The Effects of Background Television on the Toy Play Behavior of Very Young Children

Introduction The research report investigates if the background television with adult content interrupts a child’s behavior during a play. The researchers review literature, conduct an experiment on children and obtain answers from questionnaires given to parents to obtain the information.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Effects of Background Television on the Toy Play Behavior of Very Young Children specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The children are 1, 2, and 3 years old. The results reveal that children’s behavior is influenced by the background television. Although children pay little attention to incomprehensible adult content, their play is interrupted by the background television. The cognitive development and language development are affected by interruptions during child’s play. This essay summarizes the research report in part 1, and gives suggestion on possible areas for research in part 2. The article examines how background television showing adult content affects young children’s behavior when they are playing with toys. The research conducted literature review and thereafter an experiment. Literature review indicates that young children pay little attention to adult television content and pay additional attention to children television programs. The attention of the child on the play object is reduced when there is audiovisual disturbance. The kind of television programs that a child is exposed to repeatedly affects the development in language. According to Schmidt et al. (1138), uninterrupted play will result in healthy cognitive development and increased social skills. The research assessed the level of maturity in a child’s play, the length of time spent in a play and the devoted attention given to a specific object in a play. Short period spent while playing a toy is an indication of a developmental disorder. Attention on a specific ob ject is associated with the motivation of the child. A child’s attention on an object increases with age. Younger children have a limited ability to sort out unwanted stimuli and sustain attention on a specific play object.Advertising Looking for essay on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Development of attention requires focused and continued attention when the child was playing. The child abandons play to view the television for a while. After the interruption, the child may abandon play and move on to another playing object. If they resume, their motivation and attention are reduced, hence they will lose the ability to return to same cognition level. After literature review, the researchers conducted an experiment. The experiment included children of 12, 24 and 36 months old. The children were observed for one hour as they played. During the first 30 minutes, the television showing adult content was left on . In the next 30 minutes, the children played with toys when the television was switched off. Besides being observed, the children were also videotaped. The participants were selected from the birth records of the state. The participants did not have earring and visual impairment. The results of the experiment revealed that the young children were affected by the background television showing adult content. When the television was on, the children were not involved in intensive play. They gave the toys less attention and played for a short period. The maturity in play was affected little when compared with focused attention. Relational play was also reduced when the television was on. Besides, the children were able to continue with complex plays when the television was off. After the television was on, children tended to view the television many times in the first six minutes, and few times after six minutes. The parents were asked to avoid initiating a play or suggesting toys for a play.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Effects of Background Television on the Toy Play Behavior of Very Young Children specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This implies that parents pay attention to television and only give attention to the children when they demand it. The parents also filled questionnaires. The questionnaires enquired the child’s interaction with the media. The level of interruption increased with the number of times the child looked at the television. Reduced involvement in a play was associated with a dislocation of attention to the television. For younger children, the scheme of the play was interrupted and after looking at the television, the child cannot recall hence they move on to another toy. Moreover, there was no distinct difference in background interruption shown between children of different ages. Background television interrupts cognitive process in children. Background television can also be associated with noise, which interrupts the attention of the child during a play. Background television may also be associated with positive effects such as multitasking. Children may be able to tap multitasking skills from the destructive background television. The study observed the participant for a long time, had numerous toys for playing during the experiment and selected the general ages for the participant. Consequently, the television has an impact on the relationship between the care giver and child when the parent is watching television. Chaotic home environment characterized by the noise may affect the child’s development due to the frequent interruptions at the time of a play. The study assumed that children are exposed in their homes and that care givers do not get involved in a child’s play. Lack of the development in cognition reduces a child’s readiness to go to school. The study concluded that cumulative impacts of the int erruptions caused by background television may cause poor development in cognition. The impacts may also include poor language development and the attention disorders. Therefore, Schmidt et al. (1149) suggest that background television is a potential environmental risk in the development of a child.Advertising Looking for essay on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More To follow up on the investigation on the effects of background television on the toy play behavior of very young children, it is necessary to establish the impact of media exposure in the home environment to the young children’s cognitive development. Subsequent research will answer the question: Is media exposure in the home environment a risk factor for the poor cognitive development in young children? Cognitive development shows the healthy growth of a child memory, language skills, recognition, problem solving skills and thinking. The question will provide a guideline for the study to establish the degree of media exposure for children in the home environment and areas in child development that are affected. In line with the article, the study will increase information on other areas other than attention, maturity in play and length of play. The study will investigate problem language skill, problem solving ability, memory and thinking process. The sample to be selected f or the study will include children who are two to three years old. The children will be given instructions when playing to assess their ability to sustain attention when playing with and without instructions. The number of toys for each child will be equal and all the children will be allowed to play without instruction for 15 minutes. Thereafter, they will be given few instructions that are to be followed when playing for another period of 15 minutes. Finally, the children will be given full instructions to play with toys for 15 minutes. The children will have audiovisual programs run in the first eight minutes of every session. The observers will record the child’s behavior as they play. The hypothesis to be tested is that under less destruction, comprehensive instructions enable one to remain on task. Many instructions make the child pay attention to the playful activities. Attention is given if the child has been able to understand and master the art of attentiveness. Tho se with attentive skills remain on a task for a long time. A child with a good development in memory, language skills, recognition and problem solving skills will be able to take many instructions. When the instructions are few and the media program is interruptive, the child is likely to lose attention and move on to other tasks. The research will also reveal the degree in which the media affect a child cognitive development in the home environment. Conclusion Schmidt et al. (1137) engages in study to establish how background television showing adult content affects young children’s behavior when they are playing with toys. Their study which involved studying the behavior of 12, 24 and 36 months old revealed that background television had an impact on the cognitive development of a child. A child’s attention on toys was reduced when the television was on. Time spent with a toy was reduced since destruction caused the child to abandon a toy and proceeded with another t oy. Play was continuous and comprehensive when the television was off. The results did not show any distinctive feature of behavior that is inclined to age during the experiment. Work Cited Schmidt, Evans, Tiffany Pempe, Heather Kirkorian, Frankenfield Lund,   Daniel Anderson. â€Å"The effect of Background Television on the toy plays behavior of very young children.† Child Development 79. 4 (2008): 1137- 1151. This essay on The Effects of Background Television on the Toy Play Behavior of Very Young Children was written and submitted by user Jordan Jefferson to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.