Research appearing in July, 2005 issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine shows that watching television can harm a child’s ability to learn. Several studies were looked at. One study looked at 400 Californian students in the third grad. It found that the students with televisions in their bedrooms scored an average of eight points lower on math and language tests than those without television in their rooms. Students with a television and a computer scored higher, and students with a television and no computer scored lower.
Another study looked at nearly 1,800 American children. It found that children who watched more than three hours of television per day before the age of three had lower scores on intelligence tests and academic tests when compared to students who watched less television. The tests were given at the ages of six and seven.
Another study in New Zealand found lower education levels among adults who watched a lot of television as children. Of course a child who is poorly motivated may watch a lot of television. So this particular study may be telling us that poor students watch a lot of television and not that watching a lot of television makes you a poor student.
