Into the Minds of Babes: How Screen Time Affects Children from Birth to Age Five

As a mother, Lisa Guernsey began to wonder about her use of television and videos with her two young daughters. As a reporter, she began investigating what the current consensus was dictating. What she found was a babble of research, conflicting advice, and the rather draconian mandate from the American Academy of Pediatrics: no screen time at all before the age of two. Advocating a nuanced, informed approach to television viewing and focusing on the birth-to-five age group, Guernsey tackles the mountain of information and misinformation, distilling it into this highly readable and thoughtful book. Parents of toddlers will be relieved to learn that there is no credible research supporting the AAPs dire recommendation-and they will be empowered to make their own informed choices. In addition to dispensing friendly anecdotal evidence and detailing recent research, Guernsey also provides helpful tips for parents who want to navigate what was once a given in parenting, the television as babysitter-when is it helpful and when might it be harmful to the developing minds of our children.…