Television Programming and DVDs for Young Children

Nowadays, nearly every American family owns at least one television and most children and adults watch television or view DVDs on a daily basis. 

As an increasing number of television programs for children are available, how do parents decide how best to incorporate television programming into their family’s routines and which programs are best suited for their children?

Studies have shown that children who watch “educational” programming demonstrate measurable learning gains, increased vocabularies, counting skills and overall school readiness. However, children who watch more “entertainment” programming actually perform worse on mental function tests.  

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) suggests that parents limit their children's exposure to television to no more than 1 to 2 hours per day of high-quality educational programming. Additionally, AAP studies have shown that very young children (0-2) do not seem to benefit from any type of television, and should instead be given a variety of engaging and stimulating learning experiences with their caregivers and surroundings. 

For additional television guidelines, the University of Florida has published an excellent, concise guide for parents available at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fy1074.