Children should be banned from watching television until they are 2 years old because it can stunt their language development and shorten their attention span, according to new Australian recommendations.
The guidelines warn of the damage done by sitting inactive for hours and advise that reading, drawing or solving puzzles should also be kept to a minimum.
For children aged between 2 and 5, time in front of the TV screen should be limited to an hour a day, according to health experts, in the first official guidelines on children’s viewing habits.
I have a 14 mongh old and the TV is a help. I understand that it should be at a minimum but drawing, reading and solving puzzles as well – I would have thought that was a good mind expanding skill.
I haven’t had cable TV for months, and I am convinced its added years to my life.
Even if you don’t live a day longer, it has. 🙂
We did exactly this with our little ones.
The exception is Finland (IIRC). It seems that children who watch tv develop greater reading skills then their counterparts in other countries.
The reason: the nation can’t afford to ‘dub’ the children’s programs, so they ‘caption’ them with the translation. If the children want to understand the program, they have to learn to read!
That according to Jim Trelease, the author of the “Read Aloud Handbook”.
Jim Elliott