My family scrapbook ™

7. Switch off the television set / Wednesday, February 11, 2009

7. Switch off the television set

MYTH: 'Watching educational and children's shows is good for my child and helps build his intelligence.'

REALITY: TV can restrict your child's development.

ADVERTISING executive Kelly Tan, 30, used to plonk her two-year-old daughter and five-year-old son in front of the television set whenever she needed to snatch some time for herself.
At weekends, her children used to watch up to 10 hours of mostly educational DVDs or children's programmes. That was until her son's kindergarten teachers complained of his hyperactivity in class.

The child psychologist she consulted warned her that TV could be a key factor contributing to his condition and that she should restrict her children's viewing. What she did not realise was that extensive research has been conducted on the effects of TV on children and that it shows it often does more harm than good.

WHAT RESEARCH SHOWS

One of the leading academics in this area, Professor Dimitri Christakis from Seattle Children's Research Institute and the University of Washington, has conducted an extensive review of 78 studies published over the last 25 years.

His key finding is that the studies indicate that watching TV programmes or DVDs designed for infants actually delays language development.

For example, a 2008 Thai study published in the journal Acta Paediatrica found that if children under 12 months watched TV for more than two hours a day, they were six times more likely to have delayed language skills. Another study found that children between seven and 16 months who watched baby programmes on DVDs knew fewer words than children who did not.

Infants as young as 14 months will imitate what they see on a TV screen, but they learn better from live presentations. For example, one investigation found that children learnt Chinese better from a native speaker than they did from a video of the same speaker. Excessive TV can be a factor in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

A study of 1,300 children conducted by Prof Christakis in 2004 found that the amount of TV a child is exposed to between ages one and three has a direct effect upon later attention problems.

Watching TV, in other words, can shorten attention spans.

The study found that a child who watched two hours of TV a day before age three would be 20 per cent more likely to have attention problems by age seven.

Why does TV have such a negative effect on children?

Prof Christakis explains that it exposes children to flashing lights, scene changes, quick edits and auditory cuts which may overstimulate developing brains.

Things happen fast on the TV screen, so children's brains may come to expect this pace, making it harder to concentrate if there is less stimulation.

In other research, he and his colleagues looked at the impact of early TV viewing on the cognitive development of those at school age. They found that children who had watched a lot of

TV in their early years did not perform as well when they underwent tests to check reading and memory skills.

A separate New Zealand study discovered that those who watched the most TV were the least likely to go to university and get a degree.

It monitored the TV habits of 1,037 children aged between five and 15 in 1972 and 1973. When it was finally published in 2005, it tracked the educational achievements of the same children. The study found that the 7 per cent of children who watched the box for under one hour a day were the most qualified by the time they were 26.

But shockingly, the over 20 per cent who sat in front of the TV for more than three hours each school day ended up doing the worst at all academic levels. Most failed to get high school certificates, trade diplomas or degrees.

The researchers also discovered that although excessive teenage TV viewing was strongly linked to leaving school without any qualifications, earlier childhood viewing had the greatest impact on getting a degree.

At this stage, even bright children and those from well-off families who watch a lot of TV are less likely to go on and get a degree.

The researchers concluded that excessive TV viewing leads to poor educational achievement. It displaces homework and revision and takes up time, which would be better spent in more educational pursuits, such as reading.

WHAT PARENTS CAN DO

If your child is under two, do not let him or her watch any TV at all, recommends the American Academy of Paediatrics. For older children, some TV is beneficial but parents should be selective and limit viewing time to no more than two hours a day. It is important for parents to familiarise themselves with the media ratings systems, so as to make good viewing choices for and with their children. Compare products, read reviews, and choose wisely.

Check the age-appropriate level to see if a show contains violence, sexual themes and profanity.

Studies have shown that consuming media violence may desensitise children when it comes to real violence. Glamorised body images in the media create expectations about attractiveness, and some depictions of sex or substance use run the risk of normalising risky behaviour or illegal activities.

Do not hesitate to turn off the TV set or leave the cinema.

Where possible, parents should watch programmes with their children and talk about them.

Teach your children to deconstruct a movie by analysing it and taking it apart so that they can look carefully at its components. This helps to empower them and ensure that they control the media rather than let the media control them.

RESOURCES

Book - Elephant In The Living Room: Make Television Work For Your Kids by Dimitri A.

Christakis, Frederick J. Zimmerman

This article was first published in The Straits Times on February 07, 2009.

8. Get them involved in sports / Tuesday, February 10, 2009

8. Get them involved in sports

MYTH: 'Too much sports and ECA will distract my child from his studies.'

REALITY: Sports and extracurricular activities enhance academic performance.

Older children actively involved in sports or school clubs are often told by their parents to drop these activities months or even a year before major examinations. But parents should pay heed to research showing that children involved in sports tend to do better in their studies.

WHAT RESEARCH SHOWS

It is well documented that regular physical activity in childhood and adolescence assists in socialisation, school engagement, psychosocial development and academic motivation. It also reduces problem behaviour.

Many studies link sports activity with higher academic achievement. It has been noted that young athletes- school performance markedly improves during the sporting season, and falls away during off-season.

The latest cognitive neuroscience research demonstrates that physical activity actually contributes to important brain development in young children.

For example, a 2005 study on overweight kids at the Medical College of Georgia in the United States found that 40 minutes a day of aerobic exercise improved 'executive function' - the aspect of intelligence that helps us pay attention, plan and resist distractions.

Yet another experiment showed that the brains of physically fit children showed evidence of more extensive processing during each task.

Compared to sedentary kids, fit children had faster reaction times. In a 2002 study by the California Department of Education, reading and mathematics scores were matched with fitness scores of over 900,000 students, aged 11, 13 and 15.

It found that higher achievement was associated with increased levels of fitness for every age group studied. The relationship between academic achievement and fitness was greater in mathematics than in reading, particularly in the fittest individuals.

Students who met minimum fitness levels in three or more physical areas showed the greatest gains in academic achievement at all three ages.

Other research has found that ECAs enhance educational outcomes up to a point, especially if sustained over time.

It is not the ECA participation per se that enhances educational outcomes. It is the fact that the activity provides skills, strengths, networks and support, plus social and personal rewards. This has the effect of increasing a student's identification with the school and aligns him with its values.

Some activities also develop academic skills, or the skills related to motivation or engagement.

For example, getting involved in the school newsletter helps develop planning, time-management, thinking and decision-making skills and also reading and writing proficiency. The robotics club teaches teamwork and maths skills.

Challenging ECAs such as maths clubs can encourage a child to stretch and improve himself.

When challenges are met, the child's confidence surges.

WHAT PARENTS CAN DO

Parents should first consider the child's interests and enrol him in activities that they are sure he will enjoy.

If your child is interested in a particular sport, check if it is available at his school or at community centres or sports organisations. Make sure the child has the proper sports equipment, that it fits properly and that it has all the appropriate safety features.
Keep in mind, however, that enrolling your child in an organised sport or ECA involves a commitment on your part. Your child will need appropriate equipment, transportation and support.

Parents should note, however, that if the time put into the ECA by the child is so great that it leaves little time for homework, or the activity is so draining that the child has no energy left for school, this will interfere with his progress.

Obviously, there are exceptions. For example, if your child shows promise of becoming an Olympic athlete, you may want to choose sports over his academics.

This article was first published in The Straits Times on February 07, 2009.