TV in bedroom linked to low marks

A US study links televisions in children`s bedrooms to lower performance in school and unhealthy habits that can lead to obesity, aggression and underage drinking.

The study, conducted by the US National Institute on Media and the Family and published in the Journal Of Applied Developmental Psychology, found several negative effects of allowing televisions in children`s bedrooms. In comparison with children who don`t have bedroom televisions:

¤ Children watch 5 1/2 more hours of TV per week;

¤ Parents are less able to monitor what their children see;

¤ Parents are less able to be consistent with rules for watching media;

¤ Children participate in fewer activities;

¤ Children do worse in school.

"This study confirms what I`ve been hearing from teachers for years," said David Walsh, president of the institute and co-author of the study.

"Teachers have repeatedly confided to me that they can identify kids who have TVs in their bedrooms without even asking them."

Parents are `bad listeners`

Many British children say their parents are bad listeners and they can`t talk to them about their problems, according to a survey reported by BBC online.

The things they most want to discuss are bullying, other school problems and sex.

Only 47 per cent of the children questioned for a survey by BT and Childline said adults listened to what they said and acted on it.

The things they most wanted to talk about were bullying (65 per cent), sex and relationships (58 per cent), and problems with school (53 per cent).

The other subjects they wanted to discuss were coping with family bereavement (44 per cent), abuse (43 per cent) and drugs (39 per cent).

Adults were also questioned in the survey. Most agreed it was important to listen to children, but only just over half of adults said this actually happened.

Nearly nine in 10 children said the biggest barrier to talking to an adult about a difficult subject was embarrassment.

The other things holding them back were fear of being punished and of getting someone into trouble.

Streamed classes `demotivate`

Grouping pupils by ability does not automatically raise standards and could just serve to demotivate those in lower streams, research suggests.

A study of ability groupings in the UK and other countries, reported by the BBC, found children in lower streams tended to be taught a reduced curriculum and be given repetitive work that offered little challenge or stimulation.

Dr Sue Hallam of London University`s Institute of Education said these pupils, who are viewed by their school as unlikely to achieve, become easily demoralised and potentially disruptive.

"Where pupils don`t feel valued by the school, they will seek other ways of maintaining self-esteem, such as buying into sub-cultures which hold anti-educational values, where it is "cool" to be alienated," said Dr Hallam.

Dr Hallam`s research also found pupils in the top ability sets were often disadvantaged by setting. The fast pace and pressure on them to achieve could often lead to anxiety and distress, she said.

"When a school overemphasises academic achievement and glorifies high ability, pupils at both ends of the spectrum may have negative experiences."

Dr Hallam said the solution was not for teachers to direct lessons at an "imaginary average child".

One way forward would be to have small groupings within mixed ability classes, where different groups could work at their own pace.

Fear of failure

Research in Australia suggests parental and societal pressure is to blame for "self-sabotaging behaviour" by students, whereby they set unrealistically low expectations to cushion themselves against fear of failure.

Girls self-sabotage with mild illnesses and emotional issues and boys tend to simply stop working, a study found.

The study among university students in Melbourne found that 74 per cent put things off until the last moment and 79 per cent are distracted while studying.

Almost 70 per cent say emotions interfere with their life and 63 per cent make excuses when they do not live up to expectations.

"They prefer to be seen for their potential rather than their achievements," said one of the researchers. "By self-sabotaging they protect their self-esteem."

Self-sabotaging is often caused by pressure from aspirational parents who worry their child won`t get into university. "In today`s world parents are really scared for their children, so they reward achievements rather than effort," she said.