Is It Really Unrealistic?

Television and related media has become such a large part of modern-day society that when the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) placed recommendations that children under the age of 2 years not watch any television, there was a suprising backlash from parents across the country.

While most parents who disagreed with the recommendation simply chose to ignore it, some vented their disagreement to friends, and others wrote entire books on the topic using whichever research interpretations supported their personal opinion... one example is the author of the book Into the Minds of Babes, Lisa Guernsey, who was more than unsatisfied with the response "just turn off the TV".

Though I have not yet read her book (and when I do, I will not be spending my money on it), I have a pretty good idea of what it consists of considering the nonsense I have read from her in interviews printed in multiple parenting magazines.

Nonsense? "But she uses research," you say?

In one interview she comments "The AAP is trying to send a signal to parents that we have to think about what time in front of TV may be replacing, like love and nurturing", but research published in the academy's own official journal, Pediatrics, says otherwise. This published research suggests more concern for health and development.

A study published in the October 2005 issue of Pediatrics found that television viewing was associated with irregular sleep schedules in infants and toddlers, which coincided with studies finding the same effect in adolescents and adults. Regular sleep is key to good health and proper development in young children. Another study published in the April 2004 issue of Pediatrics concluded that exposure to television at one and three years of age was associated with attentional problems at age seven. This was found even after taking into consideration a large number of important variables. Yet another study found in the February 2006 issue of Pediatrics came to the conclusion that time spent watching television was negatively related to time spent with parents or siblings, and negatively related to time spent in creative play, even when viewing was with a parent. The concern for this is not for love and nurturing in that warm and fuzzy sense, but, as stated in the study, that "parental interaction is necessary for proper neurologic development among very young children." Creative play is also essential in proper learning and development in children.

In one interview this author says "This recommendation is unrealistic for most families. It means you can't use TV to entertain your child while you cook dinner or check your email." In another (more recently published) interview she says "But the reality of daily life with young kids bumps against the AAP recommendation. I have a newborn baby and a 2-year-old. I found that by the end of the day, my 2-year-old clamored for something else, and I had this newborn with me, so I couldn't exactly keep the newborn away from the screen if i was going to be in the family room with my 2-year-old."

I refer to these statements as absolute nonsense because not only have mothers been accomplishing many more household duties than just making dinner for all centuries before television was invented, but also because I myself have had a 2-year-old and a newborn baby.

To say "my two-year-old clamored for something else" in reference to screen time is to create an excuse with accountability placed on the wrong individual. The parent is who clamors for "something else" in this case... a toddler does not naturally clamor for television, it is learned. What a toddler naturally "clamors" for is exploration, a change of scenery, to practice new skills, and the ability to manipulate surroundings.

Is it really unrealistic to face your newborn away from the television while you watch after your toddler has gone to bed? Is it unrealistic to have your toddler dance with you as you dance the wailing newborn to sleep? Is it unrealistic to give pots, pans, and spoons to your toddler to "cook" with along side of you while making dinner, or to fasten him or her into a booster seat at the table with crayons or watercolors? Is it unrealistic to take a book from the library or look online to find ideas for that "something else" your toddler needs?

Is it really unrealistic to just turn off the TV?