The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : TV `can stunt mental growth'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jun 28, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

TV `can stunt mental growth'

Staff Reporter

Too much viewing will lower interest in activities such as reading: neurologist Pokemon may keep your toddler happy but the hours of sitting in front of the screen instead of running around is detrimental to health.

CHENNAI: Everyone has referred to the television as the "idiot box" at some point. But after developmental neurologist from CMC Vellore, Dr. M.C. Mathew recently lectured parents and teachers of young children on `Early Childhood Influences on the Development of the Brain,' a lot of children are going to be squalling in vain for their favourite programmes.

At the event organised by the Centre for Montessori Training, Chennai, Dr. Mathew said as television and computer games/animation were an integration of sound, movement and colour, a child exposed to them for long hours would show a lack of interest in other objects and activities, such as books and reading, that don't include all three.

Televisions and computers caused a uniform pattern of stimulation that resulted in limited development of the child's brain. Pokemon might keep a toddler happy and less destructive but all those hours of sitting in front of the screen instead of running around was detrimental to his health.

Dr. Mathew advised 15 minutes of television-viewing two or three times a day and three times as much of other activities such as reading, music and physical exercise.

Although a child's biological inheritance played a big role in development, Dr. Mathew said it was important to recognise the great influence of environmental factors.

He said he had great regard for the Montessori method of teaching "because it promotes movement."

Environmental factors

Movement was one of the five environmental factors that he outlined as having a considerable role in brain development during childhood. Bonding or attachment behaviour with parents was another factor. Children whose parents were not present during the first year (when the brain develops from 900 gm to 1.2 kg) became highly stressed, cried a lot, and did not sleep and eat well.

Language problem

Language — not just the spoken word, but voices, sounds and tunes — came next. Exposure to more than one language helped, said Dr. Mathew. But parents should stick to one language while instructing, reading and speaking to the child to avoid confusion.

Sensory motor integration was the fourth factor. This is when a child sees, feels and hears by tactile contact, when they started carrying and throwing things.

Finally, there was the micro and macro environment.

Micro involved the world at home and macro included the environment outside it.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Tamil Nadu