Have Infant and Toddler Educational Videos Impacted Quality Parental Interaction - Research Paper Example

Have Infant and Toddler Educational Videos Impacted Quality Parental Interaction?" John Smith ILR 260 Assignment: Final research paper Instructor: Dr. Delores Griffin Date: 31st August 2012 "Have Infant and Toddler Educational Videos Impacted Quality Parental Interaction"? Introduction In today’s contemporary world, the television and other video content have a high probability of affecting parent interaction with their infants and toddlers. It is almost obvious to indicate that a great percentage of infants and toddlers are highly exposed to these forms of media, as opposed to the previous centuries. In light of this argument, therefore, the exposure to video by kids in their first 2-3 years is indeed influences the manner in which the infants and toddlers learn to interact. From another point of view, other analysts and researchers stick to the opinion that toddlers and infants spend a huge percentage of their time watching television (Courage & Setliff, 2009). As a result, television becomes not only their favorite pastime, but a tool for learning. With the impact of television among the children aged 2, which almost takes over the lives of these children, their development, the biggest concern is their involvement with their parents, which weakens due to time they spend watching TV (Courage & Setliff, 2009). Videos and television have become the contemporary educators, which, some analysts argue, have taken over the role of parents for these children. This essay shall undertake an analytical research to assess the declining ability of the parents to act as the educators and trainers of their children and how most of them have been reduced to mere ‘watchmen’. The essay shall incorporate the works of numerous analysts and researchers in the quest to assess the validity and application of the title of the work in today’s society. Child Addiction to Television and Influence on Development In the research compiled by Garrison and Christakis (2005), many toddlers are addicted to videos in one way or another, especially the ones that teach them new songs, how to read, and how to play various forms of music. Most of the parents also do not have time to play with their children and teach them new games, an aspect that reduces the toddler to learning new games from the frequent programs, and videos aired on television and films related to play for the toddlers. An encouragement of the parents to allocate time for their children especially for play means that the kind of interaction present in the two parties is actually doubtful. To clarify the intensity of the problem facing the toddlers who need ‘touch’ from their parents, videos have been produced that relate to the toddlers. These videos consist of colors, games, words and letters that provide the basis for introduction to toddler education. Though some analysts are of the opinion that such videos and DVDs present derail the growth of the toddler’s brain especially their brain development, they recommend that the children avoid the television as an educational tool (Zimmerman, Christakis & Meltzoff, 2007). A critical analysis of this fact clearly indicates that the toddlers in question have already mastered songs and continually hum the songs time and again. With this, it is obvious that the educational videos already have an impact on toddler development. Parents have clearly been taken over by events, and by virtue of them purchasing these educational videos with songs and games, undoubtedly indicates that they are also of the opinion that they do not have enough time with their toddlers, and need quick intervention, which happens to be the educational videos. Prevalence of TV in the Family and Development Disorders On another point of view, Zimmerman and Christakis (2005) indicate that the television ‘runs’ the sitting rooms of a majority of the US families. With the coming of anew baby, at one time in their development and growth, they become acquainted with the television at a very tender age. Studies indicate that 2/3 of the children under the age of six years watch television daily for a considerable amount of time (Zimmerman & Christakis, 2005). Worse still, these toddlers have portrayed behaviors of addiction to the television even after the end of their shows in the presence or absence of their parents. Even in the event of play time and presence of the parents, television is still tuned on. In this note, the young children, to some extent, equivocates their parents to the television and want to do what they see on television videos over what their parents teach them (Striano & Cleveland, 2008). According to Courage and Setliff (2009), too much television affects the thoughts and behavior of toddlers in the family and society at large. If the educational videos are more inclined to the educational life of the toddler, the toddler will have some checks in relation to their all roundedness. Though they are taught on how to read, write, draw, sing amongst others, the same toddlers need to be taught on other life skills. Parent-child interaction is evidently questionable in this instance. The upcoming population can, as a result, be indicated to be one that is keen on the televised norms and values, as opposed to the norms imparted on them on a first hand basis by the parents. Parents have been reduced to workaholics who are always absent, and if they find time, they engage their children with new DVDs in the market on how to learn. The toddlers, on the other hand, have become used to this life and will complain less. Videos and brain development In contrast to the previous centuries, the contemporary infants and toddlers watch too much television and movies (McCarthy et al., 2004).The tender age of three years is very crucial in the development of the child, particularly the brain. It is also in this stage that the toddlers are easily convinced by what they see, and they think is positive. Alternatively, children at this stage shun activities that may seem to them very negative. The role and place of the television, therefore, becomes debatable. Since the marketers are always at par with the new trends and demands of the consumer, they come in handy to introduce the infant and toddler videos. This has been increasing dramatically for a while. Parents have also been pulled to watch these movies and videos, which gives the infants a confirmation that the television is indeed part of the family’s systems. This early exposure to the television leads to the infants having no role model and reference point, since their minds were tuned to the television since the beginning. Televisions have also been fixed in bedrooms, an indication of a worse situation in the families. Parent –child interaction is greatly reduced since the children’s free time is consumed by watching television. ‘TV world’ Is Unhealthy Striano and Cleveland (2008) stress that exposure to television and video content is completely unhealthy for the toddlers. Among the problems stemming from this is that children develop social problems once they grow up. Poor parent to child interaction creates a huge gap between the real world and the ‘TV world’. The real world would have been easily taught by the parents, since the child visualizes what they see on television as reality. The assumption that the videos always have something good for the child is a clear indication, that parents have entirely surrendered their children to the videos. However, the videos and the television have not been appreciated for their contribution to healthier childhood. The child’s brain is also not well developed to detect what is wrong and right, and what to apply in their real life encounters. This indicates that parent-child interaction is diminishing by the day, whilst background television takes the role of the care givers. In the research conducted by Pempek et al. (2011), there is diminutive evidence that videos directed to the infants boost the interaction with their parents. A case in point is the ‘Sesame Beginnings’ that are labeled to provide parent- interaction models (Pempek et al., 2011). In the video ‘children’s impact in your relationship’, the need to provide children with more than just video interaction is sensitized. In this video children need more physical interaction with their parents to gain more confidence in life. Such videos are then indicated to be of use to the parents not the children. On another viewpoint, most parents are always complaining that they do not have time to implement the models. Parents also frequently absent themselves from watching the movies. This puts the dedication of the parent-child interaction time in question. To validate that the educational videos have negatively impacted parent-child interaction, education and interaction is not consistent with frequent absenteeism from the parents. Though parents have the best interests fro their children, singing along with their children, involvement in sign language and repetition of words is not enough to term the educational videos as the best guide to child growth and development. This validates the concern of the American Academy of Pediatrics (2001) in child exposure to television and videos. In the research conducted by McCarthy et al, (2004), the television disrupts the quality time that would have been spent in parent-child interaction. This is from the fact that at times the television is on, but the content being displayed ahs no connection whatsoever with the discussion the parents may be having with their children.ost children tend to develop an interest in the television and ignore their parents. Other parents do not have the time to watch these movies, and if they watch, they are not fully engaged. Others will result into critics of the same, disrupting the parent-child interaction moments. Infant parental nourishment cannot be regarded as inadequate but completely lacks among these children. A lot of time dedicated on the screen interprets that there is little time for interaction with parents and share common activities (Striano &Cleveland, 2008). A lot of assumptions are made in terms of the child’s needs, especially in terms of learning taking place. Parent–child interaction is only possible if the time spent on television is greatly minimized. Conclusion Conclusively, the infant and toddler educational videos cannot be a substitute to the role of the parents in the family. It is evident that the infants and toddlers do not have the ability to understand the best quality to watch. It is recommended that the parents consistently watch educational videos with their children; thus, create time for a discussion forum and interaction. However, with the parents not keen enough to be with their children, this study indicates that parent-child interaction has been impacted negatively. Development of the child is also open to discussion, since the direct implications of the videos are directly pointed on the infants and toddlers. If the time allocated for watching movies is not assessed, chances are that gaps will be created between the parents and children. References American Academy of Pediatrics. (2001). Children, adolescents, and television. Pediatrics, 107, 423–425. Courage, L. & Setliff, A. (2009). Debating the impact of television and video material on very young Cchildren: Attention, learning, and the developing brain. Child Development Perspectives (3); 1, 72–78. Garrison, M. M., & Christakis, D. A. (2005). A teacher in the living room? Educational media for babies, toddlers and preschoolers. Menlo Park, CA: The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation: Children’s Digital Media Centers. McCarthy, C. A., Christakis, D. A., Zimmerman, F. J., & DiGiuseppe, D. L. (2004). Early television exposure and subsequent attentional problems in children. Pediatrics, 113, 708–713.  Pempek, T., Demers, B., Hanson, K., Anderson, D. & Kirkorian, H. (2011). The impact of infant-directed videos on parent-child interaction. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology 32: 10–19. Striano, T. &Cleveland, A. (2008). Televised social interaction and object learning in 14- and 18-months old. Infant Behavior and Development, 31, 326–331. Zimmerman, F. J. &Christakis, D. A. (2005). The elephant in the living room. New York: Rodale. Zimmerman, F. J., Christakis, D. A., & Meltzoff, A. (2007). Television and DVD/video viewing in children younger than 2 years. Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, 161, 473−479. Read More