TV Possibly linked to Childhood Aggression

I guess some kids can't handle their cartoons.

TV exposure in three year olds seem to have an increased risk of aggressive behavior. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no TV for children under 2, although television is the second media most children between 0 and 3 yr olds are exposed to.

This large study included 3,128 children and their parents, in 20 large U.S cities born between 1998 and 2000.

Parents were then interviewed when their child was born, at 1 year and at 3 years. At 3 years, they were also asked about how much TV their child watch as well as the household's average use. Aggression was determined on a 15-item scale. Risk factors and demographic informations were also included.

The results showed about 65% of moms said their 3yr old watched at least 2hrs of TV and was overall exposed to 5.2 hrs of household TV use a day. After accounting for other factors, direct and indirect TV exposure was significantly associated with childhood aggression.

"One explanation that could link both child and household TV measures with aggression involves the parenting environment," the authors write. Households with higher rates of TV use may have fewer restrictions on children's viewing habits such as exposure to unregulated television content. Increased household television use may also affect daily routines such as eating and communication patterns and may decrease time spent on other activities.

Beat your kids, beat their brains: Spanking lowers IQs

Spare the rod, spoil the child...and keep their IQ?

Proponents of corporal punishments on children are taking hit as a recent study shows that the IQs of 2-4 yr olds that were regularly spanked over 4 years were lowered more than 5 points than the unspanked.

Previous studies have shown that children who have been hit show lesser gray matter in their brains (less neurons) therefore have slower cognitive development.

In 1986 a previous study measured the IQ of 1510 2- to 9-year olds and also noted how often their mothers meted out corporal punishment. The researchers repeated the IQ tests four years later. The figures revealed that 93 per cent of mothers had spanked 2- to 4-year-olds once or more per week, whereas only 58 per cent had turned to physical discipline with the older kids. Nearly half of toddlers' moms had spanked their children three or more times per week, Straus and Paschall found.Four years later, younger children who had never felt their mother's palm had gained an average of 5.5 IQ points compared with kids who had suffered corporal punishment, while older unspanked children had gained 2 IQ points, on average.

Although spanking is related to lowered IQ, the biggest difference in the intelligence of a child is whether or the parents provided adequate cognitive stimulation. The study shows that cognitive stimulation is more important that corporal punishment.