Time to Make a Change, Assessment Example

This is an online article published by PBS with research compiled by Shelley Pasnik, a children’s media expert. The title is “TV and Kids Under Age 3.” (PBS) Pasnik covers topics such as how much children television children under age three watch, whether the viewing content has an implact on very young children, if TV viewing supplants other activities, and what effect, if any, TV viewing has any effect on language development for children age 0-3 years. In the article, Pasnik notes that research done for this particular viewing age group has been slim. What research has been done, mostly suggests that children under 22 months do not learn language skills as effectively from a TV program as from face to face interaction. Yet, according to this article, 74 percent of children under 2 years old are exposed to television. Pasnik reports that what very young children watch has an effect on them. In the article, she discloses that research has shown that certain television shows, Dora the Explorer, Blue’s Clues, and Dragan Tales for example, can increase a very young child’s descriptive vocabulary. Children in the 0-3 age group who watch mostly adult shows, however, are likely to have less developed language skills. 

For further information on the topic, I looked at the statistics reported from a study performed by the Kaiser Family Foundation. This study surveyed over a 1,000 parents with children ages 6 months to 6 years. The name of the published report is Zero to Six: Electronic Media in the Lives of Infants, Toddlers and Preschoolers. (Rideout) Statistics from the Foundation’s research reports that 58 percent of children aged 0-3 watch an average of one and a half hours of TV every day. The study also presents statistics focused on “heavy” TV households, characterized by the TV being almost always on in the background. Statistics show that children age 0-3 in heavy TV households typically play outside less, read less, and learn to read later than peers in households where television viewing is restricted. 

The article and the statistics study both presented some interesting facts. I was initially surprised to learn that 74 percent of children under age two have watched television, even though the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends against it. (PBS) As I think about it, though, it would be difficult not to expose a very young child to television. Doing so would require the parents to give up a large part of their viewing time, for one, and there are many programs on TV that are meant for young children, for two. What I gained from the article and statistics is that it is important to have balance concerning television viewing for very young children. Some TV viewing of programs like Dragon Tales and Blue’s Clues may be okay, but a parent needs to spend just as much time or more reading, playing, and interacting with their young child. 

Bibliography

PBS. PBSparents. 2010. 14 March 2010 <http://www.pbs.org/parents/childrenandmedia/article-faq.html#whatage>.

Rideout, Victoria J., Elizabeth A. Vandewater, and Ellen A. Wartella. “Zero to Six: Electronic Media in the Lives of Infants, Toddlers and Preschoolers.” 28 October 2003. Kaiser Family Foundation . 14 March 2010 <http://www.kff.org/entmedia/upload/Zero-to-Six-Electronic-Media-in-the-Lives-of-Infants-Toddlers-and-Preschoolers-PDF.pdf>.