A recent study linking television exposure with attention problems in young children has not found a connection between TV viewing and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
The American Academy of Pediatrics published the study in April with the conclusion that early television watching is related to attention problems at age 7, and television viewing in children should be limited.
In the study, 1,278 1-year-old children and 1,345 3-year-old children were studied. One-year-olds watched an average of 2.2 hours of television per day, and 3-year-olds watched 3.6 hours per week. Ten percent of the children had attentional problems at age 7.
While the study showed there was a correlation between early television watching and shortened attention spans, there is no clear evidence that links television watching and ADHD.
ADHD, a psychological disorder with a chemical imbalance in the brain, is not likely to be affected by television or other environmental factors, said Eugene Geist, Health and Human Services professor at Ohio University.
According to the study, ADHD, which affects between 4 percent and 12 percent of U.S. children, is the most common behavioral disorder of childhood.
The study's conclusion states there might be a causal relationship with television watching and ADHD, but the researchers did not have conclusive evidence.
If you read the conclusion carefully
it's not necessarily a causal relationship said Norma Pecora, associate professor in OU's College of Communication.
This is the kind of study that gains a lot of media attention because people want answers and television is an easy answer, she said.
Six years ago, Geist conducted his own research that focused on TV content, which the current study omitted. Geist's study found that children who watched faster-paced shows had shorter attention spans than those who watched slower-paced shows or no television
The content of television can decrease the amount of time children are willing to wait for information because television, as well as everything else, rewires the brain.
Geist said the TV argument is like the chicken versus the egg argument. TV viewing might increase a child's chance of developing an attention problem, but children with attention problems or short attention spans might be more likely to watch television.
Although it generally is assumed that television rewires the brain in a bad way, it can have positive effects, such as increasing children's verbal skills, and it might be creating a generation of children who are visual and auditory learners, he said.
Pecora said television can be used for both good and ill, and we are quick to accuse it of the ill and overlook its good.
We as parents and educators
need to be cautious in our interpretation of (television)
she said.
The OU Child Development Center tries to engage children in activities that stimulate creativity. The center does not have TV access for the 99 children, ages 6 weeks old to 5 years old, at their childcare facility, said Cathy Waller, development center administrator.
Sometimes television leads to inappropriate behavior, she said.
We try to encourage parents not to use TV as a baby sitter
Waller said.
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