SpongeBob Square Pants Hurts Kids Brains [Study]


He lives in a pineapple under the sea and apparent he also hurts your child’s brain according to a research research study.

In the study researchers showed children a nine-minute SpongeBob SquarePants video, while another control group watched educational programming from the PBC education program Caillou while a third group spent that same time drawing. The group of four year old children were then tested to see how well they could stay on task without being distracted. According to researchers the SpongeBob group was significantly worse at staying on task and avoiding distractions than both of the other groups.

A pediatrician speaking on the Today show said of the study:

“Most parents worry too much about how much TV their children watch and not enough about what they watch,” while adding, “It’s not about turning the TV off. It’s about changing the channel.”

Nickelodeon took very little time to fire back at the study, noting that the show is aimed at children 6-to-11-years-old and not the 4-year-old group used for the study. In fact, Nick reps says 4-year-old children “are clearly not the intended demographic.”

I understand the point of the study, but was there really any doubt that SpongeBob SquarePants isn’t an educational program? Most of the time SpongeBob and Patrick run around for no apparent reason, performing tasks that children learn nothing from. It obvious the show is meant to be entertaining and not necessarily educational.

What do you think about the SpongeBob SquarePants study? Do you let your children watch the cartoon?

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