Health Update: Turn Off the TV

Want an articulate kid? Keep the TV off. Letting your infant regularly tune in to videos like Baby Einstein and Brainy Baby not only won't help boost her vocab, it may actually derail verbal development, according to a new study from The Journal of Pediatrics. Here, what study author Andrew Meltzoff, PhD, co-director of the Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences at the University of Washington in Seattle, wants you to know when it comes to tots and the tube:

1. It's all about age. Babies 8 to 16 months old knew an average of 6 to 8 fewer words for every hour a day they tuned in to such videos compared to babies who didn't watch them. But for toddlers 17 to 24 months old, the study found no evidence that DVD-watching did any harm -- or good. "This effect may only come into play when children are learning their very first words," says Meltzoff. (Not so surprising, considering that these videos contain very few words; rather, they're mainly filled with random abstract images like lava lamps).

"But the finding that the baby DVDs and videos do no good for babies and toddlers does not contradict the idea that well-designed educational TV, DVD, videos may be useful for some preschoolers or kindergarten children," Meltzoff explains. "What might be educational for a 3- to 6-year-old is a bit different from what helps younger children."

2. Hands down, you're baby's best teacher. "We know that children under age 2 learn language best from interacting with people, and heavy viewing of these DVDs may be taking time away from that," says Meltzoff. In fact, all babies in the study who were read to at least daily knew slightly more words than those who bonded over books less often.

3. But don't feel too guilty if you've already bought those DVDs. If your baby's logged plenty of tube time, it doesn't mean she's destined for the slow track at school. "Babies are adaptive and resilient, and there are many paths to healthy development," says Meltzoff. But instead of always relying on Baby Einstein to serve as babysitter while you chat on the phone, do try to find other ways to stimulate your increasingly curious babe. Remember, there's nothing wrong with a little downtime. Simply letting baby play on her own with a toy, a mushy picture book, or whatever her obsession du jour may be (a mixing bowl, toy cell phone, whatever) is a great way to help her make sense of the exciting world around her.

How else to raise a smart cookie?

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