Can Kids Learn From TV and Movies?

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

Recommendations for Parents and Caregivers

Close

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that children under 18 months shouldn’t use screen media outside of video chatting, and children between the ages of 18 and 24 months should only be exposed to high-quality programs that parents or caregivers watch with them.

In other words, despite recommendations, very young children are regularly exposed to screens. Yet, although much of the media directed at children under two claims it will advance theirlearningand cognitive development, researchhas shown that, in general, children’s learning from screens during this time is extremely limited and only takes place under specific circumstances.

Still, research has consistently shown that very young children don’t learn from screen media as easily as they do fromreal-life interactions.

This phenomenon, called the “video deficit,” persists until children are around 2 ½ or 3 years of age. Researchers have speculated that it may be due to very young children’s inability to understand the relationship between the information conveyed on a television screen and the real world.

In other words, they understand the information conveyed through screens but they don’t think it’s relevant to them.

However, in another study, Troseth and her colleague found that when they made the screen look like a window, the children’s ability to successfully find the toy increased.

Children May Absorb Some Information From Television

For example, research showed that, although children two and under who repeatedly viewed an educational DVD that highlighted new words did not learn more words than children who did not view the DVD,if parents drew their children’s attention to the television and labeled the words, some children learned the words the DVD presented.

Taken together, these findings indicate children’s ability to learn from screen media is fairly limited before the age of two, and children will benefit significantly more from real-life interactions with caregivers than interactions with screen media.

The AAP recommends that children between two and five are limited to 1 hour of high-quality screen time per day,and that after age five, parents and caregivers limit screen use to ensure it doesn’t interfere with children’ssleep, physical activity, homework, or any other activities that promote health and development.

However, in 2020, those between the ages of two and four spent an average of 2 hours and 30 minutes with screens per day and children between the ages of five and eight spent an average of 3 hours and 5 minutes a day.

Media That Mimics Real Life Help Children Learn Better

For instance, in one study,3 to 5 year old children who regularly viewed the programBlue’s Cluestalked to a character that the show encouraged them to help in order to assist the character in solving problems. Children reported that they believed they could help the character between a lot and a little, indicating their involvement in solving the problems presented on the show.

The reality is that it may not always be possible for families to strictly adhere to the AAP’sscreen timerecommendations, but Common Sense Mediasuggests that this is unlikely to negatively impact children as long as:

Create a Family Media Plan

AAP suggests families create a Family Media Planto ensure media is used thoughtfully and in ways that can benefit the lives of both children and their parents.

What Is a Family Media Plan?The plan helps parents and caregivers decide how much time their children spend with media, specify screen-free places and times, and determine what kinds of media children will be permitted to consume. Completing this plan will ensure everyone in the family is on the same page about screen media use and that children’s media exposure is more likely to be meaningful and appropriate.

What Is a Family Media Plan?

The plan helps parents and caregivers decide how much time their children spend with media, specify screen-free places and times, and determine what kinds of media children will be permitted to consume. Completing this plan will ensure everyone in the family is on the same page about screen media use and that children’s media exposure is more likely to be meaningful and appropriate.

If there is concern about the amount of time children are spending with screens, it’s important to limit how long kids can spend interacting with screens and to limit the kinds of content they are consuming.

The Social Media and Mental Health Connection

17 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Barr R, McClure E, Parlakian R.Screen Sense: What The Research Says About The Impact Of Media On Children Aged 0-3 Years Old. Washington, DC: Zero to Three; 2018.

Richert RA, Robb MB, Smith EI.Media as Social Partners: The Social Nature of Young Children’s Learning From Screen Media.Child Dev. 2011;82(1):82-95. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01542.x

Where We Stand: Screen Time.HealthyChildren. 2016.

Rideout V, Robb MB.The Common Sense Census: Media Use By Kids Age Zero To Eight, 2020. San Francisco, CA: Common Sense Media; 2020.

Troseth GL.Getting a clear picture: Young children’s understanding of a televised image.Dev Sci. 2003;6(3):247-253. doi:10.1111/1467-7687.00280

Troseth GL, DeLoache JS.The Medium Can Obscure the Message: Young Children’s Understanding of Video.Child Dev. 1998;69(4):950-965. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.1998.tb06153.x

Supanitayanon S, Trairatvorakul P, Chonchaiya W.Screen media exposure in the first 2 years of life and preschool cognitive development: A longitudinal study.Pediatr Res. 2020;88(6):894-902. doi:10.1038/s41390-020-0831-8

Hill D, Ameenuddin N, Reid Chassiakos Y et al.Media and Young Minds.Pediatrics. 2016;138(5). doi:10.1542/peds.2016-2591

Hill D, Ameenuddin N, Reid Chassiakos Y et al.Media Use in School-Aged Children and Adolescents.Pediatrics. 2016;138(5). doi:10.1542/peds.2016-2592

Linebarger DL.Super Why! to the Rescue: Can Preschoolers Learn Early Literacy Skills from Educational Television?International Journal for Cross-Disciplinary Subjects in Education. 2015;6(1):2060-2068. doi:10.20533/ijcdse.2042.6364.2015.0286

Calvert SL, Strong BL, Jacobs EL, Conger EE.Interaction and Participation for Young Hispanic and Caucasian Girls' and Boys' Learning of Media Content.Media Psychol. 2007;9(2):431-445. doi:10.1080/15213260701291379

Anderson DR, Bryant J, Wilder A, Santomero A, Williams M, Crawley AM.Researching Blue’s Clues: Viewing Behavior and Impact.Media Psychol. 2000;2(2):179-194. doi:10.1207/s1532785xmep0202_4

How much screen time is OK for my kid(s)?Common Sense Media.

American Academy of Pediatrics.Family Media Plan.

Hawkey E.Media use in childhood: Evidence-based recommendations for caregivers.American Psychological Association. 2019.

Meet Our Review Board

Share Feedback

Was this page helpful?Thanks for your feedback!What is your feedback?HelpfulReport an ErrorOtherSubmit

Was this page helpful?

Thanks for your feedback!

What is your feedback?HelpfulReport an ErrorOtherSubmit

What is your feedback?