TV May Not Cause Attention Disorders

The time spent in front of the TV may not influence the kids' developing attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Scientists from the Texas Tech University in Lubbock studied U.S. children over a two-year period, determined to conclude if TV viewing in kindergarten results in ADHD in the first grade.

The study includes 22,000 youngsters who started kindergarten in '98-'99, information being collected from the children, parents and teachers. The children's behavior was studied during kindergarten and during their first year of school, while being exposed to TV. There was found no link between television exposure and symptoms of ADHD.

According to the report, "the results of the present study do not indicate the presence of an important relationship between television exposure and subsequent attention problems."

Researchers have learned that much of a child's development is reciprocal with the way that child is parented. "It may be that exhausted parents of very active and inattentive children resort to using the television as a 'babysitter' more commonly than parents of less active and more attentive children."

Dr. Jess Shatkin, director at the New York University Child Study Center, said that he does not fully accept the results. "This is a thoughtful and interesting study, but there's not enough data to support the idea that we shouldn't be cautious about kids' exposure to all media. This doesn't change anything I would tell parents," he added.