TV news both bad and good Too much of a bad thing, part 1 Here's a news flash for us from last month's Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine: Watching too much of the "boob tube" is bad for kids. What?!? You mean television isn't a valuable educational tool that can broaden our kids' horizons, turn them into little Einsteins, teach them self-esteem, help them to develop social skills and stay fit, trim, and coordinated? I'm shocked! According to an article in the July issue of the magazine, a trio of recent studies shows that not only does regular television viewing NOT help to accomplish these goals, but it actually hinders childhood learning and development to a significant degree. Researchers from Stanford University, the University of Washington, and the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health found, among other things, that: Children with television sets in their bedrooms scored lower on math and language tests than kids without their own TVs.
Adults who watched a lot of television as children were lower in education level by age 26. Those with college degrees had watched less than 2 hours nightly as kids, compared to more than 2.5 hours for those who'd attained only a high school diploma. Children who were exposed to more than 3 hours a day of TV before age 3 scored worse on intelligence tests at age 6 and
Third-graders with access to a home computer (and who didn't have TVs in their rooms) scored best of all in academic tests.
The three studies examined sizeable samples of 400, 1,000, and 1,800 children in a variety of locales, including other countries. The research also adjusted for other factors which might have skewed the outcome, like household income. And this isn't the only body of research out there suggesting that too much of the tube spells trouble for kids. According to a recent MSNBC article, prior studies have linked TV exposure to attention problems and difficulty reading in young children. But how much TV is too much? Find out in part 2 of this essay, in the next Daily Dose. I'll give you a hint: It's way less than what they're already watching. **************************************************** These "screen gems" sharpen dementia-fogged minds It seems I've been coming down hard on all things with screens lately - especially video games and TV. But apparently, some new technology of the screen is really helping those whose minds aren't as sharp as they once were. According to a recent BBCNews article, a new system called the Computer Interactive Reminiscence and Conversation Aid (CIRCA) is allowing dementia patients to connect and communicate better. The system uses clips from old movies, music, and popular photographs (like Eisenstadt's famous VJ Day smooch between a sailor and a nurse in Times Square) to stimulate dementia sufferers' most deeply embedded memories - and get them talking and reminiscing about them with caregivers and other patients. Patients access the clips via a touch screen and links to the Internet. This gives them a measure of control over what memories they tap into, rather than the hit-or-miss method typical of group-discussion therapy, which lacks the all-important visual component. The goal of CIRCA is to refocus caregivers on an area of care that tends to be overlooked in favor of basic day-to-day needs of nutrition and sanitation - conversation, reminiscence, and social interaction. Early reports on the system have been favorable, according to the BBC article, helping some dementia sufferers seem "like their old selves again," if only for a while. If a TV screen can help do that, I'm all for watching as many hours a day as it takes. Always "screening" the facts, William Campbell Douglass II, MD | 
