Research Finding
A review of the scientific studies on child educational outcomes for exposure to the TV program 'Sesame Street', found significant learning outcomes, including increased vocabulary, pre-reading skills, pre-math skills, and overall school readiness. Long-term follow-up studies found that the children who had watched more Sesame Street as young children had higher school performance as adolescents, as measured by grades in English, math, science, and overall GPA.
The Good News:
The learning readiness skill outcomes found in the Sesame Street research may also be found with other educational screen media such as videos, computer programs, and video games. Research on the educational uses of media with young children should be stimulated with this report, allowing us to understand how and when screen media has educational benefits to young children.
Research Finding
A review of the scientific literature finds no published studies on cognitive outcomes from any of the educational videos, computer software programs, or video game systems currently on the market for children ages 0-6 years.
The Bad News
Educational claims made for children's videos, computer programs, and video games are not validated by a single scientific study.
Source:
A Teacher in the Living Room? Educational Media for Babies, Toddlers, and Preschoolers
Kaiser Family Foundation
http://www.kff.org/entmedia/7427.cfm