Enter your email to subscribe to my eNewsletter.
A Must-Read for Parents and Teachers
Into the Minds of Babes: How Screen Time Affects Children From Birth to Age 5
An often unconventional account of what the science really tells us about media and very young children
Published in September 2007 by Basic Books
Click here to order from Amazon.com and here to order from Barnes & Noble.
Praise for Into the Minds of Babes
"I was so interested in what the author was telling me that I felt breathless as I read ... eye-opening... In addition to examining the effects of TV watching, this book taught me a lot about the cognitive development of my children." -- Reading for Sanity, January 1, 2010.
"...balanced, lucid ...a worthwhile book...Relying on dozens of scientific studies Ms. Guernsey explores the intricacies of trying to unpick the complicated weave of what goes on inside the head of a 1 - 2 year-old child crouched before a glowing screen." -- Wall Street Journal, December 13, 2007
"...fascinating and terrific new book...Guernsey doesn't take sides, but she raises more than enough questions (and thoughtful and lived solutions) that by the end of this informative, personable book I was glad to defer, once again, to my wife's good judgment in keeping the idiot box far from my daughters wandering eyes." -- New York Post, September 16, 2007
"As a parent of two young TV-watching girls, this former New York Times reporter attacks established myths, alleviates paranoia and finds a common-sense solution for how much television, if any, kids should watch." -- St. Petersburgh SunTimes, September 30, 2007
"Journalist and mother Lisa Guernsey probes the powerful effects of video and TV on the developing mind. Brilliantly researched and engagingly written, Into the Minds of Babes answers the question that pediatricians, parents, and producers have wanted to know...will early childhood media create a new generation of baby Einsteins or baby zombies?" -- Neil Izenberg, M.D., FAAP, Pediatrician and Editor-in-Chief, KidsHealth.org
"Research can be confusing and contradictory yet this book is anything but. Distilling what we know about young children and media while sharing her experiences as a parent, Guernsey is an able guide." -- Shelley Pasnik, Director, Center for Children and Technology
"This is a wonderfully accessible book. Lisa Guernsey has offered a well reasoned explanation of the evidence on young children and media." -- Ellen Wartella, Professor, Executive Vice-Chancellor and Provost, University of California at Riverside
"A gift to parents..." -- Television Quarterly magazine, Winter 2008
"This journey into the best research on the impact of media on young children will serve as an essential guide to all those who care about kids."-- Ellen Galinsky, President, Families and Work Institute, and author of Mind in the Making: The Seven Essential Skills all Children Need
"Reasoned and thorough . . . this is the book we've been waiting for!"--David W. Kleeman, President, American Center for Children and Media
"Guernsey's exploration of the world of electronic media and its positive and negative impact on young children is one we will all benefit from."-- Robert Kesten, Executive Director, Center for SCREEN-TIME Awareness
"Written with passion and precision, humor and humility, Into the Minds of Babes is a calming and reassuring new resource for parents." -- Claire Green, President, Parents' Choice Foundation
"Every parent knows that today's young children are immersed in media in unprecedented ways. Is the ubiquity reason for new concern about a lessening of parent engagement or cause for optimism about the educative possibilities? Into the Minds of Babes is a thoroughly researched, sensibly balanced and beautifully written account of the growing role children's media play in contemporary society. It is a must read for those who wish to understand the rich and subtle ways media are influencing younger and younger children's lives every day."-- Michael H. Levine, PhD, Executive Director, The Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop
ABOUT THE BOOK
Debates are raging about videos that are aimed at babies, toddlers and preschoolers, but what do scientists really know about their impact? To learn more, I visited infant- perception laboratories, child development centers and social-science conferences around the country. I interviewed industry leaders at Noggin, Disney, Nickelodeon, Sesame Workshop and PBS. And I visited with several families in their living rooms and interviewed scores more. Much of what I found flies in the face of conventional wisdom.
Research has shown me that edicts about how to use television and computers around children cannot be black and white. It is not enough to simply say, “Turn it off.” Turn off what? When? Why? At exactly what age? To set reasonable limits, parents want answers. They want to know if there is any real scientific basis to alarms about the harm of television. They want to go beyond headlines about attention deficit disorders, learn at what age language skills can be learned from video and software, and understand what exactly is “educational” about educational TV. My hope is that this book will help them get there.