Some people had asked in our last prenatal class about why it isn't recommended to allow television for kids under the age of two.  As someone who likes to research this kind of stuff I looked up what the general Internet had to say on the topic and forwarded them to my classmates in case anyone else was interested.
 
This guideline is from 1999 (both in Canada and the US).  They are likely to be revised in the near future to distinguish between "verbal" and "non-verbal" infants rather than having an arbitrary age recommendation.  

• General commentaries on why the guideline for avoiding TV under two (2007).
• Potential link to autism (2006).
• Background distraction potential "environmental hazard" (2008).
• A summary of some of the research - hosted by PBS, so potential for some pro-TV bias - (mostly from 2006 - literature reviews are from 2004 and 2005).  The two links to "current" research on TV are both quite interesting.
• Screen-Time Awareness factsheet.
• Canadian Pediatric Society's general statement on television for kids (not infants).

Essentially the conclusion seems to be that in the very early stages of a child's life direct interaction with others is critical to the proper development of their brains.

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