The new, round-the-clock channel is called BabyFirstTV. For US$9.99 a month, it will be available in the United States initially by satellite through DirecTV and later through cable TV providers as well. ¡¡¡¡

TV offerings already abound for older toddlers, and a lucrative market has developed for baby-oriented videos, attracting the Walt Disney Co. and the makers of Sesame Street, among others. But until now there had been no ongoing TV programming aimed at infants. ¡¡¡¡

"This is the first channel dedicated to babies and their parents transforming TV from its original purpose into a way for them to interact," said Sharon Rechter, BabyFirstTV's executive vice-president for business development and marketing. ¡¡¡¡

A 2003 study by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 68 per cent of children under 2 watch TV or videos daily and 26 per cent have a TV in their bedroom. Nonetheless, the paediatrics academy recommends that children of that age not be exposed to TV or videos, saying that learning to talk and play with others is much more important. ¡¡¡¡

The academy's guidelines were cited last week in a complaint filed with the Federal Trade Commission, challenging claims by leading makers of videos for babies that their products were educational. ¡¡¡¡

Critics of TV for infants also are sceptical of assertions by BabyFirstTV and other companies that their products are designed to be watched by babies and parents together in an interactive manner. ¡¡¡¡

"Experience tells anyone that it's not going to be used that way," said Dr. Michael Rich, director of the Center on Media and Child Health at Children's Hospital Boston. "Parents use it to park their kids in front of the TV so they can get things done."

Rich said the companies "are basically letting parents off the hook from their guilt by saying, 'This is educational,' so parents can justify it to themselves." ¡¡