Zero to Six: Electronic Media in the Lives of Infants, Toddlers and Preschoolers

Released on October 28 2003, this survey looks at the role of the media in the lives of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers living in the United States. It finds that the average child between 6 months and 6 years old:

• spends 2 hours per day watching television or playing video games.
  
  • More than 4 of 5 spend watch some TV every day. (Almost half of all children studied had a TV in their bedroom).
  • Nearly two-thirds of the kids lived in a home where the TV was on at least half the time, even if no one was watching.
  • In homes with such heavy TV usage, kids spent less time reading or playing outside.
• While 80% of children 6 and under read or are read to on any given day, they spend an average of 49 minutes doing so.
• Almost 1 in 5 kids younger than age 7 use a computer on a typical day; 48% have used a computer at some point.
• About 1 in 10 plays video games; 30% have played video games at some point. 56% of boys have played video games, compared to 36% of girls; and in a typical day, 24% of boys will play, compared to 8% of girls.

Even children under the age of 2 are widely exposed to electronic media. Among those surveyed, 43% of those under age 2 watch TV every day, and 26% of have a TV in their bedroom (the American Academy of Pediatrics "urges parents to avoid television for children under 2 years old").

This national survey of 1,000 parents also focussed on the degree to which to increasing exposure to media impacts on children's behaviour. 4 of 5 parents said they have seen their kids imitate something from television. That number increased to almost 9 in 10 by the time children reached 4 years old. Notably, researchers found that the actions children emulate tend to be things parents like: friendly, upbeat, and polite behaviour. Kids who see their favourite characters helping and sharing on TV or in a video game, these parents say, repeat those actions. However, about a third of parents had also seen kids imitating aggressive acts, such as hitting or kicking their siblings.

According to Alvin Poussaint of Harvard Medical School and the Media Center at the Judge Baker Children's Center, "[w]e have no proof that watching television develops your brain or helps you learn language". He notes that children learn their parents' accents, not the ones they hear on TV. While computers may have more of an impact because they're interactive, "kids using crayons and using their fingers to manipulate objects is a much more effective way of improving hand-eye coordination."

The study found that 90% of parents say they have rules about what their kids watch on TV; 69% have rules about how much TV they can watch. The study indicates the rules may have an effect: children with time-related rules spend an average of 29 minutes less per day watching TV than other children do. "When it comes to the impact of media on children, quality is as important as quantity," said study co-author Elizabeth Vandewater. "Parents should take heart, because this study shows that sticking to your guns regarding your children's media use doesindeed make a difference."

Parents surveyed said that, in general, they thought kids' learning was mostly helped by educational television and computer programmes. In contrast, 40% said that video games impaired the educational process, with 22% saying there was some benefit to this medium.

Click here for the full study in PDF format.