On April 26-27, 2006, CMCH Director Dr. Michael Rich
was part of the “Centers for Disease Control Expert Panel Meeting to Address Children,
Television Viewing, and Weight Status.”

Other members of the panel included:

Co-chair Amy B. Jordan, Ph.D.

Co-chair Thomas N. Robinson, M.D., M.P.H.

Dimitri Christakis, M.D., Ph.D.

Barbara A. Dennison, M.D.

William H. Dietz, Ph.D., M.D.

Nancy A. Gelbard, M.S., RD

Steven L. Gortmaker, Ph.D.

Kristen S. Harrison, Ph.D.

Leonard Jason, Ph.D.

Donna B. Johnson, RD, Ph.D.

Donald F. Roberts, Ph.D.

The PBS KIDS Next Generation Media Advisory Board was announced today by Lesli Rotenberg, Senior Vice President, PBS KIDS Next Generation Media.
Created to help define the role public service media will play in the changing digital children’s media landscape,
the Board will provide strategic counsel regarding content creation, distribution, business development, education and community impact.


CMCH Director Dr. Michael Rich
was asked to sit on the board along with other experts “from top organizations in the country that share a commitment to children’s success and development. The full list of
board members is available here
. The first Board meeting will be held at PBS headquarters on April 26, 2006.




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“The kind of television shows children watch and whom they watch them with can be just as important as the amount of time they spend in front of the tube, researchers at Boston’s Children’s Hospital report in a new study that finds an association
between violent shows and peer problems. Children who watch violent television programs — especially those who watch such shows alone — spend less time with friends than children who watch a lot of nonviolent programs.”


“A lot of studies about violence and television deal with behavioral outcomes that don’t resonate with people” because they occur years later, said Dr. David Bickham
, Staff Scientist at CMCH and lead author of the new study, which involved 1,356 children and appears in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine. “We wanted something with a real-life outcome” that would motivate parents to consider
the potential consequences of uncensored viewing that are more immediate.”




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In a recent study on violent television and kids’ social lives, Dr. David Bickham
, Staff Scientist at CMCH, came to two conclusions:

The more time kids spend watching violent TV programs, the less time they spend with their friends. This isn’t true for nonviolent programs.

The more time kids spend watching TV with friends, the more time they spend doing other things with their friends.

“What does it mean? Bickham thinks that TV viewing is something kids do with their friends. Violent TV programs are known to make kids more aggressive. When kids watch violent TV by themselves, their aggressive behavior
makes it harder for them to have friends. So what do they do? They watch more TV — becoming even more socially isolated, and even angrier.”


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There is much debate over a new DVD series released by Sesame Street creators. Here, Dr. Michael Rich
, Director of CMCH, is interviewed about his view.



» See Video of Interview

This month’s issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine focuses entirely on children and media. One study found that most video games rated
“M” for mature actually contained more violent content than their packaging described. Another study in the journal focused on violence in television.

CMCH Staff Scientist Dr. David Bickham
, found that “for each hour of violent TV watched, the children spent 20 to 25 fewer minutes with their friends.”



Bickham described the phenomenon as “a downward spiral from violent television viewing to aggressive behavior to social isolation to
viewing more violent television. Exposure to violent television could, therefore, be the catalyst for a cyclical system leading toward an
aggressive, socially isolated lifestyle.”

“Few [entertainment] offerings for very young children seem to place much stock in real people singing and dancing. Not only are the Wiggles real, but they also bring to their calling a naturalness that feels increasingly uncommon in children’s entertainment, and it has paid off handsomely.


Last year the former schoolteachers and professional musicians took in $45 million from their prolific output of CD’s, DVD’s, books, TV shows, toys, clothing,
furniture and a touring schedule that has the band playing an average of two shows a day, 200 days a year.”


With the Wiggles selling out shows worldwide, what is the evidence that their entertainment value is beneficial for children?


“With the right kind of shows, used the right way, with the right age group, there is some evidence that TV can help kids learn their words and letters
and phonics,” says Dr. Michael Rich
, Director of CMCH, “but this is the 3-, 4- and 5-year-old age group, and it is content-specific.”