Will TV 'rot your baby's brain'?

Pediatricians argue that even educational shows like Sesame Street can delay language development in kids under 2

Children under 2 aren't capable of benefiting from educational TV
(Image credit: Randy Faris/Corbis)

Brace yourselves, parents. The American Academy of Pediatrics says there is no such thing as educational TV for children under 2. In fact, every minute in front of a screen can be counterproductive, the organization says, arguing that toddlers could be spending that time on activities that actually help their minds develop. Will TV really "rot your baby's brain"? Here's what you need to know:

What makes pediatricians think TV is so bad?

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Is that the same as saying that TV actually hurts kids?

Sort of. Watching TV can delay the development of language abilities in toddlers, the AAP says, even if they're watching shows — such as Sesame Street, Dora the Explorer, or Blues Clues — that can help older kids improve their language and social skills. The problem: When little ones are in front of the tube, they're not interacting with their parents, limiting "talk time." A study published in September's Psychological Science found that 12- to 18-month-old babies picked up more vocabulary words interacting with mom and dad than they did watching videos targeted at infants.

So is it time to ban TV for babies?

Good luck with that. Ninety percent of parents in one survey said their kids under 2 watch at least some TV. And, despite the AAP's new declaration, the research is still contradictory. While two recent studies showed that watching TV can slow language development, two others found that, while occasional TV exposure didn't help babies learn, it didn't set them back, either. As psychologist Marie Evans Schmidt tells Scientific American, "we really just don't know."

Sources: Houston Chronicle, NY Times, Scientific American, TIME