Hey friends! So, you know how sometimes you set your little one in front of the TV while you whip up dinner? Well, a recent study suggests that doing so might not be as bad as you think! A new piece of research from Emory University, published in the journal Child Development, indicates that certain “educational” videos can actually help boost babies’ communication abilities.
Now, don’t just grab any cartoon off the shelf because this study focused specifically on instructional commercial videos. Researchers discovered that infants under two years old were able to learn communication skills like sign language from watching these videos. Babies who tuned in for just 15 minutes, four times a week over three weeks, showed similar understanding of signs as those who learned directly from their parents.
Lead researcher, Dr. Mia Thompson, remarked, “This is the first controlled study demonstrating that babies as young as 15 months can acquire communicative skills from these videos just as effectively as from parental interaction.” Pretty cool, right? The study involved 92 babies around 15 months old, divided into groups that either watched videos with their parents, alone, received instruction from their parents, or were part of a control group. It’s important to note, though, that the content was varied, and they didn’t assess specific brands like Baby Einstein.
Despite these encouraging findings, the researchers caution that this study doesn’t mean parents should rely on screen time for learning. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) still recommends prioritizing interaction with people over screens for cognitive development. Dr. Thompson added, “We can’t comment on the overall cognitive effects of video exposure for infants—only the potential for learning.” There are many factors at play, including the type of material and the context in which learning occurs.
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In summary, while it seems that short, targeted video exposure can help babies learn some communication skills, it’s still crucial to foster real-life interactions for their overall development. So, if you need a quick break, a little video time might not be the worst thing after all!
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