Denver Child Center Has Advice For Watching "SpongeBob SquarePants"

DENVER (CBS4) - It's the study that has parents talking. Could kids' favorite sea sponge be one of the bad guys?

"SpongeBob SquarePants" is in hot water. A study suggests watching just nine minutes of the fast-paced cartoon can cause short-term attention and learning problems in 4 year olds.

Sixty children were randomly assigned to either watch "SpongeBob," the slower-paced cartoon "Caillou," or draw pictures for nine minutes. Immediately after the children took mental function tests. Those who watched Nickelodeon's "SpongeBob" scored an average 12 points lower than the other two groups.

STORY FROM CBSNews.com: "SpongeBob" Hinders Kids' Minds, Quickly: Study

Nickelodeon disputed the findings saying "SpongeBob" is aimed at children six to 11 and "having 60 non-diverse kids, who are not part of the show's targeted demo, watch nine minutes of programming is questionable methodology and could not possibly provide the basis for any valid findings that parents could trust."

Heidi Heissenbuttel runs the Sewall Child Development Center in Denver.

"Children need a balance of outdoor and indoor active play to construct their world," Heissenbuttel said.

Heissenbuttel advocates monitoring TV viewing and keeping it to about an hour a day for preschoolers.

Previous research has linked TV watching with long-term attention problems in children.