TV tunes in most U.S. children under 2, studies find

Nearly all U.S. children under 2 years old watch television, and about 40 percent of 3-month-olds do, too.

One out of five 2-year-olds have a TV in their bedroom, mostly to free up other televisions in the household so family members can watch their shows.

These results from two new studies released Monday show parents aren’t buying the academic argument that all TV is bad for babies.

The research is some of the first to look at television, video and DVD viewing among the youngest children, and it shows that more study is needed.

“We never knew 3-montholds were watching so much TV,” said Frederick Zimmerman of the University of Washington, whose study appears in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.

“We don’t yet know what the effects of early television viewing are,” he said in a telephone interview. “It’s really a wake-up call for the research community.”

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends children under 2 years shouldn’t watch any television. But many mothers say, sometimes that’s just not realistic.

Kaylee Maheras, who turns 2 later this month, is addicted to Barney. She knows how to use the VCR in her big brother’s bedroom and settle down for some serious dinosaur worship.

“She would just sit there all day, 24 hours a day if she could. She just pops the tapes in … and nothing else interests her,” said her mother, Christy. “She’s hooked. Like crazy hooked.”

The Chandler mother of three believes her children learn from television, such as picking up Spanish words from “Dora the Explorer.” And they’re so busy outside the house, they don’t have that much time to watch.

Zimmerman’s study showed 30 percent of parents believe TV is good for their babies’ brains, even though there’s no research to back it up. That hasn’t stopped a flood of media aimed at babies, from “Baby Einstein” DVDs and “Sesame Beginnings,” featuring baby Elmo and Big Bird, to a satellite channel dedicated to infants, BabiesFirstTV.

“Marketers are making all kinds of claims. None of these things have really been shown,” Zimmerman said.

But neither is there research to support the academy’s prohibition against television for babies and toddlers.

Decades of studies involving older children have linked TV and video games to a host of physical and behavioral problems, including obesity, violence, rampant consumerism and early sexualization.

Another study released Monday in the Archives of Pediatrics shows teenagers who watch at least three hours of TV a day may be at greater risk of failing in school.

Little is known about babies, however, and media experts argue that the academy’s policy is unrealistic and unhelpful for busy parents in a media-saturated society.

“Their strategy to ban television (for children under 2) is really a fairly misplaced response that’s not supported by available research,” said Lynda Bergsma, assistant professor at the University of Arizona’s Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health.

The academy based its recommendation on the notion that babies need to interact with adults and other children for proper development. “Learning to talk and play with others is far more important than watching television,” the AAP policy says.

But Bergsma said a lot depends on how babies watch, where the TV is located and what would be in place of the TV viewing.

“There’s no evidence that their recommendation is succeeding in giving parents the message they should spend more time interacting with their babies,” Bergsma said. “Their policy doesn’t improve parenting skills.”

The reality is most babies are watching TV — up to 90 minutes a day by the time they’re 2, according to Zimmerman’s study. And nearly 20 percent of them are watching TVs in their own bedrooms, which increases to more than one-third of 3- to 6-year-old children, the Pediatrics study says.

Research has shown that older children with televisions in their bedrooms score significantly lower on standardized tests. For younger children in particular, watching TV with parents is shown to increase the educational impact of TV shows.

“These responses indicate that television viewing may be an increasingly isolated experience, even for very young children,” wrote the study’s authors.

In Zimmerman’s study, 30 percent of parents thought TV helped their children to fall asleep, although research shows just the opposite — television actually stimulates attention and alertness.

Zimmerman interviewed 1,000 parents of young children in Washington and Minnesota. Nearly one-fourth believe TV is relaxing or enjoyable for the children, and about 20 percent said putting their baby in front of the television gives them time to get things done.

Christy Maheras says TV has many uses in her household. It’s an educational tool, a comfort and, yes, sometimes a lifesaver.

“You just drew all over my walls with the permanent marker,” she might say to Kaylee. “So while I’m cleaning up the walls, you can watch Barney.”

While there’s a paucity of research on babies and TV, experts agree the issue will never be black and white because there are so many factors involved.

It matters where the TV is located, who’s watching with the baby, what’s on the screen, why they’re gathered around it and what else goes on when the TV is off.

“If it turns out that, in fact, programming can be educational, is that really the way you want your children to be educated?” said Peggy Stemmler, president of the Arizona chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

But Stemmler agreed the debate is mostly in a vacuum until more research is done. In the meantime, most families will keep doing what feels right.

“If I start feeling like my child is watching too much TV, she won’t watch it,” Maheras said. “I don’t think TV’s a bad thing. I think you need to be smarter than the TV.”

A few tips

Here are a few ideas for parents to help their children become media savvy and limit their viewing:

• Limit TV-watching hours. Turn off the television during dinner — it’s prime time for families to connect. Don’t allow your child to watch TV while doing homework.

• Have your children read a book and then watch the movie adaptation. Discuss how they are different and why.

• Keep television and Internet access out of your child’s bedroom. Research shows kids with TVs in their rooms have lower test scores.

• Set a good example by limiting your own TV viewing.