American Academy of Pediatrics | The Science of Mom

May 14

Starting Solids: 4 Months, 6 Months, or Somewhere In Between?

When is the best time to introduce your baby to solid foods? I sort through the research to find out.

What To Do About Babies and Peanuts: New Study Finds Early Exposure Can Prevent Allergy

A recent study found that feeding children small amounts of peanut products in the first 5 years of life can prevent the development of peanut allergy. Here's what you need to know.

Bed-sharing with Young Infants: Is It Safe After All?

A recent study concludes that bed-sharing may be safe, even in young infants, provided the baby sleeps in a bed (rather than a couch or chair) with a non-smoking parent who hasn't had more than 2 alcoholic drinks.

TV, Tots, and Tired Parents: The Backlash to the AAP’s TV Policy

Earlier this week, I wrote a blog post about the American Academy of Pediatrics’ new guidelines for TV use in kids under 2 years old. I intended that piece to be a brief summary of the new guidelines and the research that the AAP used to support them. I didn’t think about these guidelines as being controversial.

However, as the media and the blogosphere got wind of the new guidelines, I found article after article questioning them – calling the AAP out on making a recommendation without solid science and blaming them for creating the next round of unwelcome parenting guilt. Read more

Oct 19

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Babies and TV: New Media Use Guidelines from the AAP

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released a new policy statement on media use by children under 2 this week. The new guidelines are based on more than 50 studies of TV* time in babies and toddlers.

How much TV do infants and toddlers in the U.S. watch these days? The AAP cited several surveys that found that TV is a big part of the daily lives of our youngest children:

Among kids under 2 years old, 90% of them watch 1-2 hours of TV per day.
A staggering 19% of babies under 1-year-old have televisions in their bedrooms. This figure rises to 29% for 2 to 3-year-olds.

The AAP “discourages media use by children younger than 2 years.” They recognize that babies and toddlers will be exposed to some TV in today’s world, but they recommend that families try to limit TV time as much as possible – including both TV designed for kids and “background TV.” The policy statement describes the research behind this recommendation and gives some alternatives to TV time. Read more