Despite warnings, most US babies watch TV
About 90 per cent of US children under age two and as many as 40 per cent of infants under three months are regular watchers of television, DVDs and videos, researchers said.They said the number of young children watching TV is much greater than...
About 90 per cent of US children under age two and as many as 40 per cent of infants under three months are regular watchers of television, DVDs and videos, researchers said.
They said the number of young children watching TV is much greater than expected.
"We don't know from the study whether it is good or bad. What we know is that it is big," said Frederick Zimmerman of the University of Washington, whose research appears in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.
A second study suggested excessive TV viewing can lead to attention and learning problems down the road.
The American Academy of Pediatrics estimates that children in the United States watch about four hours of television every day. They recommend that children under age two should not watch any and older children should watch no more than two hours a day of quality programming.
But 29 per cent of parents surveyed by Prof. Zimmerman and colleagues believe baby-oriented TV and DVD programs offer educational benefits.
"Parents are getting the message loud and clear from marketers of TV and videos that this is good for their kids. That it will help their brain development... None of this stuff has ever been proven," Prof. Zimmerman said in a telephone interview.
For their study, Prof. Zimmerman's team conducted random telephone surveys of more than 1,000 families with young children in Minnesota and Washington.
They found 90 per cent of children under age two and 40 per cent of infants under three months watched TV regularly.
At three months, children watched less than an hour per day, but by 24 months, they watched more than 1.5 hours per day.
About half of the shows watched were in the educational category, with the remainder split evenly among non-educational children's content, baby DVDs/videos and adult TV.
They said the number of young children watching TV is much greater than expected.
"We don't know from the study whether it is good or bad. What we know is that it is big," said Frederick Zimmerman of the University of Washington, whose research appears in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.
A second study suggested excessive TV viewing can lead to attention and learning problems down the road.
The American Academy of Pediatrics estimates that children in the United States watch about four hours of television every day. They recommend that children under age two should not watch any and older children should watch no more than two hours a day of quality programming.
But 29 per cent of parents surveyed by Prof. Zimmerman and colleagues believe baby-oriented TV and DVD programs offer educational benefits.
"Parents are getting the message loud and clear from marketers of TV and videos that this is good for their kids. That it will help their brain development... None of this stuff has ever been proven," Prof. Zimmerman said in a telephone interview.
For their study, Prof. Zimmerman's team conducted random telephone surveys of more than 1,000 families with young children in Minnesota and Washington.
They found 90 per cent of children under age two and 40 per cent of infants under three months watched TV regularly.
At three months, children watched less than an hour per day, but by 24 months, they watched more than 1.5 hours per day.
About half of the shows watched were in the educational category, with the remainder split evenly among non-educational children's content, baby DVDs/videos and adult TV.