Making TV work for your baby…
Despite the American Academy of Pediatrics recommending no TV for under-2s, its own figures show that 70% of them watch some TV and other studies suggest that a quarter of them have TVs in their rooms. Let’s face it: a no-TV policy for kids just isn’t realistic – but making it work for our kids, instead of against them, is…
1 Keep it simple
Select programs that have simple stories or structures and won’t overwhelm young children with auditory or visual features.
2 Keep it real
Kids under 2 are just beginning to figure out how the world works and they work in that world. What’s on the screen, if anything, should reflect their world and what they’re trying to accomplish – not function as video flash cards.
When you’re choosing programs to watch, do the mom-test: if what’s on the screen doesn’t make sense to you it won’t make sense to your baby
3 Be wary of big promises
Babies aren’t going to learn advanced symbol systems such as the alphabet and numbers, or complex skill sets such as reading or computational mathematics, simply by looking at a screen.
4 Get involved
Co-view – watch and narrate along, talk and interact with your child. Look for your child’s level of engagement: does she smile, laugh, point, gesture, imitate or verbalize as she watches? Watch for those moments and talk with your baby about what you observe. If your child isn’t noticeably engaged switch off the TV.
5 Limit screen time
This is a quality-versus-quantity debate. Screen time used in moderation can have a positive effect on children’s learning but the reality is that babies, in general, are social learners. They get a lot of stimulation from a lot of very different stimuli: people, pets, books, music, toys, boxes, keys, your glasses, your hair, your clothing, pots, pans, doors… and videos. Nevertheless, they need you, their first teacher (and favorite toy!) to help them make sense of the world and build knowledge and skills. If moderate co-viewing of appropriate content results in babies and parents smiling, laughing, talking, singing, dancing, and playing, before, during or after viewing, isn’t that, after all, exactly what the doctor ordered?