It鈥檚 hard to imagine Elmo 鈥� that effusive and furry 鈥淪esame Street鈥� resident 鈥� as capable of hurting a fly. But an 18-month-old? Some childhood development experts are saying, maybe, and the American Academy of Pediatrics already has said, probably. Creators of the popular television show for kids caught flak recently for their new line of DVDs, 鈥淪esame Beginnings,鈥� designed for children as young as 6 months.
According to its Web site, the videos are intended to facilitate parent/child interaction. A clip shows an infant Elmo as he toddles about; his dad, Louie, holds a camcorder and offers praise as the Muppet attempts a few steps toward him. The clip ends withLouie鈥檚 song: 鈥淓lmo, you did something new, and I鈥檓 so very proud of you, hooray, hooray, hooray.鈥�
The site also quotes Dr. Rosemarie Truglio, vice president of education and research for Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit group that helped to create the videos: 鈥淚n the style of 鈥楽esame Street,鈥� 鈥楽esame Beginnings鈥� was created with this dual audience in mind; while there鈥檚 ageappropriate content for the young child, the playful Muppet caregivers model fun songs and activities to be adapted by the adult viewers to create their own special moments with their children.鈥�
But psychologists say their concerns go beyond the question of whether the videos will end up as a poorexcuse for a baby sitter.
鈥淚t鈥檚 actually a technology problem,鈥� says Darcia Narvaez, professor of psychology and director of the Center for Ethical Education at the University of 91吃瓜 . 鈥淭he blinking of the light (from the TV) is doing something to their brains, but we don鈥檛 know exactly what. 鈥� It鈥檇 be better to have Elmo in person. That鈥檇 be great. It鈥檚 the TV that鈥檚 the problem.鈥�
Narvaez says the most disconcerting thing about videos for children younger than 2 is that there is a dearth of research on the effects TV watching has on this age group.
鈥淚 hate to put down 鈥楽esame Street.鈥� They鈥檙e doing good things,鈥� Narvaez says. 鈥淭he problem here is that they鈥檙e encouraging an experiment on babies, essentially. 鈥� If they were just doing this for kids over age 2 -probably better, over age 5 - there wouldn鈥檛 be any complaining.鈥�
Anita Crawford, day-care provider at World of Discovery Learning Center in South Bend, is in charge of activities for those 3 and younger. And while the center doesn鈥檛 have a TV, she sees a place for educational media for children, especially those whoaren鈥檛 in a preschool. 鈥溾�楽esame Street鈥� teaches them their colors, their shapes, their numbers.鈥�
Rosie Griffy, director of a Growing Kids Learning Center in South Bend, says videos are used sparingly at her center, but not among children younger than 2. Before showing any video, 鈥渁s a therapist and mom and educator,鈥� she makes sure it isdevelopmentallyappropriate for their age.
For her, the determining factor is pace.
鈥淎s long as the visual effects aren鈥檛 overstimulating for their eyes or their brains,鈥� she says. She hopes that like 鈥淏aby Einstein鈥� videos (released by Disney), they 鈥渟low it down so it鈥檚 not boom-boom-boomboom- boom.鈥�
Narvaez hopes parents will find other ways to spend time withtheir children. "That鈥檚 the time (0-2) when kids actually need to be carried around a lot. They need to have the face-to-face eye contact to get their emotional systems cued up right to be moral people.
TopicID: 16926