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"Discovery Files" Features from the National Science Foundation
"ToddlerVision"
Fully produced report in MP3 format:
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(90 seconds)
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READER SCRIPT
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KIDS WITH A T-V BACKGROUND... THE "DISCOVERY FILES": NEW ADVANCES IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING, FROM THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION. DOES HAVING A T-V ON, IN THE BACKGROUND, HAVE AN IMPACT ON PARENT/CHILD INTERACTIONS? THAT'S THE BASIS OF A UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS STUDY THAT FOUND THAT--WHEN THE T-V'S TURNED ON--PARENTS MAY BE A LITTLE TUNED-OUT. THE RESEARCHERS TEAMED UP 50 TODDLERS WITH ONE OF THEIR PARENTS, FOR SOME QUALITY-TIME IN A PLAYROOM WITH AND WITHOUT T-V. WHEN THE T-V WAS ON, IT WAS ON IN THE BACKGROUND--BUT PLAYING AN ADULT PROGRAM, SUCH AS "JEOPARDY!" INTERACTION BETWEEN CHILD AND PARENT--SPECIFICALLY, HOW OFTEN THEY TALKED; HOW THEY RESPONDED, AND HOW INVOLVED THEY WERE--WAS OBSERVED AND MEASURED WITH EACH CHILD AND PARENT. WITH THE T-V ON, THERE WAS 20-PERCENT LESS TIME SPENT TALKING WITH EACH OTHER--AND THE QUALITY OF THE INTERACTIONS DECLINED, AS WELL. PARENTS WERE LESS ACTIVE AND RESPONSIVE--NOT "CHANNELING" THEIR ATTENTION, SO TO SPEAK. OTHER STUDIES HAVE SHOWN T-V'S IMPACT ON TODDLERS BY THEMSELVES. BUT, THIS IS THE FIRST STUDY TO DEMONSTRATE THAT--IN THIS CRUCIAL TIME OF DEVELOPMENT--IF YOU WANT TO "CLICK" WITH YOUR CHILD, YOU MAY WANT TO CLICK-OFF THE REMOTE. THE "DISCOVERY FILES" COVERS PROJECTS FUNDED BY THE GOVERNMENT'S NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH BROUGHT TO YOU BY YOU! LEARN MORE AT "N-S-F"-DOT-GOV--OR ON THEIR PODCAST.
For additional "Discovery Files" features from the National Science Foundation, click here.
