Does television cause ADHD?

Televison and most all technology receives a bad reputation especially when it come to toddlers and young children using it.  Television has been thought of as something that is bad for children's eye sight and attention span.  iPads and computers are generally thought of as bad for toddlers to use.  Most technology has been thought of as bad for the brain and brain function, which causes some people to think that technology, television included, can lead to ADHD.  Technology is an easy target for criticism because people of all ages use it for all different purposes. 

Could television have an impact on children's health or developing ADHD?  Lisa Guernsey's book Screen Time: How Electronic Media -from Baby Videos to Educational Software-Affects Your Young Child  brings up an interesting point on ADHD.  "ADHD experts are much more convinced that attention disorders might cause television use, instead of the other way around.  Even at the tender ages of 1 and 3- the age of the children in Christakis's study- these kids may have been tough for their parents to manage.  Perhaps naptimes were a struggle. Maybe these children were not content with a pile of toys and would instead start climbing the stairs, the furniture and the baby gates-behavior parents considered more dangerous than watching TV."  Parent's with ADHD children have recieved a lot of criticism about their parenting strategies.  Parents of ADHD children have been told that their child has ADHD because the child was exposed to too much televison.  Reading this book has shown that this may not be the case, but that parents allowed their child to watch televison because they needed a break.  ADHD is a genetic disorder, not the fault of a parent or their parental strategies. 

Argument against toddlers using technology, like reading books on iPads, is that they are not developing fine motor skills used to handle a book and turn the pages.  When toddlers use technology they are often viewed as having low attention spans, and being lost or bored with traditional forms of learning and literacy.  The article Do They Really Think Differently? by Marc Prensky suggests that yes, toddlers and young children do think differently. Our world is technologically advanced and widely available to people of all ages. Because children have access to technology almost everywhere they go, they do develop a sense of boredom with traditional literacy and learning.  They may be bored but do not have ADHD.  They may just require more brain stimulus. 

Televison, computers and iPads are not harmful to your toddler or young child.  It is important to keep in mind that balance and moderation is the key to receiving benefits.  Allowing children computer and television time is appropriate as long as you allow them time to socialize and learn and explore without the use of technology. 

Parents often worry about the amount of television their young child watches and if they are following American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)  television guidelines, which is, children under 2 should not watch television.  That may be shocking to most, considering all the programming that is available for children 2 years and younger.  There are lots of educational videos such as Baby Einstein, and televsion channels devoted to babies and development.  Although most parents are concerned about the amount of television their young child watches, sometimes television is needed to give parents a break.  When a child is sick, or when the parent needs a few minutes to complete a task, often times the television comes to the rescue in providing the parent with a few minutes of uninterrupted time from the child. 

What happens to your child when he or she watches television? do they zone out, do they interact, do they continue to play with other toys? Lisa Guernsey author of Screen Time, How Media-From Baby Videos to Educational Software-Affects Your Young Child came up with what she calls the "three C's, Content, Context and your Child." When a child is watching television the parent should ask themself the three C's and determine if the program is appropriate for the child. 

Is television ruining your child from developing other fine motor skills and social skills? There is no clear evidence that it is or is not.  But when your child is watching televsion you can ask your self what other things your child can be doing instead. Your child could read a book, play cars, perform a puppet show, play with building blocks, the list goes on and on.  It is important to make sure the television is not a babysitter and that your child get plenty of social interaction time and creative play time.  When your child watches television it is important to interact with your child.  Ask them questions about what is happening, ask them about colors and shapes, and try to repeat new words and meanings.