Television viewing inhibits verbal exchanges in babies
Recent studies have shown that watching TV decreases a baby’s ability to learn to talk, play, or interacting with other people. Worse, the DVDs that are marketed to enhance infant development shows the opposite effect. Television viewing inhibits verbal exchanges:
Christakis argues that regardless of what is playing on the screen — whether it’s baby-friendly content or shows geared toward adults — television by nature is a passive medium that hampers rich social interaction. Even when parents and children interacted actively while watching TV together, the net effect of having it turned on, for a few minutes or hours, was a drop in vocalizations. On average, the study found, when the TV is switched on, youngsters spend more time in silence and solitude than they do in active social interaction.
