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The Bedroom Set
(And We're Not Talking About Furniture)
By Lisa A. Goldstein
According to the study, the notion that television can be used to soothe infants to sleep is also of particular interest, given that television most certainly serves as an activator of the reticular activating system, which stimulates attention and alertness. As such, parents who use the television to put their children to sleep may actually be putting them at risk for a future of sleep disorders.
Additionally, the study claims, there is some intriguing evidence that background television interferes with toddlers' ability to focus on play. There is also evidence of a connection between children's viewing and subsequent attention problems.
Because of all this, some parents make compromises.
Abena Foreman-Trice says that her two youngest children got a small TV in their rooms around the age of 4, when they expressed a desire to watch something other than what she was watching. They watched videos like Raffi and educational videos.
"This was viewing I felt they could enjoy when I would need to cook or work on the computer," Foreman-Trice says. "They liked the music and the tunes helped them with memorization. The main motivation was to allow viewing when everyone wanted to watch something different. It is also a way to wind down or decompress from a hectic schedule."
Since television watching is something that Foreman-Trice is mindful about, she uses limits and makes sure that the kids are engaged in enriching activities connected to their talents. The TVs actually act as monitors – there's no satellite or cable hooked up to them and they can't access free TV where they live.
Another parent, Yin Chang of Montclair, N.J., doesn't plan to ever have a TV in her 13-month-old son's room. "TV is not a necessity in life," Chang says. "We don't want our son and future children thinking it is. TV shouldn't be a solitary activity for many reasons. Our feeling is that the TV sits in the living room so that it can be enjoyed by the family." Of course, Chang says, this policy only works if both parents agree to it, and keep a watchful eye out for grandparents or other people sneaking in TV time.
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