Thursday, September 20, 2012
Amy Webb
Since becoming a parent, I
have heard several parents mention that they allow their children to watch TV
or other entertainment as a form of “downtime” to help them recharge their
energy. I have often wondered if this activity actually serves that purpose. As
adults, we often use TV as a form of “downtime” to let our brains take a break
or relax after a long day of work. Does this idea really work for children?
Unfortunately, there is not
much research on the idea of using TV as a way to recharge
a child’s energy or self-control. One thing that is clear is that children do
need downtime. Children, especially young children, are prone to becoming over
stimulated by their environment and need time to decompress in order to learn
well and behave with some degree of self-control. For very young children, this
downtime often comes in the form of a nap. As children outgrow naps, however,
they still need some form of downtime. New research
is showing that children who are allowed time for “day dreaming” or inward
reflection end up doing better on tests and are less anxious.
The question remains,
however, as to whether TV time equals downtime for kids. Since the research is
limited on this specific question, I think it is helpful to consider what we do
know about children and TV to help inform this question. First off, we know
that extensive TV time for very young children (especially under age 2) can be
problematic. This is primarily based on research
showing that young children learn language better from human conversation, not
television conversation. In other words, if children are watching too much TV,
that begins to limit the amount of live human speech they are hearing and this
can lead to slower language development.
Secondly, we know that
fast-paced TV shows may be linked to lowered
self-control, at least in the short-term. This is based on the infamous “SpongeBob
study” in which 4-year-old children who watched a fast-paced TV show
(SpongeBob) were less able to exhibit self-control compared to those who
watched a slower-paced show.
Taken together, these studies
suggest that while TV as downtime for babies is probably not appropriate, it
might be okay for older children, assuming that the TV show is not too
fast-paced. Of course, as with any aspect of parenting, you know best how your
child responds to certain activities and what seems to work best for them.
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