Turn On, Tune in, Tune Out
At one time researchers from every political and religious persuasion warned against television for young children. Here are links to two different research studies outlining the negative effects of television on young children. We are continually being urged by experts to at least limit television viewing by children. Yet the market for infant television and video games is exploding. It is a demand driven market, and I cannot help but wonder, "What are these parents thinking?"

In her post, High Tech Parenting, Spunky describes BabyTV, the first television dedicated solely to babies and their parents. As if the hours on Nickelodeon and PBS did not provide enough television aimed specifically at the pre-talking set.

There is a television in just about every classroom and every daycare. As parents, we see the deadening effect that an hour in front of the television does to a child. Yet it is continually promoted in classrooms as part of integrating technology in the classroom and viewed as an opportunity to make more meaningful connections between the curriculum and the child. Cable in the Classroom provides over 500 hours of television to schools across the nation, working in partnership with cable companies to improve our nation's media literacy. Free lesson plans are available that incorporate popular television programs at every grade level.

The greatest negative effects on reading skills were recorded in children watching three or more hours of television per day. Does this include time spent in edutainment settings in the classroom? Or the curriculum DVD's offered by some homeschooling publishers?

Althoug in its infancy, cell phone television is proving profitable in the 0-3 market as well. According to Time to Flip "up" the Telly, a Newsday.com article,
Parents report they can quiet squirming tykes instantly in long lines and waiting rooms by flipping "Sesame Street" clips or Discovery Kids streams into their line of sight.
Anything but interact with them.

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