Infant TV Viewing Linked to ADHD

from the kind folks at whitedot.org:

A study from the American Academy of Pediatrics shows that watching videos as a toddler may lead to Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD, also called ADD in UK) in later life.

TV watching "rewires" an infant’s brain, says Dr. Dimitri A. Christakis lead researcher and director of the Child Health Institute at Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center, Seattle, Wash. The damage shows up at age 7 when children have difficulty paying attention in school.

"In contrast to the way real life unfolds and is experienced by young children, the pace of TV is greatly sped up." says Christakis. His research appears in the April 2004 issue of Pediatrics. Quick scene shifts of video images become "normal," to a baby "when in fact, it’s decidedly not normal or natural." Christakis says. Exposing a baby’s developing brain to videos may overstimulate it, causing permanent changes in developing neural pathways.

"Also in question is whether the insistent noise of television in the home may interfere with the development of ‘inner speech’ by which a child learns to think through problems and plans and restrain impulsive responding," wrote Jane Healy, psychologist and child brain expert in the magazine’s commentary.

...

In the study of more than 2,000 children, Christakis found that for every hour watched at age one and age three, the children had almost a ten percent higher chance of developing attention problems that could be diagnosed as ADHD by age 7. A toddler watching three hours of infant television daily had nearly a 30 percent higher chance of having attention problems in school.

The study, as published in the AAP Journal "Pediatrics" can be purchased here, and the abstract can be read here for free.

I have to say that I am hoping desperately for the demise of programmed television to occur sometime before I have children. I mean, sure, it's easy enough to decide not to let kids watch until they're 5 or so, but what about the rest of their childhood? My sister and I were raised with planned and controlled television habits, and in the end I forswore it and she's addicted. My intent will be for my children to make the same choice that I did, but I have to ask myself what a reasonable plan of action would be. Denying them all television would essentially be omitting a sizeable chunk of north american culture from their experience, and would likely backfire as soon as they were old enough to make their own choice in the matter. However, the other extreme is hardly more palatable - unregulated viewing seems to lead to excessive viewing. In the end I imagine my strategy will be similar to the one my parents used, although I think I will make a point of being actively involved in the alternatives instead of merely listing them. With any luck they will at some point question why they watch what they do and at least make a conscious decision. If I manage to raise hardcore skeptics I will be a happy man indeed.