TV distracts kids from play

NEW YORK: Even if young children are not watching TV, it may be distracting them from their play and depriving them of developing critical attention skills, a new study says.

Background TV is a disruptive and distracting influence. Our evidence is that TV keeps the children from sustaining their attention at a time when developmentally, they are beginning to organize their attention skills and sequencing behaviors, Health news reported.

When children aged three and younger played in a room with a television on that was tuned to adult programming, they played for about five percent less time than when there was no background TV.

More importantly, when there was no background TV, the children's play was more focused with longer play episodes, the study found.