There has been a lot of bad press surrounding children’s television programs saying that they over stimulate young children and have a sort of brainwashing effect that actually hinders children’s ability to concentrate over a period of time. Programs such as ‘The Teletubbies’ for example were criticised over mispronunciation of words which could be confusing for children who are learning to talk.

The majority of research does in fact state that TV has no positive or negative effects with regards education for child under the age of 2. However for children of a school age it can hinder their education if too much television is watched each day. Children who watch a lot of TV of an evening are likely to not pay as much attention to homework or any extra study and will usually go to bed later causing them to be tired at school and have a shorter attention span.

Research shows that even educational programs are not as effective for learning as face to face interaction is so it is much more beneficial for a child to instead read a book, or do a puzzle to stimulate their brain and further their education at home.