Tiffany A. Pempek

Television and Very Young Children

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has recommended that children younger than 24 months of age not be exposed to television. Nevertheless, television programs and home videos are increasingly produced for very young children. This article reviews the extant research concerning television and very young children with respect to the AAP recommendation. More very young children are currently watching television than in the recent past; they pay substantial attention to TV programs and videos made for them. When learning from videos is assessed in comparison to equivalent live presentations, there is usually substantially less learning from videos. Although one study finds positive associations of language learning with exposure to some children’s TV programs, other studies find negative associations of viewing with language, cognitive, and attentional development. Background TV is also a disruptive influence. Evidence thus far indicates that the AAP recommendation is well taken, although considerably more research is needed.

On the road to obesity: Television viewing increases intake of high-density foods.

Television viewing (TVV) has been linked with obesity, possibly through increased sedentary behavior and/or through increased ingestion during TVV. The proposition that TVV causes increased feeding, however, has not been subjected to experimental verification until recently. Our objective was to determine if the amount eaten of two familiar, palatable, high-density foods (pizza and macaroni and cheese) was increased during a 30-min meal when watching TV. In a within-subjects design, one group of undergraduates (n = 10) ate pizza while watching a TV show of their choice for one session and when listening to a symphony during the other session. A second group of undergraduates (n = 10) ate macaroni and cheese (M&C). TVV increased caloric intake by 36% (one slice on average) for pizza and by 71% for M&C. Eating patterns also differed between conditions. Although the length of time to eat a slice of pizza remained stable between viewing conditions, the amount of time before starting another slice was shorter during TVV. In contrast, M&C was eaten at a faster rate and for a longer period of time during TVV. Thus, watching television increases the amount eaten of high-density, palatable, familiar foods and may constitute one vector contributing to the current obesity crisis.

The impact of background television on parent-child interaction.

This study investigated the hypothesis that background television affects interactions between parents and very young children. Fifty-one 12-, 24-, and 36-month-old children, each accompanied by 1 parent, were observed for 1 hr of free play in a laboratory space resembling a family room. For half of the hour, an adult-directed television program played in the background on a monaural television set. During the other half hour, the television was not on. Both the quantity and quality of parent-child interaction decreased in the presence of background television. These findings suggest one way in which early, chronic exposure to television may have a negative impact on development.

The Effects of Background Television on the Toy Play Behavior of Very Young Children.

This experiment tests the hypothesis that background, adult television is a disruptive influence on very young childrens behavior. Fifty 12-, 24-, and 36-month-olds played with a variety of toys for 1 hr. For half of the hour, a game show played in the background on a monaural TV set. During the other half hour, the TV was off. The children looked at the TV for only a few seconds at a time and less than once per minute. Nevertheless, background TV significantly reduced toy play episode length as well as focused attention during play. Thus, background television disrupts very young childrens play behavior even when they pay little overt attention to it. These findings have implications for subsequent cognitive development.

Tipping the balance: use of advergames to promote consumption of nutritious foods and beverages by low-income African American children.

OBJECTIVE To examine how advergames, which are online computer games developed to market a product, affect consumption of healthier and less healthy snacks by low-income African American children. DESIGN Cross-sectional, between-subjects examination of an advergame in which children were rewarded for having their computer character consume healthier or less healthy foods and beverages. Children were randomly assigned to 1 of the following 3 conditions: (1) the healthier advergame condition, (2) the less healthy advergame condition, or (3) the control condition. SETTING Urban public elementary schools. PARTICIPANTS Thirty low-income, African American children aged 9 to 10 years. Main Exposure Children in the treatment conditions played a less healthy or a healthier version of an advergame 2 times before choosing and eating a snack and completing the experimental measures. Children in the control group chose and ate a snack before playing the game and completing the measures. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The number of healthier snack items children selected and ate and how much children liked the game. RESULTS Children who played the healthier version of the advergame selected and ate significantly more healthy snacks than did those who played the less healthy version. Children reported liking the advergame. CONCLUSIONS Findings suggest that concerns about online advergames that market unhealthy foods are justified. However, advergames may also be used to promote healthier foods and beverages. This kind of social marketing approach could tip the scales toward the selection of higher-quality snacks, thereby helping to curb the obesity epidemic.

Formal Production Features of Infant and Toddler DVDs

OBJECTIVE To describe how DVDs designed for very young children are constructed, focusing on the formal production features used to present the program content. DESIGN Descriptive study of the concentrations of perceptually salient, nonsalient, and reflective formal features. PARTICIPANTS Fifty-nine DVDs designed for children younger than 3 years. Main Exposure The presence and absence of specific formal features. OUTCOME MEASURES Concentrations of reflective (singing, rhyming, camera zooms, and moderate character action), perceptually salient (rapid pacing, fast action, camera cuts, sound effects, character vocalizations, and visual special effects), and nonsalient (low-action sequences, narration, and dialogue by men, women, or children) formal features. RESULTS Programs were composed of high concentrations of perceptually salient features, such as rapid pace and camera cuts, which are difficult even for older children to understand. Reflective features, which provide opportunities to rehearse content, were relatively rare. Character action was typically nonsalient. The DVDs used speech only 24% of the time and failed to selectively use speakers, such as choosing a child over an adult for dialogue and narration, which garners slightly older childrens visual attention. CONCLUSIONS Producers who claim that their programs are educational should pay more attention to how they transmit content. Most programs directed at infants and toddlers rely on perceptually salient features like rapid pacing and camera cuts, which may elicit attention and interest but are most likely very difficult for a young audience to understand.

The Effects of Background Television on the Quantity and Quality of Child-Directed Speech by Parents

Prior research has identified negative effects of background television (TV) exposure on toddler toy play and parent–child interactions and has documented a negative association between early TV exposure and language development. It is hypothesized that background, adult-directed TV reduces the quantity and quality of parent language addressed to their young children. To test this hypothesis, the current study compared parent language directed at 12-, 24-, and 36-month-old toddlers (N = 49) in the presence and absence of background TV. In the presence of background TV, the number of words and utterances spoken per minute by the parent decreased as did the number of new words per minute. However, mean length of utterances did not differ. Because parent input is an important factor for language acquisition, development may be negatively affected by background TV exposure.

The Role of Online Processing in Young Children’s Learning from Interactive and Noninteractive Digital Media

In the current chapter, we consider the role of information processing in young children’s learning from screens. We describe methods for assessing online processing while children watch video, including physiological measures such as eye movements and heart rate, and argue for the importance of considering both selective and sustained attention in order to fully understand how children process digital media content. We also explore techniques that have proven successful in facilitating transfer from screens to real-life objects. In particular, we discuss the benefits of clarifying the symbolic nature of screen media, reducing cognitive load, and creating interactive experiences with screens. We conclude with a synthesis of these disparate literatures and suggestions for future research.

The Effects of Parent-Child Interaction and Media Use on Cognitive Development in Infants, Toddlers, and Preschoolers

The potential for active parent-child interaction to enhance cognitive outcomes in young children is well established. This chapter explores how media use impacts parent-child engagement and cognitive development. Early exposure to media content developed for young children (i.e., foreground media) and content developed for older children and adults (i.e., background media) have differing effects on parent-child interaction and child cognitive factors at young ages. Research on foreground media exposure suggests that parents commonly engage with their young children during media use and that active joint engagement can promote learning. However, the quality and quantity of parent-child interaction may decrease in the presence of media, relative to contexts that do not involve media. Background media exposure, on the other hand, has consistently been shown to influence negatively the quality and quantity of parent-child interaction, play, and focused attention. We review research on these topics and make recommendations for media use guidelines and directions for future research.