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From: lothcol@magi.com
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Subject: Man. Guardian Article: TV damages children's speech
Date: 21 Jan 1996 22:12:12 -0500
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Got this article from the Manchester Guardian, thought you might find it
interesting.
Trudy
TV Exposure Damages Children's Speech
Sarah Boseley
Too much television is stunting the language development of middle-class
children as well as those from deprived inner-city areas, according to a
leading speech therapist.
Dr. Sally Ward, who is considered the country's leading authority
on the speech development of young children, believes babies under one year
old should not watch television or videos at all. Children of two or three
years should watch for no more than an hour a day.
Dr. Ward's 10-year study of baby's and toddlers in inner-city
Manchester showed television was a very important factor in delaying the
speech development of the one in five children found to have problems. The
background noise from televisions stopped them learning to talk as early as
they should. At 8 months, they neither recognised their names nor basic
works like "juice" and "bricks". At three, they had the language of 2 year
olds.
Now she has found that children from well-to-do families at her
London clinic are being handicapped in the same way. "The television is
being used as a babysitter, with nannies particularly. Some of the middle
class children are spending far too much time watching television and
videos."
"They get fixed on the colours and flashing lights. The are riveted
by the screen. We found in our study it was quite difficult to get them
interested in toys."
All the evidence showed, said Dr. Ward, that children whose
language was below standard at the age of three could be set back for life.
"They are likely to be educational failures and failures in all sorts of
ways. They will go to school with depressed language levels and the whole
educational progress is held back."
In her Manchester study, Dr. Ward found that parents who were
taught to turn off the television and talk to their children could quickly
repair the damage. Babies of nine months would be back on course within
four months.
>From The Manchester Guardian (latest issue)
lothcol@magi.com
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