![]() ![]() MORE: TV, Video Games at Night May Cause Sleep Problems in Kids After viewing the fast-paced cartoon, kids also showed less ability to delay gratification and to follow rules than the other groups. While 15% of SpongeBob viewers passed the problem-solving task, for instance, 35% of those who watched the educational cartoon did, compared with 70% of the kids who spent the time drawing. The kids who watched the fast-paced cartoon performed worse across the board than the other two groups. ![]() The gratification test measured how long the children were able to resist eating snacks. The problem-solving test asked children to move disks from one peg to another. Right after viewing either cartoon clip or drawing for nine minutes, the kids were given a variety of tests of executive function: solving problems, delaying gratification, following rules and remembering other information. ![]() “If television has long-term effects on executive function, then one might see small short-term effects even adults report feeling less alert immediately after watching television,” wrote the authors. The University of Virginia study was fairly small - it tracked just 60 4-year-olds - but it’s notable because the decline found in children’s focus was immediate, in contrast to other research that has found long-term attention deficits. The research, published Monday in the journal Pediatrics, finds that kids who watched just nine minutes of a “very popular fantastical cartoon about an animated sponge that lives under the sea” (that sounds like code for SpongeBob SquarePants) were “significantly impaired” in tests of executive function - essentially a person’s ability to stay on task and not get distracted - compared with children who were assigned either to watch an educational cartoon (in this case, Caillou) or to draw. Follow kids watch - and not just how much - matters when it comes to television viewing, according to new research that finds that preschoolers who watch fast-paced shows have far more trouble concentrating than other children. ![]()
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