The Impact of Background Television on Parent-Child Interaction

This study investigated the hypothesis that background television affects interactions between parents and very young children. Fifty-one 12-, 24-, and 36-month-old children, each accompanied by 1 parent, were observed for 1 hr of free play in a laboratory space resembling a family room. For half of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Child development 2009-09, Vol.80 (5), p.1350-1359
Main Authors: Kirkorian, Heather L., Pempek, Tiffany A., Murphy, Lauren A., Schmidt, Marie E., Anderson, Daniel R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Age Factors
Biological and medical sciences
Child
Child care
Child Development
Child health
Child, Preschool
Children
Children & youth
Communication
Developmental psychology
Effects
Empirical Articles
Family studies
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Humans
Hypothesis Testing
Infant
Infants
Laboratories
Life styles
Male
Media
Newborn. Infant
Observation
Parent Child Relationship
Parent-Child interactions
Parent-Child Relations
Parents
Parents & parenting
Play and Playthings
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Research Methodology
Social interaction
Sound
Television
Television programs
Television studies
Television Viewing
Time
Toddlers
Videotape Recording
Young children
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Summary:This study investigated the hypothesis that background television affects interactions between parents and very young children. Fifty-one 12-, 24-, and 36-month-old children, each accompanied by 1 parent, were observed for 1 hr of free play in a laboratory space resembling a family room. For half of the hour, an adult-directed television program played in the background on a monaural television set. During the other half hour, the television was not on. Both the quantity and quality of parent-child interaction decreased in the presence of background television. These findings suggest one way in which early, chronic exposure to television may have a negative impact on development.
ISSN:0009-3920
1467-8624
DOI:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2009.01337.x