Swaddled in TV's Warm Glow

摘要

I've read that it's bad to let kids younger than 2 watch TV. Does that meanl shouldn't hold my 1-month-old son while watching Lost? It seems to me the tyke has no idea whats going on, but I'd hate to cause developmental problems. In a perfect world-one in which caring for an infant didn't result in relentless, soul-crushing exhaustion-you'd spend every waking moment quietly talking to your darling boy. But let's face it: When you're a newly minted parent charged with rocking a wailing baby to sleep at 3 am, staying sane sometimes means zoning out with TiVo remote in hand. And the fact is, there's no scientific research that conclusively proves you're causing any damage. "We should encourage the baby to bond with a human, not with a screen," says Donald Shifrin, vice chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics' Council on Communications and Media. "But if a parent is asking, 'Will it be harmful?' Well, on balance probably not."