Did you assume that having TV on ‘in the background’ has little or no effect on young children because they don’t appear to pay any attention to it? Think again!
A recent American study (1) builds on previous research which identified:
- The negative effects of background TV on toddler toy play and parent–child interactions
- The negative connection between early TV exposure and language development.
The research team, led by Prof Tiffany Pempek, studied 49 toddlers, aged between 12 and 36 months, and their families. Over one hour sessions they found that background TV:
- Reduced the number of times the parents spoke to their toddler
- Reduced the number of words the parents spoke to their toddler
- Reduced the number of ‘new’ words the parents used when speaking to their toddler
The findings highlighted the need to limit ‘background TV’, as well as TV which is specifically directed at toddlers, because background TV:
- Distracted the infants and toddlers – affecting their involvement and concentration in their own play and consequently, presumably, reducing their learning from this play.
- Reduced the quantity and quality of the language spoken by the parents to their young children.
Both of these effects, suggest the researchers, could delay, or reduce, a toddler’s language skills.
Of course we cannot play with our children all the time but maybe, when we do , we should be as fully involved as we can. As the researchers suggest:
"It is impractical and probably not desirable for a parent to actively engage their child
at all times. That said, there is wide and substantial evidence that children greatly benefit
from frequent high-quality interactions with their parents."
And maybe switch off the mobile for a moment - whilst you are playing with your child
The research team went on to suggest that the effects found in this study are likely to be true for any other media which may distract parents whilst they are playing with their children - even if only for a short period.
For example, it is likely that a parent reading a newspaper, or working on a laptop, would reduce their attention and respond less to their child.
Indeed, initial findings from another study have revealed that ‘word learning’ by toddlers is reduced when their mother's teaching was interrupted by a brief cell phone call! (2)
1. Tiffany A. Pempek, Heather L. Kirkorian & Daniel R. Anderson (2014) The
Effects of Background Television on the Quantity and Quality of Child-Directed Speech by Parents, Journal of Children and Media, 8:3, 211-222. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17482798.2014.920715
2. Reed, J., Hirsch-Pasek, K., & Golinkoff, R. M. (2012, June). iPhone, Blackberries, and Androids, oh my:The effects of interruption in parent-child word learning interactions. Poster presented at the International Conference on Infant Studies, Minneapolis, MN.
