Perhaps a more detailed research piece was published just a few years ago in “Pediatrics” by scientists at Children’s Hospital & Regional Medical Center. The study explained that television in general tends to over-stimulate infants and may lead to problems associated with attention deficit. Once again, the study did not differentiate between the different “kinds” of programs that were watched. However, lead researcher, Dr. Dimitri Christakis felt that attention deficit in children was related to the unrealistically fast-paced visual images typical of most TV programming. Since the advent of the remote control, it seems programmers have grown fearful of viewers’ changing the channel which would mean lost revenues for the networks. To maintain an engaged audience, images flash from cut to cut as rapidly as a standard music video which enthusiastically caters to a generation of shorter attention spans. It seems clear how this could be incredibly detrimental to an infant that is just starting to associate images on television with real life communications. Ironically enough, the very issue that seems to be scarring the industry in which we participate, is part of our mission statement - to show content in a slow and deliberate manner.

In general, we think it’s fair to say that anything can be damaging in extremes and the key should be more about moderation. According to a survey conducted by The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, 61% of children under 1 watch TV every day and another one-third of children under 6 actually have televisions in their bedrooms. This to me is startling. We have a three year old daughter and her television viewing is quite limited and controlled. When we do allow her to watch our videos, we typically watch them together and talk about the scenes and sing along with the songs. Completely ignoring videos as a medium for learning and communication seems dogmatic.

Still, not all videos are created equally. We were actually inspired to create our own series out of dissatisfaction with the options so popular on the market today. It is concerning that so many titles imply that merely watching their videos will make a child smarter. We think it’s more important to highlight the enjoyment and exposure to language and music that can be both fun and beneficial for the interaction between parent and child.

In particular, some of the qualities we think are important in a video include:

Interactivity - Look for videos that include interactive guides or include content that can act as a springboard to interactivity between parent and child. An interesting study conducted out of The University of Washington showed that infants exposed to television learned language skills exponentially faster when viewed together with a caregiver who could help interpret and synthesize what was being watched.

Slow paced and intentional - As an alternative to videos that seem to hypnotize children into sedation through random images, content with simple vignettes and logical imagery may prove to be more beneficial.

Simple dialog and characters with individual personalities - Research has shown that infants identify with faces which may prove to be a valuable introduction to language. Also, infants are capable of understanding human emotions and interaction. Watching recognizable scenarios with characters may assist is shaping positive social interaction.

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Music and singing - While we wish there was more evidence which supported the belief that merely subjecting a child to classical music will make them smarter, we personally have a passion for it. Belinda is a composer who has dedicated her life to this love. We, therefore, found it very important to expose our child to music. However, we would be skeptical of any company that claims or suggests that it will make children smarter. Still, for preverbal infants, music is a wonderful way for parents to communicate with their babies, especially by singing to them. In a study done by the University of Toronto, videotaped singing performances were shown to be quite effective for developing infants and are now even employed for therapeutic uses including regulating emotion in disabled or sick children.

The bottom line is that it is important to use your own judgment. Make sure that the videos and programs that you choose are reflective of your own values, imagination, and interests that you hope to encourage or feel are important for your child to be exposed to. Television and video viewing is easily vilified but when used in moderation and appropriately, can be an incredibly effective medium to educate, stimulate, and entertain. By the way, if you like, we’d be more than happy to send you one of our DVDs - we’d really be interested to hear your thoughts, criticisms, and opinions. Send us an email and let us know.

Thanks again!
Adam

If you have some of the ones which introduce the alphabet or do sign language or numbers or … I think they have a lot of value; when she’s old enough for them. But right now she’ll get more out of playing with mommy.

IMNSHO, of course!

give Savi a kiss from all of us here