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Media Exposure of Infants
Media and entertainment industry is one of the fastest growing industries throughout
history. It has the largest target market and most of its programs whether in TV or the internet
are never without an audience. As predicted in the 1999 American Academy of Pediatrics
(AAP) policy statement (American Academy of Pediatrics 1040), the modern media industry has
already targeted even toddlers under the 0-to-2 year age group. Common in American homes
today is that one-third of the children have televisions in their own rooms. While some parents
believe that watching TV is educationally beneficial to their children, others do not.
In growing up with television, viewers are more likely to perceive the real world
through the lens of the television (Bryant and Oliver 35). The discussion on the effects of the
media upon infants are taken in light of cognitive and language development. One study
concludes that the exposure of infants aging between 0 and 2 years is neither beneficial nor
deleterious to cognitive and language development under certain marital conditions and setting at
home (Schmidt et al. e374). But in watching educational and child-oriented programs, such as
Sesame Street, 2 studies attest that it has negative effects while 2 other studies affirm that there
is no evidence of educational benefit (American Academy of Pediatrics 1041). The effects,
researchers said, are not so critical since it does not fit in yet with the current cognitive ability of
the children in the said age group. At the same time, this suggests that it does not promote
language skills to infants, unlike children aging 3 years and above.

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Therefore, the real issue at hand is the peril of making such exposure to televisions a
habit. Parents viewed this practice as a peacekeeper at home that allows them to do household
chores and other responsibilities (American Academy of Pediatrics 1040), while their children
are left on their own in front of the TV. However, cultivating such habit will manifest its adverse
effects in later years. First, the children will not learn to spend time wisely. Second, children will
be used to such orientation in learning (in case the TV program is educational). In reality, the
teacher at school does not look like Barnie or any other animal, and the letters in the classroom
are not moving as they are in TV programs. When used to TV programs, children are more likely
bored inside classrooms. Third, children will not learn self-control and discipline. Having a habit
is hard to break. Children may insist on watching TV instead of doing other responsible activities
at home such as helping their parents with household chores.
The media industry is not fully responsible for television programs and its effects, but
parents are. The media industry would not offer TV programs were it not for the desire or
demands of the parents themselves. Whatever the TV program is, childrens exposure should be
limited. Consequently, parents should keenly watch over them and guide them, instead of leaving
them on their own. In this way, as they grow up, children will be responsible with what they
watch and how long they should be watching.

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Works Cited
American Academy of Pediatrics. Media Use by Children Younger than 2 Years.
PEDIATRICS 128.5 (2011): 1040-1045. Print.
Bryant, Jennings and Mary Oliver. Media Effects: Advances in Theory and Research. New York:
Routledge, 2009. Print.
Schmidt et al. Television Viewing in Infancy and Child Cognition at 3 Years of Age in a US
Cohort. PEDIATRICS 123.3 (2009): e370-e375. Print.