Infants, Toddlers, & Television; the Ecology of the Home
ECE600 Development of the Young Child
Journal Review I: Infants, Toddlers, & Television; the Ecology of the Home
In the article, Infants, Toddlers, & Television; the Ecology of the Home by Kelly M. Schmitt she discusses her research and findings for a group of twenty typically developing children ranging from ages 7 months to 33 months while they underwent a study focusing on the behavioral and cognitive effects of television as part of the overall ecology of the home (naturally). Schmitt discusses the physical space and social context in which the individual families use television in a ten-day period. Two cameras were used. One camera recorded what the child was doing while the television was on, the other recorded what program(s) they were watching.
In the study, each parent had different views on the use of television in the home. Some parents believed in encouraging their child to watch educational programs such as Sesame Street, Teletubbies, and Baby Mozart, while others forbid or strictly limited television of any kind and some parents did not moderate their child’s television watching at all. In every occasion however, the children being recorded/studied lived in homes where there was at least one older child present.
During her study, Schmitt found some limitations for her study due to the increase in technology, added number of televisions in one home, and a greater number of mothers entering the workforce, increasing the number of out of home child care institutions. Schmitt found on average, ten infants observed 7.5 hours of television a week and toddlers observed 10.5 hours a week. However, many of the situations were different. Some parents placed their child in a crib, seat or floor while they cleaned, others came in the room for a short period, others placed the child near the older child and let them watch TV for longer periods of time.
Schmitt classified nine categories for the television the children were exposed to; child
Journal Review I: Infants, Toddlers, & Television; the Ecology of the Home
In the article, Infants, Toddlers, & Television; the Ecology of the Home by Kelly M. Schmitt she discusses her research and findings for a group of twenty typically developing children ranging from ages 7 months to 33 months while they underwent a study focusing on the behavioral and cognitive effects of television as part of the overall ecology of the home (naturally). Schmitt discusses the physical space and social context in which the individual families use television in a ten-day period. Two cameras were used. One camera recorded what the child was doing while the television was on, the other recorded what program(s) they were watching.
In the study, each parent had different views on the use of television in the home. Some parents believed in encouraging their child to watch educational programs such as Sesame Street, Teletubbies, and Baby Mozart, while others forbid or strictly limited television of any kind and some parents did not moderate their child’s television watching at all. In every occasion however, the children being recorded/studied lived in homes where there was at least one older child present.
During her study, Schmitt found some limitations for her study due to the increase in technology, added number of televisions in one home, and a greater number of mothers entering the workforce, increasing the number of out of home child care institutions. Schmitt found on average, ten infants observed 7.5 hours of television a week and toddlers observed 10.5 hours a week. However, many of the situations were different. Some parents placed their child in a crib, seat or floor while they cleaned, others came in the room for a short period, others placed the child near the older child and let them watch TV for longer periods of time.
Schmitt classified nine categories for the television the children were exposed to; child