Parents Warned Over TV That was a recent headline in England announcing a new report by a psychologist Dr Aric Sigman. He reviewed over 30 scientific studies that identified as many as 15 negative effects that excessive TV watching can have on youngsters. They included childhood obesity, eyesight problems and hormonal changes. Dr Sigman was particularly concerned about the fact that many young children now have televisions in their bedrooms--thereby permitting endless hours of watching.
The report did not cite reading problems as one of the potential dangers. But in my experience, too many hours of TV watching play a key role in this area as well. The ability to sit back and do nothing for hours at a time sets in place a passive mind-set which works against the active processing that effective reading requires. It's like suddenly having to do heavy exercise when all you've been doing is lounging around.
There Is no problem with carefully selected, time-limited TV programs. They can be a wonderful addition to a child's life. But if you want your child to be a successful reader and a successful student, you would be wise to take this report to heart and control TV time so that it serves to enhance, rather than detract from, your child's potential.