Technology like all good things have a negative side to it and specifically in our case, the television. Will this is definitely among the great inventions of our time, it has a downside to the growing brains in our homes, children.
A baby’s brain has its largest growth spurt from between the age of a month to about two years of age. This is not the actual mass of the brain as much as the connections of the brain receptors in the baby’s brain. This therefore means that there are somethings we can do directly to enhance a baby’s brain and impede future disorders of the cognitive type.
Brain development
While it is quite obvious that too little stimulation is bad for the brain, a lot of it; complex movement which the brain may struggle to keep up with is also not good. This is especially true for television to a child’s brain. Due to the constant changes of scenes, lighting, sounds and generally the storylines, the child’s brain struggles to comprehend with what is going on. To keep up, the brain overworks which might sound like a good thing for a developing brain but is actually the opposite.
Extended exposure
Prolonged exposure to TV during this developmental stage would condition the brain to expect high brain stimulation, a reality that doesn’t exist, which may lead to inattentiveness later in life. It is shown that for every extra hour per day that a day watches the television, the risk of having an attention disorder increases by up to 10%. Children who spend more than 4 hours daily in front of a TV are also more likely to be overweight. Moreover, the often gratuitous violence and sex scenes that sometimes are shown on TV programs affect the mental and emotional wellbeing of children.
While the opposite has been proven to be true, i.e.; the more a parent read or sung to a child, the more the risk of having an attention disorder was reduced. Exposing your children to more cerebrally stimulating activities like reading cognitive reduces the chance of acquiring an attention disorder by up to 30%.
Alternative ways to keep your child entertained
A child’s growing brain, needs consistent movements or sequence that it can follow and process. These it forms neuron connection which are quite important in its formative years, which might then be modified for specific purposes in later years. A lot of it may lead to disorders such as ADHD in later life.
Instead of television time, get your children toys to play with you can sometimes get as Free Stuff Online or purchase form your local game store. Better yet, let the mingle and play with neighbourhood kids.
In conclusion, as parents let us turn off the television set for a moment and do cognitive activities in our surrounding that the child can relate to, involving with them. Sing to them, read to them, play with them, or even put a book in their hands if they’ve gotten to the reading age.
