What should be the chidlren TV watching guidelines?
[start highlight] Limit the total amount of television watching time and/or other media use to less than 1 to 2 hours per day. Avoid exposure to screen media in children younger than 2 years of age. The attitude of parents about TV may influence the TV viewing habits of children. [end highlight]
Do our children watch too much TV?
It was estimated that American children aged 2 to 18 spend approximately 6,5 hours per day using media, increasing to 8 hours per day if considering the simultaneous use of multiple media; this makes it the leading activity in terms of time consume, with exception for sleep.
It has been estimated that, by the age of 18, a person may have already seen a surprising number of 200.000 acts of violence, on television alone. Sexual, racist and xenophobic contents may also be seen by young children, who cannot discriminate and who can imitate the observed attitudes.
What is the importance of parents’ attitude towards media use by their children?
Not only the television but also the so-called “new media”, which may include cell phones, iPads, and social media, are becoming a dominant force in children’s lives. While using these media, violent, sexual, racist and xenophobic contents may be seen by young children, who cannot discriminate and who can imitate the observed attitudes.
In a study conducted by Valerio D et al., 95% of the parents of a total of 156 children attending nursery school, kindergarten, and the first 2 years of elementary school responded to a questionnaire. The results from this pilot study, which are shown below, suggest that the attitude of parents about TV may influence the TV viewing habits of children, hence the importance that the parents set rules for their children concerning media use.
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Parental attitude influences the TV viewing habits of children(Italian survey)
- Television viewing time
- Parental attitude
- Infants: 19%
- 2 – 3 years: 29%
- 4 – 6 years: 43%
- 8 years and older: 68%
- Limit the total amount of television watching time and/or other media use to less than 1 to 2 hours per day.
- Avoid exposure to screen media in children younger than 2 years of age.
- Plan your children’s watching time: prefer programs whose contents are specific for your children’s age.
- Avoid putting a television as well as internet connected devices in your child’s bedroom at all costs.
- Monitor the media your children are using, including television, web sites and social media.
- View television and movies with your children and use them as an opportunity to allow your children to pose questions and to discuss important values.
- Establish a plan of use for all media in the house. Give a special reinforcement for a curfew mealtime and bedtime regarding media devices, which may include not only television and computers, but also cell phones.
- Keep in mind that there are many positive messages and examples in movies and television programs, so learn also to take advantage of these during the media use allowed time.
- Recent surveys have shown that children and adolescents spend too much time in front of television or other screens for media use.
- Parents should restrain that time to a maximum of 1 to 2 hours per day. Screen exposure before 2 years should be avoided.
- The proportion of children who have a television in their room is surprisingly big. Television and media devices should be kept out of children’s rooms.
- Parents should monitor what media their children use and what they see.
- Parents should take advantage of television programs and movies to discuss important values.
- Council on communications and Media. Children, adolescents, and the media. Pediatrics. 2013 Nov; 132(5):958-61.
- Jordan AB, Hersey JC, McDivitt JA, Heitzler CD. Reducingchildren’s television-viewing time: a qualitative study of parents and their children. Pediatrics. 2006 Nov;118(5):e1303-10.
- Valerio M, Amodio P, Dal Zio M et al. The use oftelevision in 2- to 8-year-old children and the attitude of parents about such use. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1997 Jan;151(1):22-6.
- Council on Communications andMedia. From de American Academy of Pediatrics. Policy statement–Media violence. Pediatrics. 2009 Nov;124(5):1495-503.
- Committee on Public Education. American Academy of Pediatrics. Media Violence. Pediatrics.2001 Nov;108(5):1222-6.
– 1-3 hour s per day: 50% of children
– >3 hours per day: 9% of children
1) Most frequent way of involvement by parents in the use of T.V. by children: prohibition of some programs.
2) Optimistic judgment by parents about the contents and values of TV programs:
– Significantly associated with greater quantitative exposure, i.e., more T.V. viewing time (p < 0.04)
– Significantly associated with uncritical exposure of children to TV messages (p < 0.05)
3) Severe judgment by parents about the contents and values of TV programs:
– Significantly associated with qualitatively better exposure to TV (p < 0.05)
– Significantly associated with greater selectivity of programs watched by children (p < 0.05)
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Another topic that deserves attention is the presence of television in children’s bedrooms – the numbers presented in the box below explain this concern. It is easy to realize that a child who has a T.V. in the bedroom tends to watch T.V. for more hours and, in addition, it has been studied that not only the risk for violent behavior may be increased, but also increases the risk for obesity by 31% and the risk for smoking doubles. So, it’s recommended not to allow a child to have T.V. in her/his bedroom as a rule.
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T.V. in children’s bedrooms by age (U.S. survey)
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What rules should parents implement regarding TV/media use?
Summary and Recommendations
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References
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