Research indicates that TV permanently affects the attention span of kids. Seems the fast-paced images are to blame, permanently altering how the brain develops.
“The newborn brain develops very rapidly during the first two to three years of life. It’s really being wired” during that time, Christakis said.
“We know from studies of newborn rats that if you expose them to different levels of visual stimuli … the architecture of the brain looks very different” depending on the amount of stimulation, he said.
Overstimulation during this critical period “can create habits of the mind that are ultimately deleterious,” Christakis said. If this theory holds true, the brain changes likely are permanent, but children with attention problems can be taught to compensate, he said.
I find the whole topic fascinating because … hey, have you seen penguin baseball?
This is exactly why Janell and I made the decision to not let Bram watch hardly any TV until he learns to read.
The only time Hallie sees TV is when I’m watching college basketball. And she mostly ignores it then, with too much other stuff for her to entertain herself with. I really believe its helped her development to have the TV off.
Not only have I seen Penguin baseball but stumbled upon its ugly cousin when I lost my original link.
Gory Penguin
jayp