Turn off that T.V. and open a book instead

Posted on 03 October 2012

Everyone is aware of the fact that little kids and babies are a handful. When they aren't whining or crying, they want your attention all the time. Parents know that they can only multitask so much, so what is the next best option to placate their children? Turn on the television. Even if it's just used as background noise, T.V. can work wonders when calming fussy little ones.

However, a study published by the Journal of Pediatrics suggested that too much television can do more harm than good. Not only does it damage a developing attention span, but it also obstructs the ability to take in information and even hinders parent-child communication.

The research involved babies and youngsters between the ages of eight months and eight years. African American and smaller kids reportedly watched five and a half hours of television every day. Children who were raised in poor families had the television on for an average of six hours daily.

''A number of studies on children’s foreground exposure have shown that exposure times for children are in the neighborhood of 90 minutes per day while we found that children were exposed to nearly four hours of background TV on a typical day," college professor and study author Matthew Lapierre said to the Washington Post.

"These numbers easily dwarf the amount of time children spend interacting with siblings or parents and participating in educational activities," he added.

Now that it isn't as hot out, there is no reason that you can't spend some time outside with your lovebug. Since, they have so much energy all the time, why not let them run around, play tag and enjoy some fresh air? If your child prefers to be indoors, read him or her a good story.

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