Speaking at a conference in Boston, researchers from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) said that there is no evidence to prove that ‘educational’ programmes help to develop language in children under the age of two.
For ‘educational’ programmes to be beneficial, children need to understand their content and pay attention to them, which children under two-years-old are less likely to be able to do.
Previous studies have shown that children older than two who watch ‘educational’ programmes demonstrate improved social and language skills and school readiness. This is because they have different levels of cognitive development and process information differently to younger children, they said.
The researchers went on to say that parents should keep children under the age of two as ‘screen free’ as possible, and ensure they have lots of unstructured play-time which is more valuable for the developing brain than electronic media and teaches them how to entertain themselves.
They also advise parents against having television on in the background as it distracts them, decreases parent-child interaction and may interfere with a young child’s learning from play and activities.
Previous advice issued by the AAP in 1999 also discouraged TV viewing for children under the age of two.
The new guidance also includes recommendations for parents and caregivers.
Among the recommendations, it advises that parents engage their children in supervised independent play at times when they are not able to actively engage with play rather than putting on the TV.
It also says that media limits for young children should be set if parents choose to let children under the age of two consume electronic media, which they advise against.
Dr Brown, a member of the AAP council on communications and media, said, ‘The concerns raised in the original policy statement are even more relevant now, which led us to develop a more comprehensive piece of guidance around this age group.
‘In today’s "achievement culture", the best thing you can do for your young child is to give her/him a chance to have unstructured play - both with you and independently. Children need this in order to figure out how the world works.’
