Spending too much time watching television could impact a child's emotional development, according to an Ohio State University study. The effects are even more alarming if the sets are placed in children's bedrooms or left on during conversations.
Researchers said that watching programs on TV restrict children's interaction with other youngsters. As a result, they take a longer time to understand others' thoughts and emotions. This in turn leads to more frequent fights and arguments among them.
Dr. Amy Nathanson, Molly Sharp, Fashina Aladé, Eric Rasmussen, and Katheryn Christy, of The Ohio State University, interviewed and tested 107 children (aged between three and six) and their parents to find out the relationship between a child's television exposure and its effect on their theory of mind (understanding on beliefs, intentions, desires and feelings).
Parents were asked to report the number of hours the children watched, while the kids were given tasks based on theory of mind.
The researchers found that those who had a TV in their bedroom or left them on during conversations had a weaker theory of mind. Children fared poorly in assessment tests because parents who depended on television to educate their children spent less time interacting with them.
However, they also found that TV programs proved beneficial to children when their parents spoke to them about it. These children performed better on theory of mind assessments.
"Television may have a direct effect on theory of mind development by presenting the child with uni-dimensional portraits of characters and situations that only require superficial processing to understand," the researchers concluded in their report, Daily Mail UK reports.
The finding has been published in the Journal of Communication.
"When children achieve a theory of mind, they have reached a very important milestone in their social and cognitive development. Children with more developed theories of mind are better able to participate in social relationships," Nathanson said, Red Orbit reports.
"These children can engage in more sensitive, co-operative interactions with other children and are less likely to resort to aggression as a means of achieving goals."
