Engagement - Not Turning Off the Tube - Best Bolsters Kids' Reading, Math Scores

Although the negative link between a child's hours of television-viewing and performance on cognitive tests is well known, a new study finds no evidence that one actually causes the other.

The comprehensive research - which draws on the behavior of 3,351 kids age five to 10 during the 1990s and 2000s - suggests advocacy efforts aimed at reducing children's TV exposure aren't likely to improve math and reading scores. ``Our objective isn't to defend television,'' says study co-author Abdul Munasib, an assistant professor of economics at Oklahoma State University. "We simply don't find that watching more TV is what's causing kids to do badly." Munasib and co-author Samrat Bhattacharya confirm the negative relationship between TV and cognitive scores, but those correlations disappear once such idiosyncrasies as ambition, family structure and household income are considered.