Some articles on the impact of TV on younger children:
Some important facts and recommendations:
http://www.tvsmarter.com/documents/young.html
Children under age 3 learn less from educational videos that we might think—unless there’s an adult present to interact with them and support their learning.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090915100947.htm
Television exposure during infancy is associated with language delays and attentional problems
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1651-2227.2008.00831.x/abstract
http://www.livescience.com/5480-tv-learning-lag-infants.html
Children need to interact with other people, manipulate objects in the environment, and play in a way that lets them fully explore and solve problems in a creative. way. Electronic screens provide none of these experiences. So too much time in front of the TV means not enough time learning in an active and interactive way:
http://cmch.typepad.com/mediatrician/2009/09/how-will-tv-affect-our-3-month-old.html
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1468-2958.2011.01413.x/abstract
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090915100951.htm
Much of this research relates to families who leave the TV on ‘in the background’ for lengths of time. A practice to be avoided. The studies seem to suggest that TV in the preschool and toddler ages should be kept to a minimum. That educational benefits depend on an adult watching and interacting with them. And that background TV should be avoided.
One study found study confirmed an association between TV viewing in younger, preschool-aged children and risk of being overweight, and an even stronger association with risk of being overweight an a TV in the child’s bedroom.:
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/109/6/1028.abstract
