Studies bolster evidence linking lots of TV with poor academics
Studies bolster evidence linking lots of TV with poor academics
By Lindsey Tanner
The Associated PressCHICAGO � Too much TV-watching can harm children's ability to learn and even reduce their chances of getting a college degree, three new studies suggest in the latest effort to examine the effects of television on kids.
Critics faulted the research for not adequately considering the content of the TV watched, but experts said it bolsters advice that children shouldn't have TVs in their rooms.
The separate findings were published yesterday in the July issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.
One of the studies involved nearly 400 Northern California third-graders. Those with TVs in their bedrooms scored about eight points lower on math and language-arts tests than children without TVs in their rooms.
A second study, looking at nearly 1,000 adults in New Zealand, found lower education levels among 26-year-olds who had watched lots of TV during childhood.
A third study, by University of Washington researchers, found that children who watched more than three hours of television daily before age 3 scored slightly worse on academic and intelligence tests at ages 6 and 7 than youngsters who watched less TV.
The studies took into account other factors that might have influenced the outcome, such as household income.
But they largely ignored research that 'found positive associations between children's educational-TV viewing and subsequent academic achievement,' according to an Archives editorial.
'Reliable and valid estimates of viewing, including content-based measures, are critical to our understanding of the effects of TV on young children, especially children younger than age 2 years,' the editorial said.
Previous research has linked television exposure in young
This entry was posted
on Tuesday, July 05, 2005 at 8:48 AM.
You can skip to the end and leave a response.
» Post a Comment