---
title: "Psych News Alert: Babies Should Not Watch Screen Media, Say Pediatricians"
description: "The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that pediatricians \"urge parents to avoid television viewing for children under the..."
---

[Psych News Alert ](https://alert.psychnews.org)

# [Psych News Alert: Babies Should Not Watch Screen Media, Say Pediatricians](https://alert.psychnews.org/2011/10/babies-should-not-watch-screen-media.html)

 Written by [Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) | 10/19/11 4:00 AM

<https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Baby%20TV_38080459-2.jpg> 

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that pediatricians "urge parents to avoid television viewing for children under the age of 2 years.” There are more potential negative effects of watching media than positive ones for this age group, said the AAP in an online statement in its journal, *Pediatrics.* Infant videos that purport to improve babies’ language or other skills do nothing of the kind.

Unstructured playtime does more to develop a child’s brain than any electronic media exposure. So parents should either play with their children or stay nearby as the child plays alone. “Solo play allows a child to think creatively, problem solve, and accomplish tasks with minimal parent interaction,” said the AAP.

For more on childhood development and media, see [*Psychiatric News*](http://pn.psychiatryonline.org/content/46/9/7.full) and the American Psychiatric Publishing book, *[Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health](http://www.appi.org/SearchCenter/Pages/SearchDetail.aspx?ItemId=62164).*

(Image: Greenland/Shutterstock.com)   

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[View full post](https://alert.psychnews.org/2011/10/babies-should-not-watch-screen-media.html)

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