Experts
Are Concerned about Tots Watching TV
Parents do not seem to be heeding expert pediatrician guidelines
that urge a ban on TV watching for their very youngest children, says a report
in the journal Pediatrics.
The American Academy of Pediatrics
(AAP) currently recommends that children two and younger watch no
TV at all.
However, a new study finds that on a typical day, 63 percent
of children between zero and two years old watch television, and as many as
one in five youngsters under two even have a television placed in their bedrooms.
More than half (54 percent) of these tiny tots could turn
on the TV themselves.
"I understand
the AAP's stance,
because we don't yet know the neurological implications of screen time in young
children," says the study's author, Elizabeth Vandewater, Ph.D., at the University
of Texas in Austin.
On the other hand,
she says, "I don't think the guidelines
are realistic."
The study's findings were not all bad. Dr. Vandewater found
that just over half of three- to four-year-olds and 70 percent of five- and
six-year-olds watched no more than the recommended limit of two hours daily.
In the three-to six-year old children, TV in the bedroom became more common,
with about one-third having a set in the bedroom.
To learn more about actual viewing habits in young children,
Dr. Vandewater and her colleagues surveyed 1,051 parents of young children
during 2005.
They asked about media use, whether or not there was a TV
in the bedroom, and also about other activities, such as reading and playing
outdoors, to see if TV use was supplanting other pursuits.
On an average day, three-quarters of children watched at
least some television, and about one-third watched videos or DVDs, the study
found. The average viewing time was one hour and 20 minutes, which falls within
the AAP guideline of no more than one to two
hours for children over three.
The researchers did not find that TV typically displaced
other activities, such as reading or outdoor play. However, Dr. Vandewater
says that in previous research she has conducted, she has found that TV may
replace time spent interacting with parents.
"It's important to remember that if you turn off the TV,
the assumption is that the family will spend time together, but that's not
always true," she notes. "They might find other things to do separately. It's
also important that we don't assume all time spent with parents is good, quality
time.
"If parents are under stress, that's not necessarily a good
time to be together, and it might not be so bad to pop in a video for a half
an hour," Dr. Vandewater says.
She also commiserates
with parents who might find the "no
TV" rule tough to adhere to.
"Media and technology are not going away," says Dr. Vandewater. "They're
part of the backdrop of our everyday lives - TV stands are now standard living
room furniture. So, we need to figure out how to give advice that's workable."
Dr. Christopher Lucas, at the New York University Child
Study Center in New York City, agrees that it is difficult to keep children
under two from watching any TV, because TV has become so ubiquitous in American
life.
"The guidelines seem out of sync with what the reality is," says
Dr. Lucas.
Neither Dr. Vandewater or Dr. Lucas is specifically advocating
TV watching for young children. Instead, they are just acknowledging that it
does occur and that there is currently no evidence to prove that it is harmful.
Dr. Lucas says to be helpful, TV needs to be put into context
for children.
"Unsupervised, passive watching probably isn't helpful,
but educational media - when watched with parents or another caregiver - could
be helpful," he notes.
Both Dr. Vandewater and Dr. Lucas were concerned about the
growing trend of TVs in children's bedrooms. Most often, parents interviewed
in the study said they put a TV set in their kid's room because it freed up
other TVs in the house for parental use.
"There is a growing body of literature showing that TV in
the bedroom is related to a host of negative outcomes," says Vandewater. "I
would strongly urge parents not to put TV in a child's bedroom.
"There's this belief that TV is helpful to children and
may soothe them, but TV activates the brain and actually makes it more difficult
to sleep," explains Dr. Lucas.
Dr. Vandewater's
final advice? "Media is a treat. Like any
other treat, it's best in moderation."
Always consult your physician for more information.
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