The Aug. 21 article "France acts against TV shows for babies" reported that French channels are prohibited from marketing TV shows to children under 3 years of age because of the developmental risks posed by such viewing.

One developmental risk involves the brain. In the years birth through age 5, the human brain makes connections between the billions of neurons we are born with, and those connections are stimulated primarily by children's personal interactions with their surroundings.

The connections made in those early years enable all future learning to take place. Watching TV does not provide stimulation comparable to a child's personal interaction with the environment, and this is one of the reasons why the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no TV watching for children under age 2.

In short, TV and video time in the infant and toddler years may handicap a child's ability to learn throughout the K-12 school years and beyond.

Damage to children's learning and health from TV, videos and video games extends into the school years and results from a variety of factors. The Web site of North Carolina's non-profit organization LimiTV describes these effects in detail.

Stephen Jurovics

Raleigh

Get $150+ in coupons in every Sunday N&O. Click here for convenient home delivery.