The answer seems obvious. It's the show that stars Iggle Piggle, not the show about 4 monkeys singing and dancing a lot in their playgroup. In hopes of shining a little more light on the obvious when it comes to kids and TV, researchers in Oxford say teaching parents to switch channels from violent shows to educational programmes can improve preschoolers' behavior – even without getting them to watch less. They found that encouraging kids to watch shows like In the Night Garden or LeapFrog did help channel good social behavior.
Pediatricians have long argued that young kids' exposure to television should be limited to about two hours a day – and they've even gone so far as to recommend that children under the age of 2 shouldn't watch TV at all.
It's good advice, of course. Violent programming could lead to aggressive behavior – and sedentary activities like TV-watching and computer use could contribute to the nation's obesity epidemic. But just how practical is it to turn off the TV in a world where video screens are ubiquitous – whether it's the plasma on the wall or the laptop on the coffee table?
The Oxford researchers have a good point. Let them watch TV, but be careful what they watch.
