Infants’ and Toddlers’ Television Viewing and Language Outcomes

TLDR

Parents of 51 infants and toddlers reported their children’s television viewing every three months from age six, and hierarchical linear modeling—controlling for parental education, home environment, and cognitive performance—was used to assess how program type and content relate to vocabulary and expressive language growth. At 30 months, exposure to shows such as Dora the Explorer, Blue’s Clues, Arthur, Clifford, and Dragon Tales was linked to larger vocabularies and higher expressive language scores, whereas Teletubbies and Barney & Friends were associated with fewer vocabulary words, and Sesame Street only with lower expressive language scores.

Abstract

Viewing data were reported every 3 months beginning at 6 months of age by the parents of 51 infants and toddlers. Viewing logs were coded for program, content, and intended audience. Using hierarchical linear modeling techniques, growth curves examining relationships between television exposure and the child’s vocabulary knowledge and expressive language skills were modeled. Parent’s education, child’s home environment, and child’s cognitive performance were statistically controlled. The findings support the importance of content and program type when describing media effects. At 30 months of age, watching Dora the Explorer, Blue’s Clues, Arthur, Clifford, or Dragon Tales resulted in greater vocabularies and higher expressive language scores; watching Teletubbies was related to fewer vocabulary words and smaller expressive language scores; watching Sesame Street was related only to smaller expressive language scores; and viewing Barney & Friends was related to fewer vocabulary words and more expressive language. Reasons for differences are discussed.