Turn off television for babies, doctors say

In an era of increasing niche programming on TV, women have the Oxygen network, men have Spike TV and some pets are even agog at Animal Planet. Now, infants can pull up a bouncy chair, grab a bottle and have round-the-clock access to the nation's first channel for babies, BabyFirstTV, featuring three-minute segments designed for babies as young as 6 months. The satellite channel touts itself as a "learning experience" for babies and their parents with developmental benefits. But it has come under fire from child development experts who say the claims are false and fly in the face of the American Academy of Pediatrics' recommendation of no TV at all for children under age 2. "I had that appalled, shocked reaction. (Babies) are these wide-open, defenseless, clueless targets," said Berkeley child psychologist Allen Kanner, co-founder of the national group Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, which has filed a false advertising complaint against the channel with the Federal Trade Commission.

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