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Early Years (2-6)
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It's an old story. Today's media ain't what it used to be. Nearly every parenting handbook and magazine carries advice on how to manage children's exposure to the increasing presence of sex and violence in the media. But even as we collectively seem to bemoan the situation, today's choices grow more complicated, powerful and omnipresent. Media doesn't even mean what it used to. Television is cable. Computers mean games and the Internet – and iPods and downloads and messaging. So how do parents run interference and resist such a saturated culture? And why should we? The American Academy of Pediatrics, an organization of 60,000 pediatricians, has held the hard line, advising less rather than more television viewing (two hours a day maximum for children over 2, none at all for those under 2 – that's right, none!) and encouraging parents to actively mediate their child's viewing experience. The wise baby docs further advise that television has no place in children's bedrooms. While parents tend to slavishly follow the Academy's recommendations regarding vaccines and diet, doctor visits and developmental milestones, research reveals that we roundly reject their advice about media exposure. In the May 2007 issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, a study revealed that by 3 months of age, about 40% of children regularly watched television, DVDs, or videos and that by 24 months, this rose to 90%. At the same time, Pediatrics, the official journal of those 60,000 pediatricians, published "Digital Childhood: Electronic Media and Technology Use Among Infants, Toddlers and Preschoolers." The study reports that almost one-fifth of the 0- to 2-year-olds and more than one-third of 3- to 4-year-olds and 5- to 6-year-olds have TV sets in their bedrooms. Half of all kids with a television in their bedrooms have access to cable or satellite channels. Nearly one-quarter of those surveyed live in homes with four, count 'em, four televisions. The researchers report that the increasing presence of television in children's bedrooms is "particularly noteworthy, not only because the AAP advises against this practice but also because there is increasing evidence that bedroom television in particular is linked to a number of poor outcomes, including academic, social and physical activity… “The two most commonly cited reasons – [1] that it frees up the television so that other family members can watch their own shows and [2] that it keeps children occupied – are particularly noteworthy. These responses indicate that television viewing may be an increasingly isolated experience, even for very young children." The vision is a chilling one: erstwhile families isolated in different viewing chambers of the same household, each audience plugged into their own corporate-designed vision of what passes for reality. The predictable results of overexposure to media are becoming increasingly well documented, and few honest parents would dispute these findings. Most I know sheepishly acknowledge them. Yes, hours in front of the television risk development of childhood obesity – our crib potatoes become teenage couch potatoes. Yes, TV viewing has been linked to poor academic achievement and attention disorders. Children exposed to violence tend to have more aggressive and anti-social behaviors. Children exposed to adult sexual content tend to initiate sexual activity earlier than others. Another dangerous factor is children's inability to put content into context; their inability to distinguish between fantasy and reality, their inability to distinguish between programming and commercials. As a result, the conclusions that adults and older children can draw is nearly impossible for younger children. For example, adults recognize that the loony loud behavior in a situation comedy or the violent overreaction in a drama is exaggerated and is not typical or desirable behavior – but a 4-year-old? So, if we are educated and know the risks, why do we as parents continue to ignore the evidence? Maybe we believe that our wise child will be the exception and not the rule. Maybe it's too hard to say no, too easy to say yes. Those pediatricians have solutions for us. Media merits a place under "Health Topics” on the aap.org website, right up there with immunizations, obesity, autism and ADHD. Check out the five steps in the Smart Guide to Kid's TV on the website: aap.org/family/smarttv.htm. They remind parents of the obvious: We need to "watch what they eat and watch what they watch." Just as we check out what our children consume, we need to do the same with media. Programs with violence, lewd language and sexual overtones are not good for our children – whether they "get it" or not. Just as "snacking" is discouraged for physical health, so should our children avoid "snack" viewing: make viewing matter, and choose programs carefully for content and value. At our house, we try to abide by a single rule: If it's good enough for our child, it should be good enough for us, too. That is, not only should we sit and watch carefully chosen programs with our child, we should find something worthwhile in them as well. It's hard, I know, but he's worth it. Lisa Alvarez is a regular contributor. |
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