In general, children should not be viewing TV or baby videos; however, there are times when certain programs are appropriate. If one looks at the variety of different baby videos, it‘s easy to see that many are passive, entertainment-based TV programs designed to only occupy the baby while parents are busy.
That being said, children‘s TV programs can be helpful if all of the following conditions exist:
- TV programs should be multi-sensory and interactive. This means what children see and hear on-screen must go together logically. In addition, babies and toddlers should be encouraged to say the words they hear, and do the physical actions they see. This multisensory approach is very important because many of the child‘s new brain connections go from the visual cortex to the auditory cortex. If what the child sees and hears does not match, then parents should probably avoid showing that program to their child.
- TV programs should be designed to teach children language skills in addition to teaching other topics. For instance, the TV could teach children about shapes, but at the same time there should be words spoken that describe the shapes. This will help the child learn language skills. Certain popular children‘s DVDs have very little spoken or written language. If you are showing your baby a videos that uses limited language, then you should expect your baby will not learn much language while watching the TV.
If used properly with the right content, one can successfully use television as a learning tool. While most programs and videos likely have little or no value, the TV itself can actually be a tool for multi-sensory, interactive learning.
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