25 Jul Expert Meeting – Child and television 2008

In 2008 an expert meeting was held, based on the 1964 publication ‘Over de Invloed van Radio en Televisie op Kleuters en Jonge Kinderen’ by Dr. Frits Wilmar on the influence of listening to the radio and watching television on infants. Wilmar believed that watching television was harmful and disruptive for children younger than 10, as well as adolescents. Unsurprisingly, Wilmar’s controversial opinion picked up the attentions of the national Dutch press.

At this expert meeting, the sixty participants evaluated the 1964 publication against more recent neurological knowledge within the framework of anthroposophical reasoning. The publication was discussed and annotated by these participants and republished under the title noted above, which translates to: ‘The influence of radio and television on toddlers and young children’. The annotated book was written by Frits Wilmar, Peter van Domburg, and Hugo Verburgh, published shortly after the expert meeting. Download the book here.