Flutterby™! :

All the hullaballoo over the "Romney hates Sesame Street" dust-up has got me thinking again about assorted government services that seem counter-productive to those of us with upper middle-class backgrounds.

Head Start seems to have extremely compelling evidence that it pays off very well for low-income families (for instance). I don't know in particular what evidence we have for or against PBS children's shows (and not having had broadcast TV hooked up for close to a decade, I'm a bad sample for their adult-oriented content, if reruns of Lawrence Welk qualify for that), but volunteering with some low-income families has made me more sympathetic to Sesame Street as a child-rearing aid in some circumstances.

So, tossing more random crap into the mix: Ban under-threes from watching television, says study: Doctors should curb amount of time children spend watching television to prevent long-term harm, say paediatricians.

The American Academy of Pediatrics says (PDF):

This updated policy statement provides further evidence that media — both foreground and background — have potentially negative effects and no known positive effects for children younger than 2 years.

And "The Canadian Paediatric Society discourages screen-based activities for children under 2." and suggests that you "Keep television, computers and gaming equipment out of your child’s bedroom."