Attention Mothers of Babies and Toddlers (and Mothers-to-be!)

As some of you know, Jeremy and I try not to have the TV on - even "age-appropriate" shows - when Lily is awake. Its just one of things that feels bad to us - it is an opinion and an instinct. A few weeks ago, we did an experiment. We turned on Finding Nemo, an "animated" children's movie - for those of you who don't know - to see how she would react. I guess I should preface her reaction by saying that Lily is NEVER completely still, except when she is completely asleep. She doesn't sit still on our laps ever and barely when we read to her, which is her favorite activity. She is alwaysmovinglookingplayingtouchingexploring. When we turned on Finding Nemo, she sat completely still for 5+ minutes, until we turned it off, with her tongue hanging out. (See picture) I have no idea how long she would have sat there.
I am sure that it was partly b/c she isn't used to seeing the TV on, much less with all those bright colors and movements....but, still disturbing to me.

This post might be a bit controversial. Even though I normally shy away from possible drama, I would feel a bit cowardly if I kept this article (Toby found) all to myself. If you are interested, I would encourage you to read the article carefully.

It does NOT directly link autism to TV, it just says there might be a connection (a "significant relationship"), and also has a lot of other interesting things to say as well like this:
"The American Academy of Pediatrics currently recommends against any TV for children under the age of 2."
and this: "Researchers might also turn new attention to study of the Amish. Autism is rare in Amish society, and the standing assumption has been that this is because most Amish refuse to vaccinate children. The Amish also do not watch television."

I'm not trying to criticize families who do let their babies and toddlers watch the television, I just want everyone to be aware of the possibility that it might not be a helpful "activity".

Thoughts?