Go Global!
Student Hosts Needed
Looking to instill a little global awareness in your children? Why not host an international student in your home and expose them to someone with a different native language and culture. Educational Homestay Programs (EPH), a non-profit division of EF Education First is looking for families to host students ages 16 and up who are in the New York area to study English for two-week to one-year programs. EF works with students on short-term and long-term visits from all over the world. For further information contact Keiko Padilla, EF New York Campus, 100 Marymount Ave., Tarrytown. 597-7104. www.ef.com.
– Jean Sheff
Pediatricians Say No Screen Time for Babies and Toddlers
We’re surrounded by media screens – TVs, computers, iPads, digital readers and cell phones – with content targeted to all ages, even the very youngest among us. But the nation’s pediatricians are warning against any media screen exposure for babies and toddlers.
In a recent survey on media use, 90 percent of parents said their kids under age 2 watch some form of electronic media, including an average of one to two hours per day of TV. In fact, parents who believe educational television is “very important for healthy development” were twice as likely to keep the TV on all or most of the time.
Armed with this information, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has issued a new policy statement, and it boils down to the idea that there are better ways for kids to learn at this critical stage of their lives.
An AAP report that led to this updated policy statement found the following:
• Many video programs for babies and toddlers are marketed as “educational,” but the evidence doesn’t back it up. Studies have consistently found that kids under age 2 don’t really understand the content and context of a video.
• Unstructured playtime is better for the developing brain than electronic media.
• Young children learn best from – and need – interaction with people, not screens.
• Kids learn more from live presentations than from televised ones.
• When parents are watching their own TV programs, this “background media” to the child decreases parent-child interaction. Its presence may also interfere with a young child’s learning from play and activities.
• Television viewing around bedtime can cause poor sleep habits and irregular sleep schedules, which can affect mood, behavior and learning.
• Young children with heavy media use are at risk for delays in language development once they start school, but more research is needed as to the reasons.
The AAP report recommends more research into the long-term effects of early media exposure on children’s future physical, mental and social health.
– Deirdre Wilson
