NBC4.tv published a story from the Associated Press under “Irresistible Headlines” that is truly irresistible for parents.  Findings have been published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine indicating that children who watch lots of TV and/or have TVs in their bedrooms are less likely to attend college than those who watch less TV.  There is no adjustment for the quality of the programming, so kids who watched “Sesame Street” receive the same consideration as those who snuck a peek at “Sex and The City.” PBS of course commented on this, asserting that other studies have supported the positive influence of their programming on child development.  I, for one, would agree that most of the shows intended for kids on PBS seem to add value to the children’s knowledge base, beyond what I as a parent can physically expose them to in the same time period.  That being said, a good rule of thumb that one can deduce from the NBC article is to avoid the use of television as a babysitter, and monitor how long your kids are watching.

My favorite assertion is from Dina Borzekowski of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Dr. Thomas Robinson of Stanford University.  The NBC article summarizes:  “In the California study, children with TVs in their rooms but no computer at home scored the lowest, while those with no bedroom TV but who had home computers scored the highest.” Again, what are they doing with these computers?  If I keep my kid from having a TV in their room, but they can instant message (IM) all their friends to make sure they stay in the trouble loop, I guess I have a better chance of raising a child who scores well on tests.  But, I may also be paying for one of those summer camps in the woods to get them off drugs because they have learned through the internet where to find all their favorite substances.  It is all in the application.

I love research studies, because they usually offer lots of good findings, but honestly, do these people have kids? There are practicalities to consider that a regression analysis just isn’t going to capture. 

A fun part of this article is that its very topic examines the reasons behind lower test scores and intelligence, yet it offers a “shorter version” of the article for us adults who can’t sit through all 600 words, as we wonder how to make our kids smarter.  Wow.