Screen Time How Electronic Media--From Baby Videos to Educational Software--Affects Your Young Child

by Guernsey, Lisa

• ISBN13: 9780465029808
• ISBN10: 0465029809
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-03-20
• Publisher: Basic Books

Summary

As a mother, Lisa Guernsey wondered about the influence of television on her two young daughters. As a reporter, she resolved to find out. What she first encountered was tired advice, sensationalized research claims, and a rather draconian mandate from the American Academy of Pediatrics: no TV at all before the age of two. But like many parents, she wanted straight answers and realistic advice, so she kept digging: she visited infant-perception labs and child development centers around the country. She interviewed scores of parents, psychologists, cognitive scientists, and media researchers, as well as programming executives at Noggin, Disney, Nickelodeon, Sesame Workshop, and PBS. Much of what she found flies in the face of conventional wisdom and led her to conclude that new parents will be best served by focusing on “the three C’s”: content, context, and the individual child. Advocating a new approach to television and DVDs, Guernsey focuses on infants to five-year-olds and goes beyond the headlines to explore what exactly is “educational” about educational media. She examines how play and language development are affected by background and foreground television and how to choose videos that are age-appropriate. She explains how to avoid the hype of “brain stimulation” and focus instead on social relationships and the building blocks of language and literacy. Along the way, Guernsey highlights independent research on shows ranging from Dora the Explorer to Dragon Tales, and distills some surprising new findings in the field of child development. Into the Minds of Babesis a fascinating book that points out how little credible research exists to support the AAP’s dire recommendation. Parents, teachers, and psychologists will be relieved to learn positive approaches to using videos with young children and will be empowered to make their own informed choices.

Author Biography

Lisa Guernsey is the Director of the Early Education Initiative at the New America Foundation and an education, science, and technology writer who has contributed to the New York Times, Washington Post, and Chronicle of Higher Education. She lives in Alexandria, Virginia, with her husband and two children.

Table of Contents

Foreword to the Paperback Edition	p. xi
Preface, or the Three Cs: Content, Context and Your Child	p. xv
What Exactly Is This Video Doing to My Baby's Brain?	p. 1
ADHD and autism-should I be worried?
Why do pediatricians say no screen time before age 2?
Notes	p. 25
Is TV Turning My Tot Into a Zombie?	p. 27
Why does it look like my child is tuning out?
At what age do children become mentally engaged?
Notes	p. 42
Could My Child Learn from Baby Videos?	p. 45
How and when do toddlers learn from audiovisual media?
What is the "video deficit?"
Notes	p. 65
My Toddler Doesn't Seem to Notice When the TV Is O-or Does He?	p. 67
What is the impact of background television?
How does noise affect language development?
Notes	p. 84
Which Videos Are Too Scary for My Child?	p. 87
What content is most upsetting to young children?
What should I do when they get frightened by -what they see?
Notes	p. 111
What Is Educational About "Educational" TV?	p. 113
What are the features of a well-designed preschool show?
Have children really been shown to benefit from educational shows?
Notes	p. 132
Could the Right DVD Teach My Child to Speak, or Better Yet, Become Bilingual?	p. 135
What exactly leads to language development?
Will foreign-language videos give my children an edge?
Notes	p. 149
Can Electronic Media Enrich My Child's Vocabulary?	p. 151
At what age can a video make the most difference?
Under what conditions do children learn words from TV?
Notes	p. 170
Could This Program Teach My Child to Be a Good Person?	p. 173
Is there any evidence that videos can inspire good character?
How are TV, pretend play and good behavior connected?
Notes	p. 191
Is Interactive Media Worthwhile-or at Least Better Than TV?	p. 193
Are screen-based toys of any use to babies?
Is educational software a good idea for preschoolers?
Notes	p. 213
Will Screen Time Make My Children Fat?	p. 215
Are there real connections between TV and obesity?
Does the location of the TV matter?
Notes	p. 231
How Do Real Families Make Smart Media Choices?	p. 233
How do they cope with siblings? sickness? single parenthood?
What are some examples of limits that stick?
Notes	p. 252
Epilogue	p. 253
Movie Review Web Sites	p. 277
Web Site Reviews of Interactive Media	p. 279
Resources on the Use of Electronic Media with Children Who Have Special Needs	p. 281
Acknowledgments	p. 283
Bibliography	p. 285
Index	p. 299
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