This article is based on a study of the role of play and experiential-learning activities beyond formal schooling in sixteen nations. The study, supported by Unilever PLC, gathered information from the mothers of twenty-four hundred children in countries in North America, South America, Africa, Europe, and Asia who described and rated their…

Describes past television research on children related to imagination and vocabulary, visual and verbal processes, and TV exposure and reading; and recommends that television be used with discretion, with other modes of information and entertainment--especially books--becoming a habitual part of a child's life. (CMV)

The literature review discusses studies which have been conducted to determine whether television enriches a child's imagination or leads to distortions of reality, and whether adult mediation during a child's television viewing or immediately after can evoke constructive changes or stimulate make-believe play. Thirty-six references are cited.…