An Iowa State assistant professor gained national exposure last week through a commentary in the national newspaper USA Today.

Paula McMurray-Schwarz, an assistant professor in human development and family studies, was an Oct. 26 guest commentator in the newspaper. Her article focused on the effects that television and video viewing can have on young children.

The Ohio State alumna, who began working at ISU in January of 1992, wrote about the possible detrimental effect that long-term viewing of television can have on the social development of young children.

The commentary is one of the first to take a stance based on the amount of time a child spends in front of the television rather than on the violent content of some popular children’s programming, said Allison Engel, Dean Helen LeBaron Hilton Endowed Chair for Outreach.

The study examined the viewing habits of the children at the laboratory school here on campus. “If your child is watching videos all the time, they are not doing other things like playing or reading,” McMurray-Schwarz said. The column was submitted to the newspaper at the request of the section editor following the publication of a column on the use of child sexuality in Calvin Klein advertisements. That piece was written by ISU’s Corliss Petersen.

Engel said she was asked if there were any other faculty members who had ideas for columns. She said she told McMurray-Schwarz and suggested she submit the column.

This is the first time McMurray-Schwarz has written for a mainstream publication, but it is not the first time she has been consulted as an expert in a media publication. She said she was interviewed for an article on the development of social skills in young children in the September issue of Parenting magazine.

McMurray-Schwarz said she is tossing around a couple of ideas for future columns.

“We need to convince professors to get their ideas and opinions out to a wider audience. It’s important to let the public know about the thinking, issues and developments around here,” Engel said. “So much is being done in these areas. It’s time that professors speak out on these topics.”