Leaving the TV on in the background can be detrimental to children's learning and development, a new study finds.
The next time you have the television on while your child is trying to study close-by; you may what to reconsider your actions. It can be detrimental to children's learning and development. Researchers from the University of Iowa found that background television, when the TV is on in a room where a child is doing something other than watching, can divert a child's attention from play and learning.
"Kids are going to learn from whatever you put in front of them," said Deborah Linebarger, associate professor in education at the UI and the lead author on the study, in a press statement. "So what kinds of messages, what kinds of things do you want them to learn? That would be the kinds of media you'd purposefully expose them to."
For the study, researchers used data from a national survey that included more than 1,150 families with children between 2 and 8 years old. Influencing factors like demographics, parenting styles, media use, and how those factors could impact kids' future success were also taken into consideration.
Researchers also noted that the content children are exposed to through television also impacts their executive function, an important facet in learning and development. This was especially true for children belonging to families living in poverty or families whose parents had little education.
"Children whose parents create a home environment that is loving and nurturing and where rules and expectations are the same from one time to another are better able to control their behavior, display more empathy, and do better academically," the study authors said. "Sit down to watch a particular show and when it's done, turn it off."
Earlier this year, a study highlighted the extent to which children are exposed to television these days. The study stated that children have seen a year's television by the age of seven, according to The Telegraph.
The U.S. Department of Education, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and the Public Broadcasting System for the Ready to Learn Initiative funded the study. Findings were published online in the Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics.
