Is Television Bad and Green Good for ADHD?
The American Academy of Pediatrics says that children should watch no more than one hour a day of slow-paced programming before age six. But according to parents, the average is 3½ hours a day by age four, much of it consisting of fast-paced cartoons. It’s been suggested that exposure to hours of rapid image and scene changes makes non-virtual life seem boring by comparison and may even slow or divert brain development. But cause and effect are not clear. Preoccupied or neglectful parents might let children watch too much television, and children who love television too much may also be more susceptible, for genetic or social reasons, to hyperactivity and distraction. Not only less exposure to television but more exposure to nature might be good for children with attention problems. Several studies have found that impulse control and other ADHD symptoms improved when children had more access to trees and grass. This evidence, like the evidence for damaging effects of television, is lim
