Parenting in the News
The "parenting in the news" briefs highlight those parenting topics discussed in magazines, newspapers, and news-related television programming and "weigh in" on those reports as they relate to research already done on that topic. We hope to provide the means to keep up on current events related to parenting and family relations, and also to compare what is reported in the media with what has been found in social science research into the same topic.
Television Exposure and Attention Problems Later in Life (.pdf file) This summary highlights a recent study by the Child Health Institute that specifically examined the relationship between the number of hours young children view, and incidence of attention problems they experience at age 7.
Television and Young Children (.pdf file) This short summary discusses the recent Kaiser Family Foundation report entitled, “Electronic Media in the Lives of Infants and Toddlers,” which reports that there has been a large increase in media products directly aimed at children 6 months to 2 years old. While it isn't news that companies directly market products to young children (or that children watch television), this study highlights an important new phenomenon: the use of electronic media for children under the age of 2, something not previously examined.
Quality of Adult Book Reading Affects Children's Emergent Literacy (.pdf file) by Elaine Reese and Adell Cox. This article discusses how different styles of reading to children (which they call the describer style, the comprehender style and the performance-oriented style) impact children's literacy, and will be used as an example throughout this Research Brief. It is hoped that, by the end of this brief, you will be able to understand and critique this article, and others like it.