如今的大多数家长为了让孩子早日成才，几乎从孩子们出生开始就着手对其进行强化教育，特别是喜欢让婴幼儿坐在电视机或计算机前观看教育录相的家长不在少数。那么，这样一些教学方法好吗？很难说？

日前，美国儿科医师协会（American Academy of Pediatrics）发表声明指出“让幼小的孩子坐在电视机或电脑前接受教育远不如让孩子们自由玩耍而有利于大脑发育。”专家们进一步指出“让2岁以下的孩子自由自在地玩耍，比让这些孩子规规距距地坐在电视机前接受教育更有利于培养他或她的创造力、解决问题和推理的能力，及其运动技能。”

至此，我们是不是可以更好地理解为何我们这个时代“高分低能”的孩子层出不穷呢？

Screen-Free Play Best for Toddlers' Brains

Even 'educational' programming is less healthy than independent play, experts say

TUESDAY, Oct. 18 (HealthDay News) -- Unstructured play is much better than TV or videos for encouraging brain development in infants and toddlers, a new American Academy of Pediatrics policy statement says.

Free play helps children under age 2 learn to think creatively, problem solve, and develop reasoning and motor skills at an early age. It also teaches them how to entertain themselves, the pediatric experts pointed out in an AAP news release.

While a large number of video programs for infants and toddlers are marketed as educational, no evidence exists to support this claim, said the AAP. The group also said that extensive exposure to TV and videos puts children at risk for delays in language development when they start school.

Even when parents watch their own programs, it distracts them and decreases their interaction with their children. The intrusion of a parent's TV program may also interfere with a young child's opportunities to learn from play and other activities.

Overall, young children learn best from and require interaction with people, not TV shows or videos, the AAP advises.

The policy statement outlines a number of recommendations for parents and caregivers.

The AAP discourages electronic media use for children younger than 2. If parents choose to let their children watch TV or videos, they need to set limits on viewing time and have a strategy for managing use.

When parents don't have time to actively engage in play with a child, they should opt for supervised independent play instead of TV or videos, the study authors said in the news release. For example, give the child nesting cups to play with on the floor nearby while a parent prepares dinner.

Don't put a television in a child's bedroom, the experts warned. Watching TV before bedtime can cause poor sleep habits and irregular sleep schedules, which can lead to mood, behavior and learning problems.

"In today's 'achievement culture,' the best thing you can do for your young child is to give [the child] a chance to have unstructured play -- both with you and independently. Children need this in order to figure out how the world works," lead author Dr. Ari Brown, a member of the AAP Council on Communications and Media, said in the AAP news release.

The policy statement was slated for release Tuesday at the AAP National Conference & Exhibition in Boston and published online and in the November print issue of the journal Pediatrics.

SOURCE: American Academy of Pediatrics, news release, Oct. 18, 2011