It can be tempting, when the pasta boils over and the dryer signal sounds, to sit your little one in front of the TV so you can get something done. You know that babies aren’t supposed to have screen time. But this show is supposed to be smart, so why not? That is the question.

A new study suggests that an hour of TV doesn’t make babies smarter, but it does no harm, either. Harvard researchers measured the television viewing of nearly 900 children at ages 6 months, 1 year and 2 years to assess the effect by age 3 and found that an hour daily had neither positive nor negative influence on cognitive skills. Among the things that do have influence: “the mom’s education level and vocabulary test scores,” says Marie Evans Schmidt, PhD, the lead study author and a research associate at the Center on Media and Child Health at Children’s Hospital Boston.

So the message is mixed, as is the reality around this issue. For example, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends avoiding TV for children under 2, but data from the Kaiser Family Foundation indicates that 43 percent of children younger than 2 watch TV daily and 26 percent of under 2’s have TVs in their bedrooms. What’s more, parents seem to suffer anxiety over the public criticism against DVDs for babies, says Karen Hill Scott, EdD, a child development expert who teaches at UCLA and also consults for Baby Einstein and other children’s media providers. Many report that their little ones appear engaged and stimulated when watching what the parents consider educational content.

“DVDs can be just like storybooks or other tools parents use to enrich children’s experiences,” adds Dr. Hill Scott. While the new research indicates that TV offers no benefit, experts say the jury is still out on whether videos can offer babies a meaningful, enriched experience. “I expect we’ll eventually find some educational videos to be helpful to kids under two,” says Dr. Schmidt. “But we still need to be careful about screen time, as other studies indicate that infant TV viewing is associated with obesity and with sleep and attention problems.”

Still, many parents find DVDs and other media helpful for their babies and want to know more about ways to use these tools. One way is to include parent-child interaction in the viewing experience, suggests Dr. Hill Scott . “It’s better to work from a positive space than to simply say, ‘This is bad,’ when there is no proof to indicate harm.” To watch or not to watch? The choice is yours.

Better Screen Time
If you choose to include TV or DVDs in your baby’s life, Dr. Karen Hill Scott suggests these ways to keep it healthy: Study the content. Make wise video choices, such as those that encourage interaction and discovery and that expose your baby to the world around him, including music and other cultures. Be there. Rather than just plopping your child in front of the TV, engage and explore with him through touch and playfulness. Strike a Balance. Limit screen time and mix it up with other activities. Incorporate books and toys to promote your baby’s development.

Walk and Roll
Your baby will toddle away from the screen with EverEarth’s wonderful Activity Walker. Made entirely from wood, it’s got activity extras like a bead maze, xylophone, shape sorter and animal puzzle ($70, mytoybox.com).