What are the harms of TV watching for a one-year-old baby?
The potential harms of TV exposure for one-year-old babies generally include effects on vision, growth and development, and nervous system development.
1. Effects on vision: A one-year-old baby's visual system is in a rapid stage of development. Watching TV at this age can interfere with normal vision development. Prolonged TV viewing may lead to eye strain and increase the risk of conditions such as farsightedness, nearsightedness, or astigmatism.
2. Effects on growth and development: When babies watch TV, they often remain in a fixed posture for extended periods. Especially if their viewing posture is incorrect or the TV is improperly positioned, it may negatively affect the development of body parts such as the cervical spine, disrupting normal physiological development and potentially leading to cervical spine problems.
3. Effects on nervous system development: TV programs typically feature rich colors and rapidly changing images, which a baby’s developing vision cannot fully process. Additionally, the high brightness of screens can overstimulate the baby’s optic nerves. Moreover, watching TV is a passive way of receiving information, which hinders the baby’s ability to perceive and interact with the real world, potentially impairing brain neural development and leading to delayed intellectual development.
In addition, watching TV at age one may also affect motor system development and language development. It is recommended to limit the amount of time babies spend watching TV and to ensure they view the screen from an appropriate distance.