These findings point toward an important economic intuition that is often overlooked in the popular debate about television: the cognitive effects of television exposure depend critically on the ed- ucational value of the alternative activities that it crowds out. Like other early-childhood interventions (Currie 2001), television seems to be most beneficial for children who are relatively dis- advantaged. For children with highly educated parents and rich home environments, the cognitive effects of television appear to be smaller and may even be negative. These results cast doubt on policies such as the American Academy of Pediatrics recommen- dations cited above that advocate a uniform standard of viewing for all young children. They.
