LOS ANGELES --
Parents may think "SpongeBob SquarePants" is harmless, but the popular character may be to blame for attention problems in young children. A recent study of 60 children finds that watching nine minutes of the popular cartoon can cause short-term attention and learning problems in 4-year-olds.
Researchers said fast-paced cartoons pose this problem as opposed to slower-paced TV shows.
The study was published in the Journal of Pediatrics.