French babies without TV

 
To watch TV or not to watch TV? What a dilemma. For one side, TV can certainly waste an important amount of our lifetime with improvident programming, but for the other, is just hard to be away from it. People love the box, and some of the biggest fans and followers are the little ones.  As little as brand new, because, believe it or not, there are TV channels entirely dedicated to babies.  
But no more in France, since the authority has banned French channels from airing TV shows aimed at children under 3 years old to shield them from developmental risks it says television-viewing poses at that age.   

Studies show that each hour in front of the TV increased a child’s chances of attention deficit disorder by 10%, leading to concentration problems, impulsiveness, restlessness and being easily confused. About the little ones, Television viewing hurts the development of children under 3 years old and poses a certain number of risks, encouraging passivity, slow language acquisition, over-excitedness, troubles with sleep and concentration as well as dependence on screens. 

Willing to protect children under 3 from these effects, France’s minister for culture and communication, Christine Albanel, issued a “cry of alarm” to parents about channels dedicated 24 hours a day to baby-targeted programming. 

Parents can use Television as baby sitter, pacifier or simply as escape without realizing the damage they are causing to their loved ones and future adults.Some may even feel that the authorities are taking their rights to choose for their kids.

But the fact is that, if we talk about baby sitters, some parents, in many cases, certainly need one too.  

Filed Under Media & Society, Modern Life, Research, World Health