TV Noise Disrupts Kids' Play

Pediatricians have long discouraged television for children under 2, but a new study says that even the background noise of adult television shows--shows parents may think their kids aren't noticing--can actually disrupt a child's play. During the experiment, children played with toys in a lab, with the television on for half of the time. Though the kids didn't pay much attention to the boob tube, when it was on (showing "Jeopardy!") they played with toys for shorter periods of time. The disruptive effects were "real but small." This is interesting, but it's still not clear to me why it is so alarming. Is it one more reason to turn off the TV? Sure. But "an environmental hazard"? That seems a bit of an exaggeration. Call me when the television starts emitting BPA.