Over the past four decades, there has been a significant increase in the diagnosis of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) during childhood and adolescence (1–3). Commonly defined as a clinically based diagnostic category, ADHD is now generally viewed as a continuum of ADHD-related behaviors (i.e., attention problems, hyperactivity, and impulsivity) (4, 5). Although the increase in the diagnosis of ADHD-related behaviors may reflect either an underdiagnosis in the past or an overdiagnosis at present (6, 7), scholars and healthcare professionals alike have repeatedly attributed the increase in diagnoses to the violent, arousing, and fast-paced nature of contemporary screen media entertainment (8, 9).
It’s a scenario any harried parent can relate to (if not admitted to). You strap your screaming 2-year-old into his booster seat, plunk him in front of the television, and tune into a children’s channel. Watch him become glued to the screen. In the peace and quiet that follows, you’re tempted to leave him there all day.
Resist the temptation, says Dimitri Christakis, M.D., a pediatrician, researcher, and parent who studies early learning. Why? Because most children’s programs, especially those tailored for infants, are so fast-paced and stimulating they interfere with a child’s ability to pay attention.
More Television = More ADHD?
In fact, he says, for every daily hour that your child watches TV on average, his risk of developing attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) increases by 10 percent. If the TV program is as frenetic as the PowerPuff Girls, says Dr. Christakis based on his research, the risk increases by 60 percent and if the show is violent, the risk is almost 100 percent.
A Day on the Farm
Even an “educational” DVD like Baby Einstein’s “A Day on the Farm” can be harmful, says Christakis. The quick scene changes condition babies’ brains to expect a pace that is super normal so when they actually visit a farm they find the experience boring. “Nothing happens fast enough,” he explains.
Infant programming is hyper-fast, says Christakis, because babies “aren’t able to process a narrative; they can only process the rapid cut.” They do that by using something called an ‘orienting reflex,’” which is what the brain does when it detects a strange sight or sound. As an adult, you can override the reflex. Not so with babies. Those novel sights and sounds constantly stimulate the orienting reflex, demanding the brain’s attention, which accounts for the mesmerizing affect of TV on young children, says Christakis. Their brains are transfixed by the hyperactivity.
Once the brain adjusts to hyper-fast programming, though, it has trouble adjusting to the normal pace of reality, causing attention problems later in life, says Christakis. Infant brains, which triple in size between birth and 3 years, are particularly vulnerable. With the increase in fast-paced media, Christakis says, it’s no wonder that ADHD is ten times more common today than it was 20 years ago. “Over the last five years, the rise in ADHD has been as much as 20%. We know there is a genetic component but our genes have not changed in the last 1,000 years. Surely there must be some role for early environment.”
Slow Down, Baby
Some parents argue that we live in a fast-paced world and children should get used to it. Yes, Christakis says, but the ability to focus and maintain attention is a vital brain function that’s critical to success. The solution? “Based on my research, babies under 2 years of age should not watch fast-based programs,” advises Christakis. The best choice? Mr. Rogers, whose programs were all filmed in real time. “They’re actually even slower than real time,” he says.
A better way to distract your infant when you need a break is to place him in a safe area. Surround him with toys, blocks, books, and stuffed animals.
In conversations with parents, Christakis first asks them why they put their child in front of the TV. If it’s for a quick break so they can collect themselves, he understands. If it’s because the parent think it’s good for the child, he asks them to reconsider. “The aggressive marketing [of children’s programming] has been very successful in convincing parents that this is good or at least harmless,” he says. “But it’s not good for the baby. I hope this message reaches many parents and makes them think again.”
Guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatricians echo Christakis’s recommendations: Establish screen-free zones in the house, remove TVs and computers from children’s bedrooms, and make TV off-limits for infants and children under 2. To quote the Academy guidelines, “Young children learn best by interacting with people, not screens.”
