focused on gaining brand recognition rather than immediate sales. It seems that a main goal of ads that target children is to present the product as exciting or fun, resulting in a positive association with the recommended food or beverage.

This study was done on three television networks: PBS, Disney, and Nickelodeon. PBS and Disney consider their preschool blocks of television to be “Ad-Free” but frequently show logos and feature slogans and music of their sponsors which include McDonald’s and Chuck E. Cheese.

The UK is the first industrialized nation to ban television ads that encourage young children to consume junk food. While the ban won’t occur overnight, it will eventually include all programming geared towards children under the age of 16. The Center for Science in the Public Interest is in favor of such regulations and hopes that the US will follow suit. The United States currently has an organization that reviews ads targeted to children, but the Children’s Advertising Review Unit does not consider a product's nutritional value.

The CSPI teamed up with the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood in 2006 and threatened to sue Kellogg and Viacom (owner of Nickelodeon) over their marketing practices. This is in response to the Federal Trade Commission’s promise that it simply won’t place restrictions on ads aired during children’s programs. It is important to note that a new voluntary program, The Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative, is designed to help promote healthier lifestyles among children. Voluntary participants of the initiative include Coca Cola, Campbell’s Soup, and Kraft Foods.

Sources:
Dr. Susan M. Connor, PhD. “Food-Related Advertising on Preschool Television: Building Brand Recognition in Young Viewers” Pediatrics. October 2006.
Center for Science in the Public Interest--2/23/07 press release
The copyright of the article Junk Food Ads Banned in UK in Children’s TV is owned by Jan Zeiger.
http://childrenstv.suite101.com/article.cfm/junk_food_ads_banned_in_uk

Target market: Children as consumers

2008-11-19T14:13:00.000-08:00

What do you call a consumer who wants to buy everything you have, doesn't care what it costs and is less than five feet tall? A marketer's dream? Nope. You call them kids. -- AdRelevance Intelligence Report, 2000

Children are bombarded by brand messages almost from birth, including counting books for preschoolers that use M&Ms or Cheerios, exposure to brightly coloured and appealing branded packaging in the supermarket, movie and toy tie-ins in fast-food restaurants, product placement in movies, advertisements on television and the Internet, and pitches from entertainment and sports stars in a range of media. In fact, it's almost impossible to escape marketing messages. No wonder, then, that children as young as two are starting to recognize logos and request specific brands as soon as they begin to speak.

Children are a prime target for marketers. Not only do children today have more disposable income at younger ages, but they have significant influence over family purchases. YTV's 2002 Tween Report estimated that Canadian children aged 9 to 14 spend $1.9 billion and influence $20 billion in family purchases per year. Marketing experts call it "pester power," or the "nag factor" -- the ability to get kids to nag their parents to buy a specific product or take them to a specific restaurant. After all, if your child asks you for the latest toy 37 times a day for a week, the odds are that you'll eventually give in and buy it.

As a result, there is now a whole segment of the marketing industry devoted to figuring out how to sell things to kids. Children were first identified as a target market in the 1960s, and the concept has continued to increase in popularity, as shown by the recent explosion of books with titles like What Kids Buy and Why: The Psychology of Marketing to Kids; BrandChild: Remarkable Insights into the Minds of Today's Global Kids and Their Relationships with Brands; and Kidfluence: The Marketer's Guide to Understanding and Reaching Generation Y Kids, Tweens, and Teens.

The ages and stages of advertising

In Canada, the average child watches about two hours of television a day and sees more than 20,000 commercials per year. And marketers have become increasingly sophisticated, using research into developmental psychology to exploit children's age-specific vulnerabilities and make their messages that much more powerful:

Up to age four or five, most children don't understand that there is a difference between entertainment and advertising. They watch commercials and television programs with equal attention. Commercials aimed at this group often associate the product or brand with fun and happiness, rather than talking about actual product facts.

Children don't develop a concept of other people's beliefs, desires, and motives, known as "theory of mind," until they are at least six years old. It's difficult for children younger than seven or eight years old to understand that the intent of advertising is to get them to buy things. They also tend to take advertised claims about a product literally.

Tweens, age eight to 12 years, understand the purpose of ads but are still vulnerable to them. These children are starting to develop their sense of identity. "Aspirational" marketing targets their desire to be slightly older and seem more sophisticated than they are.

Teenagers are trying to differentiate themselves from their parents and fit in with their peer group. Marketing aimed at teenagers may focus on teens' insecurities, or it may take positive qualities such as their activism and desire to challenge conformity and repackage them in the form of cool, counter-culture brands.

Children with developmental disabilities or problems with impulsivity may be even more vulnerable to advertising messages than other children their age.

Professionals who work with children are becoming increasingly concerned about this onslaught. In 2003, the Canadian Paediatric Society issued a position statement on the impact of media on children and youth that raised several concerns about advertising. In 2004, a coalition of Canadian health groups led by the Centre for Science in the Public Interest called for a ban on advertising aimed at children 13 or younger. Quebec has already banned print and broadcast advertising aimed at children under 13, although children certainly see advertising from other sources as well.

Selling fat and sugar

Many activists consider food advertising to be a leading cause of the increase in overweight in children. A report released in December 2005 by the Institute of Medicine, Food Marketing to Children and Youth: Threat or Opportunity?, observed that in the United States alone, over $11 billion dollars a year is spent on marketing food and beverages to children. And the food advertised to children is generally less than nutritious: most of it is highly processed, rich in saturated fat, salt, and sugar, and poor in nutrients like fibre, vitamins, calcium, and iron. A study in the September 2005 issue of the American Journal of Public Health, which analyzed television commercials shown in the U.S. during programs children watch, found that:

An average of 10.6 food commercials were shown per hour, meaning that a child who watches two hours of television per day would see nearly 8,000 food commercials per year.
Eighty-three per cent of the advertisements were for convenience foods, fast foods, candy, and soft drinks, compared to only 2% for fruits and vegetables.
Commercials showed snack-time eating more often than breakfast, lunch, and dinner combined.
A 2000-calorie diet made up of the foods in ads aimed at children would give more than the recommended daily value of sodium and would contain 171 g (nearly 1 cup) of added sugar.
Most characters in the advertisements were of average weight, no matter what or how much they ate.

Food manufacturers and advertisers urge physical exercise and media literacy through programs such as Long Live Kids, developed by Concerned Children's Advertisers. They also argue that it's up to parents to watch what their children eat and teach them healthy habits. "Sure they should," say Kelly Brownell and Katherine Battle Horgen in their book Food Fight, "but look at what interferes. Parents try their best, but it is no contest between them and pressures to eat unhealthy food…. A few parents prevail in the face of this pressure, but they are dwindling in number." While physical exercise, media literacy, and moderation are all good things, it's foolish to ignore the impact of food marketing on children.

Psychologist Susan Linn, author of Consuming Kids: The Hostile Takeover of Childhood, goes further. She writes, "Marketing products by feeding into children's 'need to be in control' exacerbates an ongoing, normal tension in family life that arises as children move from the total dependence of infancy to the independence of adulthood." She argues that advertising aimed at kids deliberately undermines the parent-child relationship, both by encouraging children to nag their parents for what they want, and by portraying parents and other adults as either absent or incompetent.

Protecting kids from marketing messages: What parents can do

It's probably impossible to completely shield children from marketing messages. However you feel about it, marketing is an inevitable part of the world we live in. Still, parents can give their children tools to help them cope with the barrage. The Media Awareness Network, the Canadian Paediatric Society, and Susan Linn have many suggestions:

Start young. Children are influenced by marketing from a very young age.
Limit children's exposure to advertising on television and on the Internet. Don't allow them to have televisions or Internet-enabled computers in their rooms, and limit TV time to one or two hours per day.
Talk to your kids about how advertising works and what advertisers are trying to accomplish. Explain that advertising is a multi-billion dollar business whose goal is to get people to buy things, and that they are very good at it.
Encourage kids to think critically about marketing messages. You can start as small as you like: last year a Grade 6 math class in Thunder Bay, Ontario debunked a "fun fact" on a package of Smarties, which claimed that Canadians eat enough Smarties each year to circle the earth 350 times. They found that in order for the claim to be true, either the earth would have to be a lot smaller, or each Smartie would have to be 3.5 metres in diameter.
Help kids to understand the strategies used by advertisers. Talk with kids about specific ads: "How do you feel about the people in the ad? Do you want to be like them? Why or why not? Does the ad make you feel uncool for not owning the product, or that you'll feel good about yourself if you buy the product? What are some other ways you could get those feelings, without buying the product? Has the ad used any ambiguous words or impressive-sounding facts and figures to make the product sound better than it is? At the end, did the announcer say anything like 'some assembly required' or 'batteries not included'?"
Explain about product placement: if characters in a movie or TV show are using a particular brand, the advertiser probably paid a lot of money for it to be there.
Discuss how your kids can be smart, responsible consumers by knowing what is good for them and what isn't, what is good for the environment and what isn't, and what is good value for money.
Educate children about nutrition using Canada's Food Guide. Discuss whether eating only things you see on TV makes for a healthy, balanced diet. Make a distinction between "everyday" foods and "sometimes" foods.
Before going grocery shopping, decide exactly what you plan to buy, including snacks and treats. Having a list that you and your kids have discussed ahead of time makes it easier to avoid impulse purchases and set limits in the store.
Monitor your own media habits and buying habits, and change them if necessary. Children pick up early on what's important to their parents.
Make sure TV, Internet, and video game "screen time" is balanced with family time, active, creative play, playing outdoors, reading, and other activities without marketing attached.
Know that you're probably not alone. Share your concerns about advertising with other parents. You may be able to find other parents who feel the same way you do, and you may be able to settle on consistent rules for TV-watching.

Robin MarwickMedical Writer, AboutKidsHealth

Talking to Kids about Advertising

2008-11-19T14:01:00.000-08:00

Today's kids have become the most marketed-to generation in history, due to their spending power and their future influence as adult consumers. By talking to kids about advertising - how it works and how they're targeted - we can help them to become more savvy as consumers and more resistant to the pressures to be "cool."

Here are some tips on talking to kids about advertising.

Start young.
Until the age of six or seven, children have difficulty distinguishing advertising from reality and may not understand that ads are there to sell something. In fact, children watching TV often find the commercials more engaging than the programs! Talking to children about advertising from an early age encourages them to become active - not passive - consumers of commercial messages.

Explain how advertising works.
Talk about how the job of marketers is to play on human insecurities by creating ads that imply their products will improve our lives and bring us happiness. Have kids make a list of the good things in their lives (the things they value) and then make a list of the things they wish they could buy. Have them compare the "real life" list with the "wish" list. Do they think the things on the wish list will bring them happiness? If so, why?

Point out the tricks of the trade.
Explain that advertisers use many methods to get us to buy their products. Some common "tricks of the trade" include pulling on our heartstrings by drawing us into a story and making us feel good; using misleading words, such as "the taste of real . . . ," "studies have shown" and "for a limited time only"; making exaggerated claims about a product; and using cartoon characters or celebrities to sell products or brand names.

Explain how marketers target young people.
Look for examples of how marketers try to build brand loyalty in young children. Talk about cross-marketing - show how the release of a new kids' movie is usually preceded by a huge marketing campaign involving tie-in toys, fast food, clothing and books. Explain how marketers target image-conscious pre-teens and teens with messages about being "cool" and attractive.

De-construct food advertising.
Most food advertising aimed at kids is for fast food, candy and pre-sweetened cereals. Point out misleading language in food commercials, such as a description of a sugary cereal that is "part of a nutritious breakfast" or "natural fruit roll-ups" that don't contain any fruit. Explain how food is prepared by special artists to look perfect in ads. Talk about how fast food restaurants use tie-ins with popular movies and TV shows in order to attract kids.

Talk about the value of money.
One of the most important lessons we can teach our children is how to be smart about money. Our consumer culture promotes spending over saving, so we have to counter that message on a regular basis by discussing purchasing decisions and money-management skills with kids.

Discuss how to be a wise and responsible consumer.
Show kids how to comparison shop, read reviews and investigate warranties. Talk about the effect of mass consumerism on the environment. Encourage them to think about ways they can cut down on buying non-essential consumer products.

Media Awareness Network

why choose carefully what we are showing to our children?

2008-10-28T09:21:00.000-07:00

Children re-enact what they are watching.
Observe your children, if you show them Dora, they will certainly play Dora after screening it.
If you show them Cow-boys and indians, they will play those... etc...

That is why it is so important to choose carefully which programs you are showing to them. In a collectivity, if you show children scary or violent programs, it will excite them. And I do consider some classics to be violent and scary, most Disney are!

Seeing Bambi loose his mother or Dumbo being so badly treated, makes many children uncomfortable (a very healthy reaction of course). They will have to expel those feeling by acting up. It is a natural way to "digest" those images.

If the collectivity, let's say, a school, for example, because it is raining outside, show a positive program, one with only good message and no scary images. You can be sure that the children will feel good after screening it, and certainly re-enact those good images.

Mary Poppins is a good example. It suggests great ideas and good feelings.

I believe that no collectivity and particularly school should ever show programs with a violent or scary side. Plus, considering that most of the children in America are watching too much TV and movies already at home, and certainly not much documentaries, school seems to be the best place to show them great documentaries which help them discover new facts and probably make them think about the subject, eventually speak about it with their teacher after.

media education

2008-10-26T21:16:00.000-07:00

We are continuing our media education using cartoon without the sound, then with it... as explained in the precedent post. The children are used to it, they are living it as a game and getting better and better at it.

As I said, this exercice create reflex in the way they watch the TV. Their attention is not only global, they do perceived details. Being aware of those make them watch videos or TV programs differently.

The idea is to give the children the media education we get in film school!

Media class

2008-08-29T21:02:00.000-07:00

I believe in media education, the same way I believe in teaching kids how to swim in order to feel safe near water.

So today we started one of our media class, I used a bugs bunny cartoon, those cartoon are great to work on.

The exercise is simple, showing the cartoon without the sound first and asking the kid to tell the story.

Then showing the cartoon and asking what he noticed, what seemed different?

Now, beside the picture what can we notice in this cartoon: sound effect, voices, music.
So we watch ones again the cartoon focusing on the voices, the tone of the voices, the intonation....

Then we watch it again focusing on the sound effects, kids usually really like that part :-)
it is also a good occasion to explain to them how those sound are made, that someone is making them. And even let them try making some.

Then we watch it again focusing on the music, joyful music? Sad? Scaring?
And explain that music is there to accentuate emotion.

What is the purpose of all that?

Make the children aware of everything involved in a cartoon, and then in any other fiction. That way their perception will be sharp and complete.

This little exercise repeated over and over will create reflexes the same way you learn how to push the brake when it is time too.
This exercise is what film student are doing in film school.

For me, media education is essential in this so visual world.

Making commercial

2008-08-28T21:15:00.000-07:00

My children did not see commercials yet but they love to make fakes ones!

But what is a commercial: it is a Television advertisement.
"The vast majority of television advertisements today consist of brief advertising spots, ranging in length from a few seconds to several minutes (as well as program-length infomercials). Advertisements of this sort have been used to sell every product imaginable over the years, from household products to goods and services, to political campaigns. The effect of television advertisements upon the viewing public has been so successful and so pervasive that it is considered impossible for a politician to wage a successful election campaign, in the United States, without use of television advertising." (http://www.answers.com/topic/television-advertisement)

This is exactly what I explained to my 6 years old children: commercials exist to make you do what they want instead of what you want, they exist to create needs that you would never have without them. And for all that, they lie. They got it and it makes them laugh, so they love making some fake ones.

What is the idea in all that: making is taking control. Knowing, understanding what a commercial is, how it's made and for what goal, will build a kind of protection against its influence.

This is part of this media education I believe essential to give to our children today, in this world where Television has such a big part of the life of many families.

first contact with cinema

2008-05-23T12:51:00.000-07:00

French inventors Louis Lumière and Auguste Lumière were technologically and artistically of great importance to the development of cinema.

A demonstration of the Edison Kinetoscope in 1894 inspired the Lumiere brothers toward motion pictures.
By the following year, Louis had created and patented the cinématographe, the device that changed the face of early cinema. A combination camera, projection device, and printer, the hand-cranked cinématographe differed from Edison's camera in that it was relatively compact and easy to transport while Edison's was cumbersome, noisy, and used 48 frames per second as opposed to Lumière's 16.
With the cinématographe, the brothers were able to chronicle daily events outside the studio.
Their first such film, La Sortie des Usines (1895), filmed workers leaving the Lumière factory at day's end. They made 19 more little films including the famed L'Arrivee d'un Train en Gare, and Les Repas de Bebe, as well as the early slapstick film L'Arroseur Arrosee (Watering the Gardener).

As my children were not yet exposed to cinema, movies, I started by showing them Lumieres movies!
So they were able to appreciate, "l'arrivee du train en gare de la Ciotat" noticing all the details! They were particularly interested to see that people were dressed differently and that there were no cars.

Georges Méliès was a French filmmaker famous for leading many technical and narrative developments in the earliest cinema.

He was very innovative in the use of special effects. He accidentally discovered the stop trick, or substitution, in 1896, and was one of the first filmmakers to use multiple exposures, time-lapse photography, dissolves, and hand-painted color in his films.

Because of his ability to seemingly manipulate and transform reality with the cinematography, Méliès is sometimes referred to as the "Cinemagician."

My children ADORE Melies movies! They are a lot of fun to watch, silent movie full of magic and fantasy. They appreciate particularly "sorcellerie culinaire" (1903) et "La conquète du pole" (1912)

I believe that it is important to start a story at the beginning.
The same way we usually start to read the alphabet before reading words, it makes sense to have our first contact with cinema with the first movies ever done. I believe that it does help to apprehend this audiovisual language as well as he does help to differentiate fiction from reality.

We finished this first contact with cinema screening "Entr'acte" by Rene Clair (1984).

For this production, the Dadaists collaborating on the project invented a new mode of production: instantanéisme. The complete film takes about 20 minutes using such techniques as watching people run in slow motion, watching things happen in reverse, looking at a ballet dancer from underneath, watching an egg over a fountain of water get shot and instantly become a bird and watching people disappear. The cast included cameo appearances by Francis Picabia, Erik Satie, Man Ray, and Marcel Duchamp.

My children laugh a lot during this screening, particularly looking at the ballet dancer from underneath, they first did not see what it was, then they noticed the feet, and that was the beginning of a long laugh. They like the movie and it was a lot of fun to watch it with them.

Disney No Longer Marketing Baby Einstein Videos as Educational

2008-03-14T10:54:00.000-07:00

As a result of CCFC’s Federal Trade Commission complaint, Baby Einstein has completely redesigned its website and is no longer making educational claims about its DVDs and videos. In 2006, CCFC filed an FTC complaint against Baby Einstein for making false and deceptive claims about the educational value of their products. In December, the FTC decided not to take enforceable action against Baby Einstein when the company promised to “take appropriate steps to ensure that any future advertising claims of educational and/or developmental benefit for children are adequately substantiated.” Since no substantiation exists, Disney will not be able to claim that the videos have educational value.

We are deeply troubled that the FTC failed to hold Disney accountable for years of deceptive marketing; essentially, the FTC is telling corporations that it’s okay to lie to parents because if you get caught there will be no consequences as long as you promise not to do it again. At the same time, we are proud that CCFC’s complaint spurred substantive changes to the Baby Einstein website. Gone are claims such as the description of Baby Wordsworth as a “rich and interactive learning experience that … fosters the development of your toddler’s speech and language skills,” or that Numbers Nursery will “help develop your baby’s understanding of what numbers mean.”

Thanks to all of you who urged the FTC to act on our complaint and shared your experiences with Baby Einstein with the Commission.

The FTC’s response to CCFC is available at http://commercialfreechildhood.org/actions/lettertoccfc.pdf.

The FTC’s response to Baby Einstein is available at http://commercialfreechildhood.org/actions/babyeinstein.pdf.

CCFC’s original complaint against Brainy Baby and Baby Einstein is available at http://www.commercialfreechildhood.org/babyvideos/ftccomplaint.htm.

High school musical and commercial

2008-03-08T15:18:00.000-08:00

Many people seem to think that my children are not aware of the TV world because we are not watching TV. Well, don’t forget merchandising :-)
They know about Dora as there are many Dora products everywhere and they did even read one or two stories of Dora. (I cite Dora as it seems to be the favorite character of K student)
They know Superman and Spiderman as well, thanks to their leap pad.

And since yesterday they know about High School Musical!
They were lucky enough to see the play! On stage! And the cast was all kids!
I felt they were so lucky to live this experience.
Plus because we were there really early, they go a chance to see some of the rehearsal! How the kids had to warm up their voice, to remember where they will have to stand at this specific moment of the play… How they were themselves joking around, very instructive.

Then, when the musical started, they were all playing their part. My kids were fascinated.
I am happy that they could see everything involved: the musician playing the music on our right, the light beings turn on and off, the set being changed over and over following the story, the cast changing costumes from one scene to another…
The story was going on, but everything was changing in just one place, not like in real life and must faster than in real life. Little concept that need to be assimilated in order to make the difference between real and not real.

As I said before we are not watching TV and therefore we are not watching commercial. But I did explain to them what a commercial is: well, people trying to make you spend your money buying things you do not need but they need to sell you because they want your money.
So, we decide to shoot our own commercial :-)

Hands-on, isn’t’ that the best way to apprehend things, to understand how that works?

Old-Fashioned Play Builds Serious Skills

2008-02-22T10:01:00.000-08:00

I think the following article is worth thinking about it:

Old-Fashioned Play Builds Serious Skills
by Alix Spiegel

you can read this article and listen to the talk on NPR here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=19212514

Morning Edition, February 21, 2008 · On October 3, 1955, the Mickey Mouse Club debuted on television. As we all now know, the show quickly became a cultural icon, one of those phenomena that helped define an era.

What is less remembered but equally, if not more, important, is that another transformative cultural event happened that day: The Mattel toy company began advertising a gun called the "Thunder Burp."

I know — who's ever heard of the Thunder Burp?

Well, no one.

The reason the advertisement is significant is because it marked the first time that any toy company had attempted to peddle merchandise on television outside of the Christmas season. Until 1955, ad budgets at toy companies were minuscule, so the only time they could afford to hawk their wares on TV was during Christmas. But then came Mattel and the Thunder Burp, which, according to Howard Chudacoff, a cultural historian at Brown University, was a kind of historical watershed. Almost overnight, children's play became focused, as never before, on things — the toys themselves.

"It's interesting to me that when we talk about play today, the first thing that comes to mind are toys," says Chudacoff. "Whereas when I would think of play in the 19th century, I would think of activity rather than an object."

Chudacoff's recently published history of child's play argues that for most of human history what children did when they played was roam in packs large or small, more or less unsupervised, and engage in freewheeling imaginative play. They were pirates and princesses, aristocrats and action heroes. Basically, says Chudacoff, they spent most of their time doing what looked like nothing much at all.

"They improvised play, whether it was in the outdoors… or whether it was on a street corner or somebody's back yard," Chudacoff says. "They improvised their own play; they regulated their play; they made up their own rules."

But during the second half of the 20th century, Chudacoff argues, play changed radically. Instead of spending their time in autonomous shifting make-believe, children were supplied with ever more specific toys for play and predetermined scripts. Essentially, instead of playing pirate with a tree branch they played Star Wars with a toy light saber. Chudacoff calls this the commercialization and co-optation of child's play — a trend which begins to shrink the size of children's imaginative space.

But commercialization isn't the only reason imagination comes under siege. In the second half of the 20th century, Chudacoff says, parents became increasingly concerned about safety, and were driven to create play environments that were secure and could not be penetrated by threats of the outside world. Karate classes, gymnastics, summer camps — these create safe environments for children, Chudacoff says. And they also do something more: for middle-class parents increasingly worried about achievement, they offer to enrich a child's mind.

Change in Play, Change in Kids

Clearly the way that children spend their time has changed. Here's the issue: A growing number of psychologists believe that these changes in what children do has also changed kids' cognitive and emotional development.

It turns out that all that time spent playing make-believe actually helped children develop a critical cognitive skill called executive function. Executive function has a number of different elements, but a central one is the ability to self-regulate. Kids with good self-regulation are able to control their emotions and behavior, resist impulses, and exert self-control and discipline.

We know that children's capacity for self-regulation has diminished. A recent study replicated a study of self-regulation first done in the late 1940s, in which psychological researchers asked kids ages 3, 5 and 7 to do a number of exercises. One of those exercises included standing perfectly still without moving. The 3-year-olds couldn't stand still at all, the 5-year-olds could do it for about three minutes, and the 7-year-olds could stand pretty much as long as the researchers asked. In 2001, researchers repeated this experiment. But, psychologist Elena Bodrova at the National Institute for Early Education Research says, the results were very different.

"Today's 5-year-olds were acting at the level of 3-year-olds 60 years ago, and today's 7-year-olds were barely approaching the level of a 5-year-old 60 years ago," Bodrova explains. "So the results were very sad."

Sad because self-regulation is incredibly important. Poor executive function is associated with high dropout rates, drug use and crime. In fact, good executive function is a better predictor of success in school than a child's IQ. Children who are able to manage their feelings and pay attention are better able to learn. As executive function researcher Laura Berk explains, "Self-regulation predicts effective development in virtually every domain."

The Importance of Self-Regulation

According to Berk, one reason make-believe is such a powerful tool for building self-discipline is because during make-believe, children engage in what's called private speech: They talk to themselves about what they are going to do and how they are going to do it.

"In fact, if we compare preschoolers' activities and the amount of private speech that occurs across them, we find that this self-regulating language is highest during make-believe play," Berk says. "And this type of self-regulating language… has been shown in many studies to be predictive of executive functions."

And it's not just children who use private speech to control themselves. If we look at adult use of private speech, Berk says, "we're often using it to surmount obstacles, to master cognitive and social skills, and to manage our emotions."

Unfortunately, the more structured the play, the more children's private speech declines. Essentially, because children's play is so focused on lessons and leagues, and because kids' toys increasingly inhibit imaginative play, kids aren't getting a chance to practice policing themselves. When they have that opportunity, says Berk, the results are clear: Self-regulation improves.

"One index that researchers, including myself, have used… is the extent to which a child, for example, cleans up independently after a free-choice period in preschool," Berk says. "We find that children who are most effective at complex make-believe play take on that responsibility with… greater willingness, and even will assist others in doing so without teacher prompting."

Despite the evidence of the benefits of imaginative play, however, even in the context of preschool young children's play is in decline. According to Yale psychological researcher Dorothy Singer, teachers and school administrators just don't see the value.

"Because of the testing, and the emphasis now that you have to really pass these tests, teachers are starting earlier and earlier to drill the kids in their basic fundamentals. Play is viewed as unnecessary, a waste of time," Singer says. "I have so many articles that have documented the shortening of free play for children, where the teachers in these schools are using the time for cognitive skills."

It seems that in the rush to give children every advantage — to protect them, to stimulate them, to enrich them — our culture has unwittingly compromised one of the activities that helped children most. All that wasted time was not such a waste after all.

Related NPR Stories

no time for TV

2007-12-23T18:07:00.000-08:00

Oh well, this is what is happening in my home. We came back from a visit to friends and I was just thinking about a nice video of Caillou which present Christmas in every country of the world. But my kids started to play, play, play. They were inventing a big story and ones again, no time for TV.

In fact, beside videos I am getting from the library to illustrate some lessons, like the one about volcano or the one about dinosaur, we rarely have time for TV or entertainment videos. And I am never going to tell them “stop playing and come watch some TV”
It makes senses, isn’t it?

What happen to the parents who say:No daily TV in the classroom?

2007-10-29T11:51:00.000-07:00

Oh well, hard to believe, but sadly true: the well mannered and focus and nice student who is getting along well with everyone including the teacher got kick out of the class!

Why? Because the Kindergarten teacher hate the mom!

Why? Because the mom asked her to not show TV to the children on a daily basis!

Chocking?

Oh yes, very chocking! How that can be possible that a teacher careless of the happiness of the children? Poor parents, they did not know what to do when they learned how much the teacher hated the mom, so they trusted the principal of the school who proposed to change the student of class. They wanted to find a peaceful solution for all, and most of all they did not have the experience.

And it is getting worse! The nice little student became extremely unhappy in his new class, this new class which combines Kindergarten and first grade was taking away from him not only a familiar environment that he loves, his friend, his teacher, his sister, but was also taking away all the fun of kindergarten! No more hands on activities for him, no more choice time where he was so happy to play with all his friends, no more social studies, no more center activities! All the fun went away. And a happy little dude that everyone loves became a very unhappy child trying to keep his smile to give the change to all those adults surrounding him.

And then, when the parents went back to the principal telling him how miserable their son was and how much this change was a mistake, how much this class was wrong for him, this one was cold and rude and just said: I will not change him!

Letting their son becoming more unhappy everyday was not an option, so those nice parents, who love their children enough to care about their happiness, left that school that was obviously led by a principal who does not care at all of the wellbeing of the children….

Television harms our children and families in many ways.

2007-10-08T20:35:00.000-07:00

Parents, you will love this article which summarizes many researches:

Breaking Out of the Box. Turn Off TV. Turn on Life. By Ann Vorisek White Web Exclusive

The average American child watches four hours of television every day, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.1

Videotapes and video games add to the amount of time children spend staring at a screen. How does all this viewing affect us?

Television harms our children and families in many ways. Before TV, meals were a time for families to reflect upon the day and linger in peace or lively discussion over home-cooked meals. Today, most American families regularly watch television during dinner.2

Mealtimes are hurried, with children and adults eating in silence, eyes glued to the screen, or gobbling down their food in order to return to the family room to resume their interrupted television watching.

Childhood illnesses and injuries leading to bed rest used to be special times for bonding and family rituals. We can recall books that were read to us or quiet games that we played while recovering from chicken pox or a broken leg. Today, sick children spend their days watching videos and television.

In the past, holiday gatherings found children playing outdoors and adults gathered in lively discussions. Today, children are more apt to gather around the television or computer than to take up a game of kick-the-can or capture-the-flag. In fact, some family gatherings seem to revolve around TV, with Thanksgiving dinners prepared to suit the timing of football games.

As a result of the many hours they spend in front of the TV, children are in effect being parented by network producers rather than by their own parents. Television teaches children that rude, irresponsible behavior is not only acceptable but also glamorous. Children learn about sex and violence apart from their consequences, emotional attachments, and responsibilities. They learn to act impulsively, without reflection or advice from elders. Qualities such as wisdom and processes like thinking through a problem are difficult to express on a television screen, especially when the medium depends on sensationalism and shock rather than character and insight.

US Surgeon General David Satcher stated in a 2000 report on youth violence that violent television programming and video games have become a public-health issue and that "repeated exposure to violent entertainment during early childhood causes more aggressive behavior throughout a child's life.3

The American Psychological Association (APA) notes that children who regularly watch violence on television are more fearful and distrustful of the world, less bothered by violence, and slower to intervene or call for help when they see fighting or destructive behavior.4

A Los Angeles Times story reported that 91 percent of children polled said they felt "upset" or "scared" by violence on television.5

A University of Pennsylvania study found that children's TV shows contain roughly 20 acts of violence each hour.6

After watching violent programs, the APA reports, children are more likely to act out aggressively, and children who are regularly exposed to violent programming show a greater tendency toward hitting, arguing, leaving tasks unfinished, and impatience.7

The first two years of life is when the greatest and most rapid development of the brain occurs. As all parents know, a child's mind is different from an adult's, and the differences go beyond children's innocent and often poetic perceptions of the world. While the adult brain has two distinct hemispheres, the infant brain is a single receptacle of sensory experience in which neither side has developed or overpowered the other. Until they learn language, children absorb experience using a kind of nonverbal "thinking," characterized later in the brain's development as a right hemispheric function. When language begins, each hemisphere seems to be equally developed. In its structural and biochemical sense, the brain doesn't reach its full maturation until about age 12.
By maturation, the left hemisphere typically develops as the dominant side, controlling the verbal and logical functions of the brain, while the right hemisphere controls spatial and visual functions. For many years, such development was thought to be genetically predetermined and unaffected by life experiences. Today, however, this belief has changed. Although the acquisition of language appears to be universal, we now recognize that the abilities required for expression and reasoning are not automatic. Watching television threatens the development of these abilities because it requires a suspension of active cognition.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children under the age of two not watch TV or videos, and that older children watch only one to two hours per day of nonviolent, educational TV. Young children watching TV are routinely described as transfixed, passive, and nonverbal. One of television's appeals for parents is that it serves as an immediate way to silence and sedate active toddlers. But such nonverbal absorption does more than simply relax and amuse preschoolers. Language spoken by actors on TV does not have the same effect as real-life language experiences. The Journal of Broadcasting reported that language skills among American children declined as TV viewing time increased.8

In real life, conversation is reciprocal and participatory; it allows time for reflection, questions, and encouragement. Television, however, is a one- way street, and you had better stay glued, ask no questions, and take no time for thought, because the next scene will appear in seconds and there is no rewind. As a result, children learn not to think but to remain passive and unresponsive to whatever stimulus appears before them. Television conditions them to absorb images without mental effort and to expect rapid change. Since young children's questions and imaginations are the cornerstone of their learning processes, remaining unresponsive hour after hour, day after day, year after year surely affects their intellectual, emotional, and moral development.

Fantasy play, a critical component of childhood, allows children to explore different situations with varying responses and outcomes. While books and storytelling nourish fantasy play, fantasy watching does not foster the same reaction. The US Department of Education reported that 81 percent of children ages two to seven watch TV unsupervised,9 which means that young children enter a world of fantasy without the guidance and oversight of an adult. Research by the Yale University Family Television and Consultation Center reveals that imagination decreases as TV watching increases.10

TV teaches children to be amused by its images instead of encouraging kids to create their own. It dulls the mind by the power of its fast-moving pictures, supplanting the mental activity necessary to follow in the mind's eye a book or a storyteller's tale. The Yale Center reports that complex language and grammar skills are directly linked to fantasy play, and that children who create fantasy play are more tolerant, peaceful, patient, and happy.

Many children become habituated to TV by their parents, who desire a break from their child's activity and attention. However, the short-term benefit of a quiet, mesmerized child may actually lead to a greater dependence on adult supervision by creating children who are less capable of amusing themselves. By supplanting their imaginations, creating fast-paced pictures, and transforming active minds into passive recipients, TV teaches mental lethargy.

For a child raised on hourly doses of TV, boredom is a common component of later childhood. In refusing to use TV during the preschool years, parents may save themselves from constantly having to create amusements for their children.

The best way to keep TV from becoming an issue with children, of course, is not to begin using it. If a TV is present in the home, it is vital to establish clear rules on its use and to maintain these rules. Never make TV a reward or a punishment; this only heightens its power. When starting the withdrawal from TV, explain why you are making these changes and that it is not a punishment. The first month will be the most difficult. Children may cry or plead, but you can remain firm if you keep in mind that you are freeing them from an addiction.

It is also imperative that you help your children learn how to fill the time that they formerly spent watching TV. Work with them to nurture interests, discover hobbies, and explore new possibilities. Begin a nightly read-aloud for the entire family. Take walks after breakfast or dinner. Share your hobbies-sewing, knitting, baking bread-with them. Learn to play instruments and make music as a family. Encourage children to help with work around the house and yard. Visit neighbors and relatives. Tell stories and pass on your family history. Build a birdhouse. Go bowling. Go sledding. Finger paint. Color. Practice yoga together. Involve your children in the daily activities of the house, and encourage yourself and your family to rekindle the flame of exploration and discovery, away from the draw of the flickering blue screen.

NOTES
1. American Academy of Pediatrics, "Television and the Family" (June 1999), http://www.aap.org/.
2. D. A. Gentile and D. A. Walsh, Media Quotient: National Survey of Family Media Habits, Knowledge, and Attitudes (Washington, DC: National Institute on Media and the Family, 1999).
3. "NAPNAP Supports Surgeon General on TV/Video Stance," press release, National Association of Pediatric Nurse Associates & Practitioners, Cherry Hill, NJ, February 2, 2000.
4. American Psychological Association, "Violence on Television" (report), http://www.apa.org/.
5. "Living in Fear," Los Angeles Times , August 23, 1998 .
6. G. L. Gerbner, M. Morgan, and N. Signorielli , "Living with Television: The Dynamics of the Cultivation Process," in J. Bryant and D. Zillman, eds., Perspectives on Media Effects (Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum, 1986).
7. See Note 4.
8. Gary W. Selnow and Erwin P. Bettinghaus, "Television Exposure and Language Development," Journal of Broadcasting 26 (Winter 1982): 1.
9. US Department of Education, "Strong Families, Strong Schools : Building Community Partnerships for Learning" (report), 1994.
10. Dorothy Singer, J. Singer, and D. Zuckerman, Use TV to Your Child's Advantage: The Parent's Guide . Yale University Family Television Research and Consultation Center , 1998. npin.org/library/1998/n00049/n00049.html
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Baldwin, Rahima. You Are Your Child's First Teacher . Celestial Arts, 2000.
Bennett, Steve and Ruth. 365 TV-Free Activities You Can Do with Your Child . Bob Adams, 1991.
Healy, Jane M. Failure to Connect: How Computers Affect Our Children's Minds-For Better and Worse. Simon and Schuster, 1998.
The Killing Screens: Media and the Culture of Violence (video recording). Sut Jhally, executive producer and director. Media Education Foundation, 1994.
Liebert, Robert M. The Early Window: Effects of Television on Children and Youth. Pergamon Press, 1988.
Mander, Jerry. Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television. Morrow, 1978.
Minow, Newton . Abandoned in the Wasteland: Children, TV, and the First Amendment. Hill and Wang, 1995.
National Association of Pediatric Nurse Associates & Practitioners (NAPNAP), 1101 Kings Highway North, Cherry Hill, NJ 08034, 856-667-1776, http://www.napnap.org/.
National Institute on Media and the Family, 606 24th Avenue, Suite 606 , Minneapolis , MN 55454 , 888-672-5437, http://www.mediaandthefamily.org/.
Postman, Neil. The Disappearance of Childhoo d. Delacorte Press, 1982.
Trelease, Jim. The Read-Aloud Handbook . Penguin Books, 1985.
TV-Turnoff Network, 1611 Connecticut Avenue, NW 3A, Washington , DC 20009 , 202- 518-5556, http://www.tvturnoff.org/.
US Senate Judiciary Committee Staff Report , "Children, Violence, and the Media," 1999.
Wilkins, Joan Anderson. Breaking the TV Habit . Scribner, 1982.
Winn, Marie. The Plug-In Drug . Penguin Books, 1985.
For more information about television, see the following articles in past issues of Mothering : "Television and Film Entertainment," no. 50; and "Preventing TV Addiction: Ten Hints for Parents," no. 31.
Ann Vorisek White lives with her husband, Harry, and their two cats in the Berkshire Mountains of Connecticut . She has a master's degree in library science and is a children's librarian in Litchfield County .

This article was published in:
http://www.mothering.com/articles/growing_child/consumerism/turn_off_tv.html

Childhood TV Viewing a Risk for Behavior Problems

2007-10-02T10:26:00.000-07:00

Here is a new article just published, which is warning parents and educator about the risk of nurturing TV viewing habits. This article was published in numerous medical website like http://www.physorg.com/news110427509.html

For Immediate Release: October 1, 2007

Childhood TV Viewing a Risk for Behavior Problems

Timing of Media Exposure Plays a Vital Role in Outcomes

Daily television viewing for two or more hours in early childhood canlead to behavioral problems and poor social skills, according to astudy of children 2.5 to 5.5 years of age conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

The Hopkins researchers found that the impact of TV viewing on a child's behaviorand social skills varied by the age at which the viewing occurred.

More importantly, heavy television viewing that decreased over timewas not associated with behavior or social problems. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children under age 2 watch no television while children age 2 and older are limited to no more than two hours of daily viewing. The study is published in the October2007 issue of Pediatrics. "A number of studies have demonstrated negative effects of heavy television viewing. However, timing of exposure is an important consideration as reducing viewing to acceptable levels can reduce the risk of behavioral and social problems," said Kamila Mistry, MPH,lead author of the study and a doctoral candidate in the Bloomberg School's Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health.

For the study, the research team analyzed data for 2,707 children collected from the Healthy Steps for Young Children national evaluation. Parents were surveyed about their child's television viewing habits and behavior at 2.5 and at 5.5 years of age. Sixteen percent of parents reported that their children watched two hours or more of television daily at 2.5 years of age (early exposure), while 15 percent reported that their children watched two hours or more of television daily at 5.5 years of age (concurrent exposure). One in five parents reported that their children watched two hours or more of television daily at both 2.5 years and at 5.5years of age (sustained exposure). Sustained exposure to television was associated with behavioral problems. However, early exposure that was subsequently reduced was not a risk for behavior problems. Concurrent viewing was associated with fewer social skills, while sustained and early viewing had less of an impact on social skill development. The study also found that having a television in the child's bedroom at 5.5 years of age was associated with behavioral problems and poor sleep. Forty-one percent of the children included in the study had a television in his or her bedroom."Children who reduced their viewing by 5.5 years of age were not at greater risk for behavior and social problems," said Cynthia Minkovitz, MD, MPP, senior author of the study and associate professor with the School's Department of Population, Family andReproductive Health. "It is vital for clinicians to emphasize the importance of reducing television viewing in early childhood among those children with early use.""Children's Television Exposure and Behavioral and Social Outcomes at 5.5 years: Does Timing of Exposure Matter?" was written by Kamila B.Mistry, MPH; Cynthia S. Minkovitz, MD, MPP; Donna M. Strobino, PhD;and Dina L. G. Borzekowski, EdD.Data collection for this research was supported by the Agency forHealthcare Research and Quality, the Commonwealth Fund.

http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/533757/

the use of television in the classroom

2007-09-29T12:10:00.000-07:00

These days my main worry is the use of TV in the Kindergarten class of my children...
It is such a chock for me when my kids come home telling me “what was on TV today”
In their class, TV is used as a relaxing time… Well, is TV really relaxing?
Many researches prove that it is not…

Happily I am not the only parents concerned by the use of TV in the classroom. For their defense, the teacher show us how good the quality of the programs are, and this is true, they are showing good programs, so we can feel safe on the content.

Unhappily, the content is one side of the question, the HOW a program is screened is a major issue. Leaving a child “relax” in front of the television should not happen in school. This “attitude” is far from being educational, even with the best content ever.

On the other end, the children could learn to become active viewers! Dr. Faith Rogow explains that very well in her article “Don't turn Off the Lights: Tips for Classroom Use of ITV” (http://www.myetv.org/education/k-12/resources/classroom_tv.cfm)

Here is a copy of the article:

There are lots of ways to watch television and our purpose for viewing has a significant impact on what we take away from the experience. Most TV viewing is for entertainment and relaxation, and that's fine--unless we want people to remember what they've seen. Television can be a powerful educational tool, but it we want our students to absorb specific content from what they see, we need to give them a model for viewing that is active and critical. For starters,

view from videotape rather than real-time broadcasts
don't be constrained by programs; only use the segments you need
don't use the television as a babysitter

In addition:

Think about what you are trying to accomplish. If you can achieve your goal without using video, you may want to reconsider your use of TV. However, video can help accomplish things you can't do any other way. TV does the following very well:
Spark interest in a new subject area. Imaginative and quick paced video can inspire your students to pursue a subject.
Demonstrate something you can't show any other way, such as a satellite's view of changing weather patterns, the inside of a human body, a math concept that involves motion of 3-D geometry, the sounds and sights of a rainforest, the sound of various accents in a foreign language, a chemistry experiment that is too dangerous or too expensive to do in the classroom, etc.
Enrich content by demonstrating new applications or insights.
Practice a skill such as note taking, problem solving, predicting, listening, etc.
Review a lesson you have already presented so the students can hear and see it in a different way.
View actively - Think of the TV as a teacher. Do you turn off the lights when you talk ? Would you be satisfied with a class that sat and stared at you for thirty minutes without responding or interacting? The TV can't act as teacher if students aren't active. Interactive viewing requires three simple steps:
1. Prepare -let students know why they are watching, what to look for, or what you will ask when the video is over. The younger the student, the more detailed the description should be of what they are going to see.
2. Participate - View interactively. Sing along, answer questions aloud as they are posed, pause to discuss possible outcomes or solutions before the video presents them, pause to check for comprehension, pause to predict action, write down clues, etc.
3. Connect to other activities - Bring the video lessons off the screen and into the classroom or home by choosing follow-up activities that connect the viewing experience to hands-on exercises or real-life experience. With younger students, be sure to explain the connections between the video and the activities you do.

Please Teachers, do not show TV in class as a daily routine

2007-09-06T11:51:00.000-07:00

We all know how difficult and challenging it can be for parents to protect their children from Medias influences.
Raising a child TV free or aware of the potential effect of TV is a big challenge in this world where TV is everywhere.

So I felt really bad when I learned that TV programs were shown to the children in their school on a daily basis. And what kind of programs?
No cartoon please.
School is a learning environment; I would expect a school to nurture the love for books, to encourage children to satisfy their needs for imaginary tales through books!
Not by turning on the Television: This totally passive way to satisfy their need for escape.
I would understand the use of TV as a tool, a tool to show documentaries which illustrate a subject reviewed in the classroom.
I would eventually understand a video with songs to stimulate their interests.
I would understand a video of cartoon ones in a while as the subject of a discussion in the class.
But showing every day cartoons for 20 minutes! Please do not do that.
Listening to a tape would be a lot better. Some children could close their eyes, relax and imagine their own images and some other would do the same with their eyes open. In any case it would be a lot more relaxing; any studies would show that to you.
Please teachers, do not do that to our children.

Educational Videos May Not Make Baby Brainy, Study Finds

2007-08-08T10:39:00.000-07:00

Researchers at the University of Washington have found that the videos marketed by Baby Einstein, Brainy Baby and other producers of videos for infants may not make babies smarter and could even have the opposite effect, according to The Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

Such videos could actually slow language development, the study revealed.

The report, released on Tuesday, concluded that for every hour children spent watching those programs, they understood an average of six to eight fewer words than infants who didn’t watch them, the Post-Intelligencer reported.

The babies exposed to the videos also got scores on language skills tests that were 17 percent lower than those of the babies who weren’t.

“We don’t think there is any evidence that it is good for development at all,” study co-author Andrew Meltzoff told the Post-Intelligencer.

But the negative impact on growth seemed to depend on the ages of the children. Babies 8 to 16 months old who watched the videos seemed to have delayed retention of vocabulary, whereas those 17 to 24 months old weren't affected.

read article at: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/326708_babytv08.html

question of the day: image of death

2007-03-02T11:20:00.000-08:00

What about seeing image of death on TV?

When my kids screened this amazing documentary series about Homo Sapiens, they saw 2 of them drowning.

The images where soft but "real". I mean by real, that it was not a cartoon, or a glamorized death from a movie.

It was simple, like most of the time in real life. but thoses scenes raised many questions from my daughter and many discussions around death, as, when watching meat of fish in the plate: "is this dead?" "what was this when it was alive?"

Since those scenes, death stays the main question.

I did interrogate myself about the experience.

Was it too early for them to witness such images?

Well, my conclusion was no. And I rather have them get those healthy reactions, being puzzled, even a little uncomfortable with this first contact with human death.

I would not have like for them to see it in a cartoon or a movie, and do not even notice...

What about Dora?

2007-02-01T22:21:00.000-08:00

After many of my friends spoke about Dora in a positive way, I decided to watch 2 shows of it that we had on a DVD we got as a gift.

My kids were screaming at the screen, answering to Dora, kind of getting up to dance when they were supposed to (I had to encouragethem to get up).

I was first surprised by this "interactivity", with the arrow moving on the screen it felt more like a computer game to me in fact. Dora encourages children to repeat & participate in the show. Dora is always on a mission.

In many ways it reminded me of birthday party entertainment. Entertainers usually started by exciting the children, making them scream, feel as team, overcome obstacles, and it is a lot of fun!

In the show, everything has to be repeated over & over. At the end of each trip they shout We did it! We did it! Which is a little egobooster for the little ones.

I found the pace of the editing ok, not too fast. But at the end, I did not feel really comfortable with the show…

In fact, I did not like the show, the shouting, the repetition but most of all the storyline. It is so simplistic, basic. My children are far more intelligent than that!
I already exposed them to far more sophisticated programs with complex language and concept that they enjoyed and followed easily. In fact, I will use this program in my media education curriculum.

I would like to read your feeling and opinions about that show. Please do not hesitate to post your comment.

Choosing the video = feeding our kids imagination

2007-01-28T14:14:00.000-08:00

We started our new year 2007 with a great hike!
It was so much fun. We stopped at a huge rock that we climbed and then my 4 and half twins took some rocks and started to break some other rocks. “I am a homo sapiens” said my boy. “And me I am a homo erectus” said my girl.

Some may wonder, where did they got those names?
Well, very simple, they watched the documentary “A Species' Odyssey” by Jacques Malaterre. And here are what this documentary fed their imagination with:

The story begins with Orrorin tugenesis, the first hominid, who takes the first step for humankind as a way of coping in the high grasses of Kenya.
We encounter Lucy (Australopithecus anamensis), who some believe is the "grandmother" of mankind, as she tries to fit in with a group of bipeds.
We meet Homo habilis - explorer, inventor, juggler of ideas and man of power.
We watch Homo erectus as he masters fire and organizes the first-ever barbeque in history.
We follow the steps of Homo ergaster as he ventures out of the African cradle for the first time, forced by hunger or perhaps curiosity.
Finally, we meet the first Homo sapiens, who ultimately survive and thrive and dominate the planet.

They were fascinated, I was too!
When I told one of my friends that my kids were reenacting the beginning of humankind, she said “I wish mine does it too instead of playing princess all day long”.
Not that playing princess is bad or good, but
staying aware of what we are feeding our children brain with, seems relevant…
Annick

let's imagine

2006-11-18T23:06:00.000-08:00

Let’s imagine different commercials:
No more junk food, candies, video game, toys, TV show, medication...

let's imagine that commercials speak about fruits, vegetables, dairy, sport, exercises, water, board game played all together, visit to museum, hiking and discovering nature, cooking, growing vegetables and flowers, making all kind of things with our hands, writing, reading, drawing, singing, playing music, talking with friend, enjoying farmer market...

Just imagine the content of each of those commercials, like picturing the one for board game: the family together laughing and talking, the one for the farmer market with the children choosing the vegetables and the fruits with the parents...
Continue to imagine...

Then imagine that all those commercials are aired thousand of time a week, that your children are seeing them.
What would be the result?
What kind of thoughts they will have?
What kind of desire, needs?
...

TV’s Grip on Your Toddler’s Health (part 2)

2006-11-12T21:49:00.000-08:00

I really look at this article as a really good one!
The author wonder what toddlers learn from the example of parents spending their time of leisure in front of TV or computer?

Here is an extract and the link where you can read it all:

TV’s Grip on Your Toddler’s Health
By Dr. Richard Visser

"If a child eats while watching TV, she isn’t paying attention to either the food or her stomach, and it can be easy for her to eat until she’s beyond her “full” point. The foods most craved as a snack are the same high-fat, high-sugar, low-fiber products that are being marketed to your child every five minutes during kids’ programming. A 2006 study by the Harvard School of Public Health reported that for every hour a child spent watching TV, they added 167 calories to their diet per day—primarily from foods frequently advertised on TV."

According to his source toddlers must have 60 minutes of physical activity daily (and) should not be sedentary for more than 60 minutes at a time (except when sleeping) in order to prevent obesity.
Well, I do not know what you think but 60 minutes does not seem enough to me...
Then, Richard Visser lists ways to keep the children moving: "Limit the time your kids spend in front of the TV. Keep TVs and computers out of bedrooms...

He cites ways to Prevent Unconscious Eating advocating No TV or games while eating and insist "your kids model your own behavior, so if they see you snacking in front of the TV or computer, they’ll want to do it, too.”

the advertising impact on increaded weight gain

2006-11-12T17:19:00.000-08:00

Well I do not agree with the 2 hours a day of TV for children over two, I think it is already two much as I think that 20 minutes/day and not everyday is plenty enough for children between 2 and 5... but other than that, I think this article (found in Los Angeles Family, oct 2006) is good and interesting:

Mass Media & Child Obesity (part one)

The Advertising Impact on Increased Weight Gain
by Dr. Richard Visser

The advertising industry makes junk food seem irresistible, and it may well be, as recent research shows that children could become physically addicted to junk food. In a recent study, Dr. Robert Lustig from the University of California, San Francisco suggests that childhood obesity arises from foods that are high in fat and fructose and low in fiber. When children eat these “insulinogenic” foods, the insulin not only increases the effects of the pleasure-chemical dopamine (making the child want to eat more of the same food) but also reduces the effects of the hormone leptin, making the child want to eat more and be less active.

Everywhere you find children, you find advertisements for these very foods, promising adventure, popularity, fun—and so much more—if they’d only buy and eat some of the product. The Institute of Medicine, which reported in 2004 on childhood obesity following a request by the U.S. Congress, has concluded that “Food and beverage advertising on television influences children ages 2–11 years to prefer and purchase high-calorie and low-nutrient foods and beverages.”

Such early establishment of brand loyalty is irresistible to advertisers, who have also discovered that children under the age of eight cannot distinguish the difference between a commercial and the TV program or movie it appears with. Kids think that commercials are presenting information, and they digest it with the same seriousness as Dora’s advice to “Share toys!”— particularly if it’s Dora who’s saying “Buy and eat this candy!” With your child’s favorite cartoon character urging her every five minutes to eat Fake-Flake cereal, it’s no wonder that she has a temper tantrum when you won’t buy it at the grocery store.

This brings us back to the question of nagging and the other routines kids go through to get the food they want into the grocery cart. The advertising industry has actually researched nagging through psychological studies designed to identify parents who give in to whining (parents who are divorced or have multiple children, for example) and detailed which purchases and outings are a result of whining, a tool for advertisers who want to ensure such purchases and outings happen more often.

Don’t despair. There are many things you can do to outmaneuver the advertising industry and keep your kids out of their grasp.

Turn the TV off during mealtimes. Keep the TV in the family room so you can monitor what your child is watching and for how long. Also, limit TV viewing to two hours a day for children over two and no TV at all for kids under two. Set a timer to ensure your kids are sticking with their two-hour limit. (Internet or video game time is included in those two hours, by the way.)

Does your child know when a commercial starts and her program ends? Watch TV with your child, and identify commercials. Point out when each advertisement begins and ends by using a timer.

Does your child recognize the purpose of commercials? Ask questions like, “What is the commercial selling? Do you want to buy it? Who makes money from this? How are they attracting your attention? Do you think the people in the ad are cool? Happy? Healthy? Why?” Help your child understand that the point of advertising is convincing kids to buy something.

Don’t forget about other types of advertising. Ads are everywhere—see how many different types you can identify together. Go to some online games—the new frontier for advertisers, who relish the long blocks of time players spend engrossed in games—and talk about what they’re selling while you’re playing. Find product placement in website games, movies, and TV, and see how many name-brand products or logos appear. Talk about why those products are there.

Take advantage of the great resources available from organizations like Commercial-Free Childhood (www.commercialfreechildhood.org) and the ADA (www.eatright.org). Make sure your children take advertisements with a grain of salt instead of that overly generous helping of sugar.

Dr. Richard Visser is the director of the Visser Wellness and Research Center in Aruba, as well as CEO of SimplyH, LLC and Simply Toddler, LLC in Los Angeles. He works worldwide to raise awareness of proper nutrition for healthy and fit toddlers and children.
http://www.lafamily.com/display_article.php?id=1433

Baby Einstein video’s syndrome

2006-11-08T08:22:00.000-08:00

It seems obvious that Baby Einstein videos are really well promoted. But I wonder who really expose their babies to those?
Sure, somebody gave me one tape when my babies were born and I (not them) screened it, I was horrified. For me it felt like the mini version of music videos, so even before developping the MTV's syndrome, babies will be able to develop the Baby Einstein video's syndrome...

Following is an article from MSNBC: URL: http://www.msnbc. msn.com/id/ 15499211/

Can you build a brainier baby? Experts doubt that newfangled toys, videos promote smarts
By Victoria Clayton

MSNBC contributor Updated: 4:13 a.m. PT Nov 6, 2006

Since July and August are traditionally the most popular birth months, there are many people out there who are just now discovering a little bundle of joy is headed their way. If you're one of them, after you exhaust the pregnancy books and Web sites, you'll inevitably stumble across the books, videos, DVDs, CDs, toys and exercise devices that promise they can turn your newborn into a mini Mensa member. Undoubtedly, many tots will be getting these gifts from Santa this year.

Some products claim they teach babies to read in several languages, play the violin and do advanced math or computer programming before they're even out of diapers. Others make more vague (and, thus, slightly more reasonable) claims such as “creates engaging learning opportunities” or “specially designed for your baby’s social, emotional, cognitive and physical development.

”The market for infant “developmental” videos and DVDs alone was more than $100 million in the United States in 2004. Nobody knows just how many books, CDs, television shows, toys or activity classes are sold based on the premise that smart kids are made by exposing babies to the proper brain and body stimulation from the minute they open their eyes.

The premise behind this “smarter baby” craze isn’t a bad one, says Claire Lerner, director of parenting resources for Zero to Three, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the healthy development of babies and young children.

“The attention to brain development lately has really elevated people’s awareness and understanding of how important the early years are socially, emotionally and intellectually,” says Lerner. “That’s a good thing. But, unfortunately, there’s also been a downside. Now it’s causing many parents a tremendous amount of anxiety and pressure.

” Bad parents?

Savvy marketers, says Lerner, have convinced parents that if they don’t use certain products and programs, they’re being negligent. It’s not only not true, but some of the products could actually be counterproductive, experts say.

“As far as infant videos, DVDs and computer programs, for example, a lot of developmental or educational claims are made implicitly or explicitly in terms of testimonials but most of the claims are outlandish and completely false,” says Dimitri A. Christakis, director of the Child Health Institute at the University of Washington in Seattle.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no screen time, in fact, in the first two years of life.

Studies have found that even programming such as "Sesame Street" that may be beneficial to older children could be ill advised for babies, says Christakis. “Heavy television and computer usage for children under 2 has been associated with attention problems, as well as cognitive and linguistic delays — no matter what the packaging claims,” he says.

There’s no reason to think toys, classes or exercise programs are harmful, but Lerner warns there’s little evidence either that they’re extremely helpful or worth an enormous amount of time, stress or money. In response, a spokesperson for Baby Einstein, which makes toys and videos, pointed to a statement on the company's Web site that says: "Baby Einstein products are not designed to make babies smarter. Rather, Baby Einstein products are specifically designed to engage babies and provide parents with tools to help expose their little ones to the world around them in playful and enriching ways, stimulating a baby's natural curiosity."

And in a written statement sent to MSNBC.com, the company disputed the notion that TV is harmful for young children: "The Baby Einstein Company believes that when used appropriately, television can be a useful learning tool that parents and little ones can enjoy together."

But Lerner contends that what's simplest and cheapest is often best for a baby’s development. “Babies don’t need expensive toys or intricate programs," she says. "They certainly don’t need videos or computers. What they really need is interaction in a loving relationship with people they’re close to.” Exposing a baby to a lot of different stimulus in the first year of life is, indeed, healthy, says Janet Doman, co-author of "How Smart is Your Baby? Develop and Nurture Your Newborn’s Full Potential."

Doman explains that far too many generations of past treated the first year of life like a benign illness. “A ‘good infant’ traditionally was one who slept a lot, kept quite and wasn’t disruptive or inconvenient,” she says.

Now we know more about the brain. We know it’s changing and growing more rapidly during the first year than at any other time. We want babies to move, make noise and interact with their environments.

There’s no guarantee you’ll have an Einstein on your hands, but here are some simple and cheap strategies to help give your baby the best start:Let your baby move and explore. The car carrier, high chair, bouncy seat, swing and stroller should not be in heavy and constant rotation. It’s best for development if babies are able to move freely and eventually explore. When possible, sit with your baby on the floor in a safe area rather than put her in a device. “What we’ve found is that what’s best for the baby developmentally, unfortunately, has little to do with parent convenience,” says Doman, who is also director of The Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential in Philadelphia, a nonprofit organization that works with brain-injured and well children.

Talk right from the start. You’ll drive non-parents crazy talking to your 3-month-old in the supermarket but, hey, at least you’re not talking politics. “If you’re taking a walk, talk about houses and what color they are, talk about the different animals or point out rocks and leaves,” says Lerner. Conversation lets babies know early on that you want to communicate with them, plus it builds a future vocabulary and helps children learn the way the world works.

Minimize screen time. “Computers are not as passive as television but infant computer games still have no proven developmental benefits,” says Christakis. “They’re just another electronic toy.” Research published in the journal American Behavioral Scientist found that watching a screen is far less developmentally beneficial than watching real life. So let your babe see and feel a real apple or tree whenever possible.

Victoria Clayton is a freelance writer based in California and co-author of "Fearless Pregnancy: Wisdom and Reassurance from a Doctor, a Midwife and a Mom," published by Fair Winds Press.© 2006 MSNBC Interactive© 2006 MSNBC Interactive