We have a new study to add to research that suggests television can have a negative impact on infants and toddlers.
In a study of 259 families researchers found that babies who regularly watched TV had lower scores on cognitive and language tests at 14 months, U.S. News & World Report says.
Babies who watched 60 minutes of TV daily had developmental scores one-third lower at 14 months than babies who weren't watching that much TV. Though their developmental scores were still in the normal range, the discrepancy may be due to the fact that when kids and parents are watching TV, they're missing out on talking, playing, and interactions that are essential to learning and development. – “TV Watching Is Bad for Babies' Brains.” U.S. News & World Report via Yahoo. 12/09/10.
Check out the abstract from the study, which was released by the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine this month.
This is the latest story to suggest there could be negative links between infants and television watching. Last year, a study found that when the television is on babies hear far fewer words and conversations, which could hurt their speech and possibly cognitive development.
Hope for Education Reform Next Year: Politics K-12 continues to cover congressional education policy like a blanket, reportingthat there is some reason to hope Congress may reform the No Child Left Behind Act - the law governing federal K-12 policy - even though it will be divided by a Republican-led House and Democratic-led Senate.
But reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act is one area where there's a glimmer of hope for compromise between the two parties.” – “Duncan, Senate Republicans Talk ESEA Renewal.” 12/20/10.
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GOP lawmakers agreed that the a) the current version of law, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002, needs to be changed, to give greater flexibility to states and districts, and b) they want Congress to make the changes, not see the department do it through the regulatory process (which is what some education groups are hoping for).
Check out the whole story at Politics K-12.