Oh the evils of "Power Rangers"

I pity the researchers in this University of Washington study, who must have had to watch endless hours of horrid children's television programs.

The results? "Arthur" and "Barney" good, "Rugrats" and "Power Rangers" bad.

Good thing somebody is looking into this. Of course, there's also this more novel thing called "going outside to play."

Here's some tidbits from the Associated Press story:

"Every hour per day that kids under 3 watched violent child-oriented entertainment their risk doubled for attention problems five years later, the study found. Even nonviolent kids' shows like 'Rugrats' and 'The Flintstones' carried a still substantial risk for attention problems, though slightly lower.

On the other hand, educational shows, including 'Arthur,' 'Barney' and 'Sesame Street' had no association with future attention problems.

Interestingly, the risks only occurred in children younger than age 3, perhaps because that is a particularly crucial period of brain development.

...

The researchers called a show violent if it involved fighting, hitting people, threats or other violence that were central to the plot or a main character. Shows listed included 'Power Rangers,' 'Lion King' and 'Scooby Doo.' "

Damn that violent Scooby!!!

Cheers,
-SueVo