TV and Children

Since I've become a parent, I've experienced a diminishing connection to TV and movies. Actually, I shouldn't associate that too much with being a parent 'cause it was before that when the luxury to lay down on the couch (an actual couch and not the floor that I have so become accustomed to now since we don't have one) and watch TV became constricted. The motivation to complete my degree with a high GPA had taken precedence over watching anything, including Wentworth. Anyways, the reduced connection is not a bad thing...Consider MSO and his addiction to TV. MSO and I had agreed that we didn't want baby to watch TV until he's older. We had heard and read that it's bad for the developing brain. Now turn to these two articles:

Study: More parents use TV as an electronic babysitter
Parents Making Use of TV Despite Risks

It's crazy to read that a third of families leave the TV on nearly all the time and young children have TVs in their own rooms. I understand that it is pretty unrealistic to not have your child watch TV as our current sitter uses the TV a lot, but as the first article says, it is scary to see children when they are in front of the TV. They do appear transfixed and sucked in...Just like MSO. Research hasn't really focused on developmental outcomes for children under three so it's not known if educational TV for such children is beneficial. Probably moderation, supervision, and supplementation are key.