Television before the age of three night she psychomotor development and language acquisition? Yes, if we are to believe many specialists. In full development, the brain of the infant is changing very quickly according to his experiences. This phenomenon is called "neuroplasticity" of neural connections are made and unmade, reinforce or disappear. Television and computer necessarily contribute to this phenomenon. How?
We see this every time you turn on the small screen, the pace of television images of today is much faster than before. The changes are cameras every second or even several times a second. Accompanied by abrupt changes in volume, these sequences of images provoke a physiological response called the "orienting response". This reaction normally occurs when we are subjected to a sudden change in our environment and is very useful to identify a potential hazard. The event captures our attention and our pupils dilate until the brain identified the cause of the change and react. It is this response that the direction that it's hard to detach our gaze from the screen.
The problem with television is that it generates this response to repetitions, rather than in everyday life ... which can then seem boring. Result: a better ability to capture fast external stimuli, but also a decreased ability to concentrate on static and silent ... like a book of lessons. Some researchers are convinced: the sharp increase of students with disorders of attention in the last 20 years is directly related to the number of hours spent watching television. In fact, studies show that for every hour spent daily watching television between zero and three years, the risk of suffering from concentration problems at age seven increased by 10%. Other studies show a direct relationship between time spent watching TV daily basis at the age of 2 ½ years and educational outcomes several years later. For babies, no need to set the screen: a post in the same room lit enough to disturb them away from their games which alters their cognitive development.
Note that the nature of their viewing also has an influence. Some educational programs are paced slowly have less negative effect on the ability of children, including very young. However, we note that the children full of educational DVDs pronounced in infancy at the age of 18 months fewer words than others. Why? Because the best source of learning for a child is his immediate surroundings: his parents, his siblings, but his toys, with which it interacts. Until the age of 6 years, the child should have fun with "real" toys, and not with a game console. But as said above, it is the emissions rate at such high manga (remember the 80s) that are most damaging if they are regarded by the age of three years. The same programs seen in five years will not cause later attention deficit.
In summary, experts recommend applying the following rules:
- No screen before 3 years
- Before age 6, no video games and more than one hour of television per day. From this age, a well-used game console may even be beneficial.
- From 9 years, allowing internet when an adult is present. Before this age, the Web blurs the line between public and private sphere.
- From age 12, allowing internet when the child is alone.