Community Magazine May 2003

News of the latest research on the effects of television Yes, Your Baby Really Is Watching That TV WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Babies are not just passing idle time when they stare goggle- eyed at the television — they are actually form- ing impressions about the world, U.S. researchers said. Parents may want to limit what their infants see on television, based on the study, said Donna Mumme, assistant professor of psychology at Tufts University in Boston, who led the research. “Children as young as 12 months are making decisions based on the emo- tional reactions of adults around them,” said Mumme, whose research is published in the journal Child Development. “It turns out they can also use emotional information they pick up from television. This means that adults might want to think twice before they speak in a harsh or surprising tone or let an infant see television programs meant for an older person.” Mumme’s team tested babies, showing actors reacting on a videotape to objects such as a red spiral letter holder, a blue bumpy ball, and a yellow garden hose attachment. Babies aged 10 months or 12 months were later given the same objects to play with. Ten-month-olds did not seem to be influenced by the videos, Mumme’s team reported. But the 1-year-olds were. When the actors acted neutrally or positively to an object, the babies happily played with them. But if the actor had seemed afraid or disgusted, the infant would avoid the object. Hand Assembled DINING ROOM CHAIRS CREST FURNITURE Call For An Appointment: 718-375-8666 • 917-805-5072 1971 Homecrest Ave. Located on Ave T, between E 12th & E 13th B y B a r b r a P a n i g e l Le t ’ s B e Re a s o n a b l e . F i n a l l y , P r i c e s Yo u C a n A f f o r d . Most Chairs Under $105 Perfect Chairs For Your Summer Home! Thomas the Tank Engine Crashes Worry Kids LONDON (Reuters) – The children’s hit tel- evision series Thomas the Tank Engine shows too many crashes and may be making children frightened of going on a train, according to a British psychologist. Brian Young, a psychology lecturer at Britain’s Exeter University, told the Times news- paper the large num- ber of accidents in the animated television series featuring the little steam engine’s adventures, could have a nega- tive influence on children. “Thomas the Tank Engine is aimed at a pre-school audience who tend to be more likely to see the program as a reality,” said Young, an expert on how children react to TV programs. There is evidence that children who watch programs that consistently portray the same image tend to think there is more danger than there actually is, he explained. “As a result there is a possibility that the sheer amount of crashes they see on Thomas could frighten them,” Young said. “Seeing lots of crashes on TV means they could end up absolutely terrified of going on a train.” By age eighteen, the average American has seen 200,000 acts of violence on TV, including 16,000 murders. Senate Judiciary Committee Staff Report, 1999. Children, Violence, and the Media Children who watch six or more hours of television per day score significantly lower on reading proficiency tests than those who watch one hour or less. National Center for Education Statistics, 1990. Nation’s Report Card 1990 .