Media Use by Children Younger Than 2 Years

American Behavioral Scientist, 2009

Although television viewing has been a normative activity for 50 years, the rise of infant viewing is a relatively recent phenomenon. The American Academy of Pediatrics discourages TV viewing in the first two years of life. The scientific evidence base supporting this recommendation has been meager but is growing. This article reviews the limitations of our current knowledge and argues in favor of additional focused research on media's effects on very young children.

International journal of …, 2010

Recent research has indicated that there are long-term consequences of early media exposure. The present study examined the amount, content, and context of television exposure across the infancy period in the United States. Parents of 308 infants aged 6 to 18 months completed questionnaires detailing parental attitudes regarding their children’s television use and 24-hour television diaries to provide an accurate measurement of household television usage. Television exposure during infancy varied as a function of infant age, sibling status, socioeconomic status and parental attitudes toward television. Regression analyses indicated that parental attitudes were not associated with the amount of television exposure, but were associated with the content of television exposure. These findings indicate that television exposure changes rapidly across infancy and is associated with parental attitudes.

Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 2007

To determine the television-, DVD-, and video-viewing habits of children younger than 2 years.

The aim of this research was to explore media exposure of preschool children (1 – 6 years old) and outline demographic factors affecting it. The data show that media exposure of children in kindergartens is low. Parents, however, report much more diverse media habits of their preschoolers in their home environments. even though the daily average media exposure of preschoolers in Slovenia does not deviate much from the recommended one, a group of children called large media users is identified. Understanding specific features of large media users can inform the development of early childhood educational programs and projects intended to raise awareness and educate parents and children about media, which are currently still a rarity in Central and eastern europe.

2003

Despite the plethora of new electronic media aimed at very young children, little is known about which media are available to children and whether or how children engage with them. This study reports on a nationally representative telephone survey of more than 1,000 parents of children ages 6 months through 6 years, conducted in Spring 2003. The most significant findings cited in the study are as follows: (1) children six and under spend an average of 2 hours daily with screen media, mostly TV and videos; (2) TV watching begins at very early ages, well before the medical community recommends; (3) a high proportion of very young children are using new digital media, including 50 percent of 4-to 6-year-olds who have played video games and 70 percent who have used computers; (4) two out of three 6year-olds and under live in homes where the TV is left on at least half the time, even without viewers present, and one-third live in homes where the TV is on "almost all" or "most" of the time-children in the latter group appear to read less than other children and to be slower to learn to read; (5) many parents see media as an important educational tool, beneficial to their children's intellectual development, and parents' attitudes on this issue appear to be related to the amount of time their children spend using each medium; and (6) parents clearly perceive that their children's TV watching has a direct effect on their behavior, and are more likely to see positive rather than negative behaviors being copied. (KB) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.

Electronic media, particularly television, have long been criticized for their potential impact on children. One area for concern is how early media exposure influences cognitive development and academic achievement. Heather Kirkorian, Ellen Wartella, and Daniel Anderson summarize the relevant research and provide suggestions for maximizing the positive effects of media and minimizing the negative effects.

2006

This document is the author's final manuscript version of the book section, incorporating any revisions agreed during the review process. Some differences between this version and the publisher's version may remain. You are advised to consult the publisher's version if you wish to cite from it.

2017

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Journal of Children and Media, 2017

Review of book: Media exposure during infancy and early childhood: the effects of content and context on learning and development