Q&A: Is TV better than an iPad for my kid?

Hi! I’m Jacqueline Nesi, a clinical psychologist, professor at Brown University, and mom of two young kids.

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Is there a difference between kids using an iPad versus watching TV? I have this suspicion that watching on a TV is “better” somehow…but maybe that’s just because I grew up watching TV and I turned out fine? Is there research on this? Thank you!

Ah, the good old days, when we’d return home from a day of working the fields and churning the butter, throw some porridge on the wood-burning fireplace, light up some oil lamps and…turn on the TV. 

In all seriousness, this is a great (and very common) question. I can definitely relate! Many of us grew up watching TV, so we have this intuitive sense that TV must somehow be “better” than a tablet. But is this true?