thedailyfeed:

If your child is under 2, stop letting them watch TV. A new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics says TV or videos can harm an infant’s development, even delay the ability to speak. 

Instead of allowing infants to passively watch moving images, parents should talk to them and encourage independent play, the AAP said.

The guidelines were needed because of the proliferation of DVDs targeted at the under-2 age group, said Dr. Ari Brown, a pediatrician in Austin, Texas, who is a member of the academy and the lead author of the report. He said an example is the Disney-owned “Baby Einstein” collection, which includes titles such as “Baby Van Gogh: World of Colors” and “Baby Beethoven Symphony of Fun.”

Children under 2 are too young to be able to understand the images on the screen, even if they’re from so-called educational videos, the report said.