ABSTRACT
Television, in particular educational television, is inexpensive, easily accessible, and has the potential utility for scalable intervention. Moreover, it is a popular medium used daily by many children of all ages. A Kaiser Foundation study (Wartella & Richert, this volume) concluded that 4- to 6-year-olds in the United States spend an average of slightly over two hours a day with screen media. Furthermore, on a typical day, 79% of children between the ages of 4 and 6 watch television, 32% watch videos and DVDs, and 13% read electronic books (Marsh, this volume; Rideout & Hamel, 2006). The fact is that many children are using screen media, particularly television. As such, we need to understand how viewing might influence children's language and literacy development. Can children learn language and literacy skills from television?
