I read a couple news articles yesterday regarding a new study by Tulane University that has shown 3-year-olds who watched two or more hours of television per day were more likely to be aggressive. The researchers looked at 3,128 mothers from 20 American cities that had a child between 1998-2000. The research included different income and education levels, and took into account certain factors such as living in a violent or dangerous neighborhood, and depression or mental disorders on the part of the mother. The study found that the more television a child viewed, including household television time (time when the TV was turned on in the house), the more aggressive the children behaved. Aggressive behavior was defined by actions such as hitting, being disobedient, and screaming. The study did not take into account the type of programming viewed in the home and I believe that omission slightly flawed the study; and here’s an example from my own life as to why I think so:
Back in the early 70’s our town was one of the earliest recipients of cable TV in the state. Our neighbors, the Callas (not their real names), family, were from Boston, and for some reason they had been recently transplanted to the wild west of Southern California. These folks were the most cultured and well-educated family on the block; classical music played in the home; their daughter, my friend, Maria sat at her neatly appointed study desk practicing high school Latin and French in a sweet and soft manner; their older son, Theo was equally intelligent and good natured. Then came Andrew, their youngest. Little Andrew was a nightmare of hitting, yelling, and general hyperactivity. Mrs. Callas said she just couldn’t figure out where this child came from, and was often at her wit’s end with him. Mr. and Mrs. Callas would often ask me to babysit Andrew while they took the two older children to equestrian events or concerts; wild Andrew couldn’t be trusted to behave while they soaked up Mozart or watched Maria compete on her English saddle. So I stayed with Andrew, and did my best to come out of it alive, dodging Lego blocks thrown at high speeds, or being kicked in the shins as I tried to read him a book. I still remember telling my mom that I thought Mrs. Callas should have not let Andrew watch the cable channels; and I remember my mom saying, “well, poor Mrs. Callas is so worn out from that little guy that she probably uses the television to keep him quiet for a while every day”. But, as I reflect back now, the problem wasn’t about the simple fact that she let him watch television; instead, it was about what she was letting him watch that was causing some of the problem. This was in the days before Nickleodeon, or The Disney Channel; children’s programming consisted of a couple PBS children’s shows in the morning, and old cartoons from the 1940’s in the afternoon. So, for Mrs. Callas, the rest of the day’s television schedule was a preschooler’s no man’s land–until we got that cable built in our neighborhood. However, even with the additional channels, the only programs showing that would have been engaging for the highly intelligent Andrew were old black and white comedies like The Three Stooges. He became obsessed with those shows. If you’re old enough to remember this trio or have seen their movies and subsequent television show from the 1950’s you’ll remember that these grown men did nothing but ridicule each other, smack each other, poke the eyes, and clunk each other on the head with various hard objects. You can view a snippet of what I’m referring to here: SlapHappy 
It was hilarious to some, but looking back I think it was horribly violent. Little Andrew watched this programming on a daily basis, and he could imitate Curly’s “nuk, nuk” sounds while becoming very aggressive. I’m not blaming the entirety of Andrew’s behavior problems on The Three Stooges, but I am wondering if one can conclude that Mrs. Callas did herself and her son no favor by exaggerating her Andrew’s already hyperactive behavior with too much violent and sarcastic television.
Thankfully, we have lots of options now, but you still have to make sure you pay attention to what your kids are watching. Just because the channel says it is for kids, that doesn’t mean it is good for them. The American Academy of Pediatrics came out with a stern recommendation a few years ago advising parents to not allow any television viewing for children under two years of age, and limit viewing time for older children to no more than 2 hours per day. I have never been perfect when it came to regulating television time with my children, but at one point I made a rule to eliminate all commercial television for my kids. We found enough interesting and thoroughly engaging content on public television.
Why do I think commercial television is so bad? Commercial television supports it’s programming by selling advertising time, which translates into corporate America selling consumer goods to our children. For years, my kids were blissfully unaware of the latest toys on the market, the sugary cereal on the store shelves, and they never asked us to take them to the nearby pizza/video arcade. Of course, once they entered school the entire world of “stuff” was presented to them by other children, but by then they were used to our lifestyle. We gave them lots of kudos for avoiding most of the latest fads and trends. By God’s good grace, our kids are still relatively simple in their needs and wants, and I pray they stay that way. I believe that eliminating commercial television and restricting viewing time in our home when the kids were young helped them focus on other forms of entertainment–like reading.
I also think that Public Television for children is so focused on education and early childhood development that it really benefitted my kids. They have learned a lot of good stuff from shows like Arthur, (my personal favorite), Fetch, and Word Girl; we miss some of the out-of-production shows like Reading Rainbow, Wishone, and Mr. Rogers, (I cried when Fred Rogers passed away a few years ago), and of course, all four of my kids watched Sesame Street.
Which leads me to the next story I read in the news. The best-loved children’s program on PBS, Sesame Street is celebrating its 40th year on television. The show is now broadcast and locally produced in many countries around the world, and is a wonderful asset to parents of young children. What’s great about Sesame Street is that the producers include content that actually entertains the parents also. Watch this snippet of Oscar the Grouch as a news reporter for GNN (Grouch News Network) as he loses a viewer to “Pox News”. PBS has had to apologize for it due to it’s snarky take on Fox News, but many of you may find it funny. Hundreds of famous people have appeared on Sesame Street; First Lady, Michelle Obama appeared recently on the show to help Elmo work in the garden while discussing the importance of eating fresh vegetables.
There was something else in the article that caught my eye. The story stated that because Sesame Street is not only one of the longest running television shows, it is also the most studied television show in history. The article cited one notable study that “reconnected with adolescents who had participated in “Sesame Street” research as preschoolers. It found that teens who watched “Sesame Street” in preschool had higher grades and spent more time reading for pleasure than other teens who had missed the show as children”.
So, there you go. Let them watch, but limit the time, and be strict with the content. You can’t go wrong with Sesame Street; it’ll help your kids be better readers!
