Exposure In Children

“Early Television Exposure and Subsequent Attentional Problems in Children” is an article written by Christakis, Zimmerman, DiGiuseppe, and McCarty. This article was written to prove that early exposure to television lead to children’s decreased attention span. This can be interesting and yet overstimulating to the child. This study was made to test the hypothesis that early exposure to television (at ages 1 and 3) lead to ones attentional problems at age 7. It is known that a newborn’s brain constantly continues to develop at a rapid pace through the first few years of life. Environmental exposure is also a factor to be considered in a child’s development in their early childhood. Visual and auditory experiences that children may have early …show more content…
The most common behavioral disorder of childhood is attention-deficit disorder (ADHD). Although there was much research done in the past, there are still questions lurking around as to why the understanding of this condition is still being misunderstood. The results of the study was that ten percent of children from ages 1 and 3 had attentional problems at age 7. Children watched an average of 2.2 hours of television a day a age 1 and 3.6 hours per week at age 3. There was a 28% increase in the probability of having attention span problems at the age of 7. The hypothesis was supported in a way where it proved that early exposure to television lead to attention span problems in a child’s older childhood. Cognitive development isn’t only a period in a child’s life where it affects them physically but also mentally. Cognitive abilities such as reasoning, memory, and problem solving constantly develop in a child’s childhood. Piaget was known for developing an interest in the mental stability of children. His point was that children are not less intelligent than adults, but that they simply think differently. As a child learns to adapt to existing schemas, their experiences and new information can either completely change or not affect them at all. In this case, television can have a negative affect on their later childhood because of their attention span is …show more content…
What they don 't understand is the affect it will have on their child later on in their life. As stated earlier, children who watched television for a few hours a day at the ages of 1 and three truly did have a significant affect on their attention span at the age of 7. This research study shows that television isn’t always the best answer when it comes down to children. Yes, a child is more prone to watching television at a younger age than at an older age but it also affects how they act and reply to when they are asked to do or say something at an older age in life. The findings in this study wasn’t necessarily surprising in a sense where children are affected by technology in such a negative way now a days where anything is possible. The fact that their attention span is impaired by the lack of other activities that one can be occupied with, that it affects how they are learning in their daily activities. The studies strengths are the age group that they decided to use to preform this research. The studies weakness would most likely be the amount of hours spent watching television. Because of our generation’s vast use of technology, television can be watched anywhere. It doesn 't necessarily have to be on a physical television. With today’s smart phones, tablets, and computers, the hours of watching “television” can be