Is SpongeBob Making Your Kids Dumber?
- Posted on September 12, 2011 at 7:19am by
Jonathon M. Seidl
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CHICAGO (AP) — The cartoon character SpongeBob SquarePants is in hot water from a study suggesting that watching just nine minutes of that program can cause short-term attention and learning problems in 4-year-olds.
The problems were seen in a study of 60 children randomly assigned to either watch “SpongeBob,” or the slower-paced PBS cartoon “Caillou” or assigned to draw pictures. Immediately after these nine-minute assignments, the kids took mental function tests; those who had watched “SpongeBob” did measurably worse than the others.
Previous research has linked TV-watching with long-term attention problems in children, but the new study suggests more immediate problems can occur after very little exposure – results that parents of young kids should be alert to, the study authors said.
Kids’ cartoon shows typically feature about 22 minutes of action, so watching a full program “could be more detrimental,” the researchers speculated, but they said more evidence is needed to confirm that.
The results should be interpreted cautiously because of the study’s small size, but the data seem robust and bolster the idea that media exposure is a public health issue, said Dr. Dimitri Christakis. He is a child development specialist at Seattle Children’s Hospital who wrote an editorial accompanying the study published online Monday in the journal Pediatrics.
Christakis said parents need to realize that fast-paced programming may not be appropriate for very young children. “What kids watch matters, it’s not just how much they watch,” he said.
University of Virginia psychology professor Angeline Lillard, the lead author, said Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob” shouldn’t be singled out. She found similar problems in kids who watched other fast-paced cartoon programming.
She said parents should realize that young children are compromised in their ability to learn and use self-control immediately after watching such shows. “I wouldn‘t advise watching such shows on the way to school or any time they’re expected to pay attention and learn,” she said.
Nickelodeon spokesman David Bittler disputed the findings and said “SpongeBob SquarePants” is aimed at kids aged 6-11, not 4-year-olds.
“Having 60 non-diverse kids, who are not part of the show’s targeted (audience), watch nine minutes of programming is questionable methodology and could not possibly provide the basis for any valid findings that parents could trust,” he said.
Lillard said 4-year-olds were chosen because that age “is the heart of the period during which you see the most development” in certain self-control abilities. Whether children of other ages would be similarly affected can’t be determined from this study.
Most kids were white and from middle-class or wealthy families. They were given common mental function tests after watching cartoons or drawing. The SpongeBob kids scored on average 12 points lower than the other two groups, whose scores were nearly identical.
In another test, measuring self-control and impulsiveness, kids were rated on how long they could wait before eating snacks presented when the researcher left the room. “SpongeBob” kids waited about 2 1/2 minutes on average, versus at least four minutes for the other two groups.
The study has several limitations. For one thing, the kids weren’t tested before they watched TV. But Lillard said none of the children had diagnosed attention problems and all got similar scores on parent evaluations of their behavior.
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Online:
Pediatrics: http://www.pediatrics.org
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Comments (143)
1956
Posted on September 12, 2011 at 8:55amMy kids (now age 8 & 7) can watch just about any cartoon and then re-inact it word for word – and they do so all the time – even quizzing each other on characters and who said what. They not only get a kick out of SpongeBob, but Tom & Jerry, Popeye, Superman (the old cartoons), and a ton more. There are only a handful of shows/cartoons that I will NOT allow them to watch, and they are the ones that are anti-American, anti-capitalist.
I remember watching the Three Stooges, and my mom was worried sick that my brother and I would end up trying to poke each others’ eyes out. She also didn’t like Popeye (the violence). She was a liberal, through and through. My father on the other hand was a conservative – and the only show he didn’t like was Underdog, because it was teaching socialism to kids. Now that is something I can understand a parent not wanting their kid to watch.
I keep my kids busy doing other things – I don’t want them to just sit for hours in front of a TV while they watch the same shows over and over. I try to encourage educational shows (NOT PBS shows!) like Animal Planet or when there is something good on Discovery that I know they’ll like. My father used to make sure we watched Wild Kingdom or concerts on TV when we were growing up.
TV is okay in moderation – a little once in a while is okay, but make sure the TV is turned off and have the kids use their own imaginations to play. That is where the learning begins…. in play.
Report Post »jhaydeng
Posted on September 12, 2011 at 9:58amI agree! Moderatioly timen is the key and be a parent! Technology, though great, is preventing families from bonding! Most parents should turn off their cell phones when they get home from work!
Report Post »Fly Old Glory 24/7 365
Posted on September 12, 2011 at 10:44ammy question is, is there any negative effect of adults cause I love this show…..
Report Post »Junter
Posted on September 12, 2011 at 10:53amI agree! Good post.
Report Post »LadyLiberty
Posted on September 12, 2011 at 11:16amI call BS.
Report Post »jb.kibs
Posted on September 12, 2011 at 11:17amspongebob is crazy. i watched an episode when it first came out… and the thing is… i could watch tom and jerry all day long… they don’t make you want to slit your wrists like spongebob.
Report Post »The Third Archon
Posted on September 12, 2011 at 12:15pm“Underdog, because it was teaching socialism to kids”
Report Post »How and the world does Underdog teach socialism to children? It’s about a dog that rescues his girlfriend from kidnappers over and over again–it has the same plot as Superman.
obama-mecca-me-sick
Posted on September 12, 2011 at 1:52pmand MSNBC makes adults dumber !!
Report Post »Fat City Freak
Posted on September 12, 2011 at 3:18pmSponge bob used to be really funny and it’s humor was epic at one point. I don’t know what happened but when changes came and Sponge Bob had a different voice, the writing got really retarded and so did the comedy. I agree Sponge bob can influence kids to be stupid. But it wasn’t like that before.
Report Post »GPHur1954
Posted on September 13, 2011 at 5:25pmSpongeBobe is evil!!!
Report Post »Steve
Posted on September 14, 2011 at 1:32amAcctually watching MSM makes my kids dumber. Reading the New York Times and Newsweek magazine makes my parrots dumber.
Sponge bob…..teaches a good work ethic to a greedy boss . Always a friend to squidward the grumpy old squid. BFF with Patrick who’s a little slow and dopey. Never gives up his quest to drive a car. His parents are always supporting him. Has another best freind sandy the scientist and he loves his pet snail
Report Post »juancarnuba
Posted on September 12, 2011 at 8:51amJust another self-absorbed celebrity.
Report Post »CleanUpAisle2013
Posted on September 12, 2011 at 10:15amLMAO!! Good one!!
Report Post »alina.bolero
Posted on September 12, 2011 at 8:44amAny sort of rapid context switching trains the mind to NOT focus on details. While it may be entertaining and amusing, it is not good for laying the foundation of clarity and focus that is required while learning new concepts.
Propaganda artists have know that for decades, if not centuries. The best example of that in adults would be to look at the lack of clear argumentative skills in those that get their news from mainstream outlets like local news TV, versus those that listen to the deeper analysis you get from radio commentaries.
The double benefit of fast context switching in TV was figured out not long after its inception. Not only does it make for great entertainment, and hence increase viewership, but those viewers will be trained to be spontaneous and impulsive, by example, and have a greater tendency to BUY whatever is being advertised in the commercial breaks.
READING in a quiet place is the best way to quiet and focus the mind.
Report Post »taxedout
Posted on September 12, 2011 at 8:39amHow much tax money was spent on this study??
Report Post »taxedout
Posted on September 12, 2011 at 8:37amBad parenting makes kids dumber and oh yeah public education.
Report Post »encinom
Posted on September 12, 2011 at 10:20amReligion and its crusade against logic, reason and science. Also home schooling, not good, to many come out believing that the Bible is an actual history book and not a book of myths and legends.
Report Post »Ron_WA
Posted on September 12, 2011 at 10:53amI’m w/ you on the bad parenting (though a few kids excel in spite of it) but public ed doesn’t make kids dumb the lack of good parenting, a good role model & good work ethic lead to a poor education. I’ve seen plenty of people prosper ahead of home schooled or privately educated students – again it has to do w/ good role models & good work ethics.
Report Post »Sleazy Hippo
Posted on September 12, 2011 at 1:40pmIt is obviously difficult to be objective when one of the funniest TV offerings ever created is being criticized. Right or Wrong, that there is funny, that there. Forgive me, Lord.
Report Post »RepubliCorp
Posted on September 12, 2011 at 8:24amSpongeBob and Al Gore are interchangeable … it taught me something
Report Post »cknapp
Posted on September 12, 2011 at 8:22amSomeone here mentioned ADHD…ADHD not exist…ADHD is just a pseudonum for “bad parenting” in that you have not figured out how to steer your kid into activities that stimulate their mind….whether that is taking time to play “flash card” games (teaching them match and words), or taking them outside to explore the world, bugs, grass, ….you know…the simple things.
For persepective, I am 50 years old, and have no idea what people are talking about when they say their kids have ADD or ADHD….more like lack of parenting skills.
You are welcome for the free advice.
Craig Knapp
Report Post »SFC, USA
4truth2all
Posted on September 12, 2011 at 8:41amYo CKNAPP:
I work with teenagers, and there is a joke in the schools that so and so did not take his/her meds when somebody acts up and cause a problem.
The solution to this problem is to pump chemicals into the kids to quiet them down.
I have NEVER spoken to one teenager that liked being on these drugs.
They become zombie like at this point. It really ****** me off !
Report Post »Gary Fishaholic
Posted on September 12, 2011 at 11:17amI never thought ADD medicine was the cure for the kids and parents need to be more active in their learning and behavioral problem’s.
Report Post »MiCurmudgeon
Posted on September 12, 2011 at 8:17amSpongeBob For President 2012. I am 69 years old and like SpongeBob and occasionally watch with my Grandkids on rainy days when they are visiting. I have a 42 year old daughter who is an Oncologist that teaches at a major University who learned her alphabet watching the first years of Sesame Street before they went all PC.
Report Post »daddy warbucks
Posted on September 12, 2011 at 8:13am“more education increases the threat to sustainability” yep! you can’t make this stuff up.
After watching, I think you will agree that the ‘Department of Education’ (now pushing the global warming NWO fraud on students) must be abolished and the responsibility given back to local ‘Boards of Education’.
Agenda 21 For Dummies
Report Post »http://youtu.be/TzEEgtOFFlM
100 Million Patriots Standing
Posted on September 12, 2011 at 12:33pmDOE and UN And EPA…..go away
Report Post »jackbauer
Posted on September 12, 2011 at 8:11amI call him, SquareBob SpongePants,when I describe the show, just to make it more interesting.
Report Post »obrotherwhoartthou
Posted on September 12, 2011 at 8:08amYou have GOT to be kidding….this has got to be one of the funniest, smart written cartoons on TV. On the flipside, why don’t they do a study of kids who watch the Disney channel? Talk about dumbing down America’s kids.
Report Post »cessna152
Posted on September 12, 2011 at 8:16amKnow it iz knot making us’ more stupider…
Report Post »cessna152
Posted on September 12, 2011 at 8:27amActually the new “Sponge Bob ” cartoons suck… the older ones were very funny. I prefer “The Fairly Odd Parents”…
Report Post »cktheman
Posted on September 12, 2011 at 9:06amAgreed. Although it was overwatched in our house, Spongebob is a cut above all of the other cartoons, with the exception of Phineas and Ferb – which is brilliant (as well as being the ONLY watchable show on Disney….)
Report Post »endgamer
Posted on September 12, 2011 at 8:03amWe have to look at the CONTENT of the shows. Cartoon and kids shows changed from the show being the most important and a toy or product came after. NOW these shows are nothing more than propaganda to make the children want the toy. They’re infomercials designed for kids. I grew up with Bugs Bunny, Roadrunner, Yosemite Sam, The Pink Panther, Tom & Jerry & more. These cartoons were based on slapstick humor and vaudeville. If there were toys marketed it was after the fact. Today, the product is developed first and the programs are based on selling the product. We as parents should have taken a look at the content which seemed senseless and had the content of every cartoon studied. The cartoons along with fluoridate water have truly “dumbed down” our children, My mother loved cartoons because it gave her a life! She had nothing to worry about, I was in the 98th percentile of all test scores and an A student. Because we have complex lives we as parents have trusted things we should not have. Trusting cartoons to babysit your child today is not a good idea (My parents trusted it and consequently, I did as well). Trusting the water you drink to NOT contain a chemical used in Prozac and lowers your IQ like “fluoride”, like our parents did is not a good idea either. Today you have to watch everything you do and you cannot trust what was once OK as it may not be OK today.
Report Post »ralphrainwater
Posted on September 12, 2011 at 7:58amSpongeBob is a staple of entertainment in our home. It’s a funny mixture of clever dialogue, classic cartoon violence, strong characters, and can even be accused of teaching classic morality lessons. I vastly prefer SpongeBob over the insipid live action Disney shows, where the writers seemed to have never met a real human child. Caillou, on the other hand, never interested my little girl because it’s so comparatively ponderous, pedantic. SpongeBob is designed to appeal to children and adults in a way Caillou self-evidently is not.
Report Post »cloudsofwar
Posted on September 12, 2011 at 8:08amsort of like looney tunes. i’m 58 and i some times get a laugh watching spongebob. my 4 year old grandson watches with me. he started pre k this year and is a smart boy. i guess the spongebob didn’t dumb him down. the anti-cartoon people never stop unless it brain washes them to support the liberal agenda.
Report Post »obrotherwhoartthou
Posted on September 12, 2011 at 8:09amWell said, Ralphrainwater! Couldn’t agree more-
Report Post »Morgue
Posted on September 12, 2011 at 7:55amThis is same BS “science” they used against the Baby Einstein movies for babies. It’s the classic “which came first” paradox.
Baby Einstein (like Spongebob) appeals to kids with short-term attention because of it’s bright colors. They could do the same study using Finding Nemo and get the same results.
Baby Einstein, Spongebob, and Finding Nemo do not CAUSE shot-attention problems.
Report Post »OutofSympathy
Posted on September 12, 2011 at 7:54amLOL, in answer to the original question YES.
Report Post »qpwillie
Posted on September 12, 2011 at 7:51am“Progressives” are always trying to find excuses for why their kids are so dumb. This time, it’s SpongeBob. There are a lot of us who could tell them what the problem really is.
Report Post »100 Million Patriots Standing
Posted on September 12, 2011 at 7:46amAnd they pulled bugs bunny for similar reasons…..it’s just an early warning for media censorship.
My kids get really really depressed every time they see michelle and O on tv…….who measures that study.
Report Post »TH30PH1LUS
Posted on September 12, 2011 at 12:28pmAND you will NOT find Speedy Gonzales cartoons airing in the United States. Our “protectors” in media felt it was racially “insensitive”, and pulled it.
Guess where it’s still a big hit? Mexico.
Report Post »Okie from Muskogee
Posted on September 12, 2011 at 7:45amYes-I contend parents have come to depend on “cartoons” to babysit their kids instead of being responsible and taking that time to teach their kids useful lessons in life.
Seriously, what use is there in children watching Sponge Bob other then a distraction?
Report Post »okiebred
Posted on September 12, 2011 at 9:35amFLORIDA, You have it so correct!! I have often wondered why people ever decided to have children to begin with. They are not involved with teaching their children anything, just plop them down in front of a TV with mindless dribble on to let the TV babysit for them while the parents “do their thing”. TV can be educational but the foundation of education starts with the parents in the home. What are these parents who have no time for their children teaching them? What was their purpose in bringing the children into the world – just to satisfy their need to breed?
Report Post »Lion420
Posted on September 12, 2011 at 7:44amThis is such nonsense! I watch with my kids all the time. We often discuss stories and reference minute details of the show. My 2 year old watches it daily. He learns new words every day, just by mimicking those around him. He’s learned how to use the potty, just by having the idea introduced to him…no consistent and solid effort to teach him has been made, yet there he was just this morning, using the potty. I’ve found Caillou to be condescending and boring. My kids never watched much of it. Spongebob is much more involved. A lot of times you find plot points and jokes hiding in the background, or buried in the sub-plot or the dialogue. Caillou on the other hand, will ham-handedly shove one idea-alone-down your throat for an entire episode. Maybe I’ve wasted my time here…after all this “Study” came out of Chicago and trumpets a PBS show…crap begets crap.
Report Post »SamIamTwo
Posted on September 12, 2011 at 7:43amThe rents should be studied for allowing the child to view such nonsense.
Really, you needed a study to come to that conclusion? Sheesh.
Report Post »BlackAce41
Posted on September 12, 2011 at 7:43amAhhhh another fine use of the Taxpayers Money…
Report Post »100 Million Patriots Standing
Posted on September 12, 2011 at 12:36pmDo you think that it was non intentional that the proper show was on the liberal PBS?
Report Post »SpongeBobWatcher
Posted on September 12, 2011 at 7:40amI am 42, I grew up watching a coyote drop anvils (unsuccessfully) on the head of a roadrunner,I saw a sailor eat spinach and beat the crap out of a bearded bully, a rabbit stick a carrot in a hunters rifle and it backfire…..should I go on? These studies are ridiculous! Kids now can’t play outside of the yard, can’t ride a bike without being padded head to toe and we wonder why they want to stay inside. We have taken the fun out of everything trying to protect them from EVERYTHING! When I was a kid, I left the house when the sun came up and came in when it started to get dark, usually climbing trees or building a jumping ramps made of a bale of hay and a ply board on a bike with ape handlebars and a banana seat (a poor design for stunts I assure you).
Report Post »I am now a loving father of four, the VP of a successful company and have no criminal record. How did that happen with all I was exposed to??
LastAmerican
Posted on September 12, 2011 at 8:14amWhat’s the matter? Spongebob a little too successful. Making too much money. Did they do a study on the power rangers? Oh how about teletubbies? Now that was stupid. When I first saw spongebob, I thought oh how dumb can it get. Now heck my whole family will watch sponge. Bree is right we need an escape from the crap. Oh by the way all three of my kids get straight A,s. And I run a successful business. Now where’s my jellyfishing net!
Report Post »starman70
Posted on September 12, 2011 at 8:28amAMEN!!!! We grew up playing on jungle gyms, teeter boards, seesaws and swings of various desings (Now banned from many playgrounds and school recess areas). We raced bikes down steep hills, sledded on ice and snow, swam in swift rivers, climbed trees, played pick-up ice hockey and footabll without pads, explored old quarrys, caves, old barns, abandoned houses and the list goes on. Sure, every now and then, someone would get hurt (Not seriously). Bumps, bruises, cuts and even broken bones were part of the learning experience. We played cowboys and indians (Now politically incorrect), used stick rifles, finger six shooters, cap guns, target practiced with BB guns, played capture the flag,made homemade rockets and used our imaginations. Amazingly, we lived through all that.
Our present litigeous and politically correct society won’t allow kids to be kids any more. FAR TOO MANY LAWYERS AND POLITICIANS!!!!
Report Post »Oh, God!
Posted on September 12, 2011 at 8:32amI think Spongebob is funny and my kids watch it and we laugh together. Nothing wrong with a show about a sponge whose best friend happens to be a starfish.
I’m a Goofy Goober, yeah!
Report Post »kickagrandma
Posted on September 12, 2011 at 7:37amI don’t think he alone is the culprit. Remember subliminal advertising and coded messages they started using at least in the 70′s, if not before? One has to wonder how long that has been going on.
A long time ago, in my childhood in the 40′s, after dinner at night, our parents and we children would sit in the living room, adults on chairs and kids on the floor together and listen to the radio or to our mother play the piano. We prayed out loud at every meal. We were outside with our neighbors in the sunlit hours until darkness fell. Then, we came in, cleaned up, prayed and ate and sang and danced. Our parents read to us until we could read for ourselves.
It was a better time in so many ways.
Parents, please, unplug the tv’s for a month (except for football, of course…actually, I am kidding…nothing is as important as your children…nothing!); spend quality, sacrificial time with your children and your spouse; turn off the cell phones and “smart phones”; retake your lives; disconnect for busyness; return to freedom.
GOD BLESS!
Report Post »sickntiredofliberals
Posted on September 12, 2011 at 9:56amAMEN !!! Those were the best of days for kids and families. Today, everyone (well, almost everyone) is plugged into something. I wonder like so many others, how did we survive without cell phone, Ipads and all the other I….. stuff. I know we were more polite, calmer people than those of today. We did not have a t.v. until I was in the 3rd grade, and then my brother, sister and I could only watch what mom and dad watched, Lawerence Welk. You get the idea. Today, I do not have or want a cell phone, call me at home or WRITE ME A LETTER and mail it !!! If we did something we were not suppose to do, we were punished (not talked to death, punished, a good old fashioned whipping). I brought up my kids that way and grandkids with whippings. AND yes, whippings are O.K., A parent should never whip a child when they are angry because that becomes ‘beatings’. Oh, the tales I could tell about our ‘whippings’ that would have you laughing so hard you would have tears !!!! Parents need to be parents, not “Friends” !!!
Report Post »bree
Posted on September 12, 2011 at 7:29amSome things are meant to amuse. Everyone can use a little Sponge Bob to make us forget about the horrible things going on in the world right now.
Report Post »platitude
Posted on September 12, 2011 at 7:28amWas this the cause of becks ADHD?
Report Post »