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TV Hinders Kids' Language Development, Study Says

by Lee Bains on June 2, 2009 at 05:20 PM

There might have been more than a kernel of truth to your grandparents' old warnings: "That TV is going to rot your brain."

According to LiveScience, new research lead by Dimitri Christakis, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington School of Medicine, suggests that television can in fact hinder the linguistic development of young children. Having selected 329 children between the ages of two months and four years, Christakis and his team gave each kid an audio recording device, which were worn by the children on random days over the course of two years.

According to the team's analyses of the recordings, a child -- on average -- heard 770 fewer spoken words from a parent or guardian for each hour she was exposed to television. Since the minds of young children absorb language like sponges, and depend upon actual interaction in order to do so, those effects could be grave.


"The reason it's concerning is because we know that hearing adults speak and being spoken to are critical exposures that play a role in infants' development in language," Christakis explained to LiveScience. He added, "My recommendation first is that children under the age of 2 be discouraged from watching television."

So, it seems our grandparents were right, after all. We're still not convinced about the whole watermelon seed thing, though. [From: LiveScience]

Tags: child development, ChildDevelopment, kids, kids tv, KidsTv, language, parenting, study, top, tv

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