PRESCHOOLERS WATCH TOO MUCH TV

MOST SCREEN TIME FOR BABIES &
PRESCHOOL KIDS OCCURRED AT HOME

NaturalNews - How much screen time should a preschooler have per day?  Many educators describe the artificial visual processing involved in watching a stream of electrons and insist that it interferes with normal development and learning in small children. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no more than 1 to 2 hours of quality programming per day for preschoolers.  Studies have shown that television viewing is associated with learning problems and language delays in preschoolers. Television viewing promotes attention problems and interferes with academic performance.  More than 1,000 studies have shown an association between exposure to violent television programming and aggressive or violent behaviors in children, including early exposure as preschoolers and later antisocial behavior. 

It is estimated that the average child views 12,000 acts of violence every year. Most network broadcasted shows for children contain 20 violent acts per hour.  Given the association between television viewing and learning or behavior problems in children, a recent study of preschoolers provides some alarming statistics. 

A study of 8,950 children, published in the Journal of Pediatrics found that preschoolers on average are exposed to 4 hours of screen time per day. Children in home-based child care had the most screen time, averaging 5.5 hours per day. Children in parental care only were exposed to an average of 4.4 hours of screen time.

Since most screen time occurs at home, parents have the power to limit their children’s screen time and potentially prevent some of these associated learning problems. A limit of 1 hour of screen time at home per day will reduce the average of most preschool children’s TV exposure by as much as 75 %.  The type of programming that children watch is significant as well.  Encouraging alternative activities such as reading stories, using building materials or participating in other creative play is far preferable for developing learning skills than keeping kids in front of the TV, which makes them to remain confused with the false idea that we are the material body.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

Television has invaded the life and the privacy of the larger part of humanity in a form so dramatic that in some places, the television is on from morning to night. ... Therefore, the first step in providing your children and yourself a good atmosphere in the home is to remove the television from the house. Or as a last resort, to have it exclusively to show videos of material that promotes spiritual values.  Nowadays, people have television as their guru (master); every day they faithfully sit in front of “him” to fill their heads with junk. This is the same time that you should dedicate every day to listening to the spiritual master and the sacred scriptures in order to fill yourself with positive energy to make something very beautiful with your life.

Śrīla Bhakti Aloka Paramadvaiti Mahārāja :
“Vedic Wisdom” – “Say NO to television”
http://vedicwisdom.weebly.com/ - http://www.houseofwisdom.org/english/index.html