TV Reduces Young Kids' Language Development

Child spellbound by TV

So TV reduces children’s language development?  Funny, some of the words that have come out of my young son’s mouth are 100% attributed to TV.  I mean where else can a 6 year old learn about priapism?  Well I am sure that erectile dysfunction is a popular topic around the dinner table, most people I know stick to school and sports when talking to their children.

The gist of this article is that the more a child watches TV the less they are interacting with their parents or siblings. No doubt that is true.  They followed a bunch of children around with a digital listening device and measured how much they spoke or heard people speaking while watching TV.  The results showed that each additional hour of television exposure by the child was associated with a decrease in 770 words (7%) that the child heard from an adult during the recording session.  The study also showed less speaking while watching TV.

The moral of the story is, in case you don’t already know, turn the TV off and watch your interactions with your children go up.  Unless it’s NASCAR, then crank the volume, the race is on!!!