Recognition of television images as a developmental milestone in young children: observational study
Television images can be a useful developmental milestone in young children, reports a study in the BMJ. Children who are slow to talk between the ages of 18 and 24 months often raise fears that they have learning disabilities or language disorders. And, say, Lloyd and Brodie from the Department of Child Health at London's Royal Free Hospital, there are few validated tests to assess development at this age.
They interviewed the parents of almost 800 children of apparently normal development, aged 8 to 23 months, and 26 parents of children with Down's syndrome, on a month by month basis. They took recognition of a TV image as naming, imitating, or pointing at it by the child. By 18 months of age, 96 per cent of the apparently developmentally normal children were able to recognise a TV image of a cat, dog, or baby compared with just one in five of the children with Down's syndrome.
While not advocating that parents should encourage their children to watch more television, the authors nevertheless conclude that TV images are a simple and effective way of testing children's development.
Contact:
Dr Ben Lloyd, Child Health, Royal Free Hospital, London Email: blloyd@rfhsm.ac.uk