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French TV shows aimed at under 3s have been banned by France's broadcast authority, with the objective of protecting children from developmental risks that TV viewing poses for children of that age.  The High Audiovisual Council decided last week that it wanted to "protect children under 3 from the effects of television."

The ruling also ordered warning messages for parents on foreign baby channels that are broadcast in France - such as Baby TV and BabyFirstTV, which are linked with Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.  The messages will read: "Watching television can slow the development of children under 3, even when it involves channels aimed specifically at them."

France's minister for culture and communication, Christine Albanel, issued a "cry of alarm" to parents in June about channels dedicated 24 hours a day to baby-targeted programming. In a newspaper interview, she called them "a danger" and urged parents not to use them to help their children get to sleep.  She was referring to BabyFirstTV and Baby TV, two foreign channels that can be seen in France on cable television.  The council's ruling aims to prevent the development of such programming on French channels, by preventing them from marketing content as suitable for the under-three age group.

The ruling cites health experts as saying that interaction with other people is crucial to early child development.   "Television viewing hurts the development of children under 3 years old and poses a certain number of risks, encouraging passivity, slow language acquisition, over-excitedness, troubles with sleep and concentration as well as dependence on screens," the ruling said.

BabyFirstTV and other companies say their products are designed to be watched by babies and parents together in an interactive manner.  

Guy Oranim, chief executive officer of BabyFirstTV, said he "respectfully objects" to the French council's ruling.  He said the channel's content is carefully screened to ensure it is positive and educational, and that the channel encourages parents to make sure their babies don't go overboard on TV but include it in a balanced schedule.