br br Permitting infants to view tv, phone, pad, or computer screens over their first year of life leads to markedly faulty communication and problem-solving skills. Japanese child development researchers report this finding following their study of 7,097 children.br br Of the group 48.5 watched less than an hour a day and served as controls, 29.5 watched 1-2 hoursday, 17.9 watched 2-4 hoursday, and 4.1 watched 4 or more hoursday. Developmental analyses at 2 years revealed that those infants watching 1-2 hrsday compared with less than 1 hour had a 61 higher risk of communication delays. That risk doubled (2.04) for those watching 2-4 hrs, and was almost 5-fold higher (4.78) for those watching 4 hrs or more a day. Problem solving was also impaired by 2 years with a 40 higher risk for those watching 2-4 hrsday and a nearly 3-fold (2.67) risk for those watching 4 hrs or more.br br While it is tempting to use video as an electronic nanny, think twice about permitting your baby to gaze at the screen hour after hour.