Reducing TV Viewing in Kids
(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- An intervention program can help reduce the time a preschooler spends in front of the television, according to new research. Study authors say this research is the first to show a program aimed to preschoolers is effective at reducing the amount of television viewing time.
Research shows television viewing can have adverse effects on children including poor behavior and school performance, as well as being blamed for higher rates of violence and childhood obesity. The Committee of Public Education of the American Academy of Pediatrics suggests limiting preschool television to two hours a day and discourages television viewing for children younger than 2 years old. While intervention programs to reduce television viewing in older children have been established, there are no intervention programs to date for preschool children. Doctors from Bassett Healthcare in Cooperstown, N.Y., developed and evaluated an intervention program aimed at children between 2 and 5 years old.
For the research, doctors randomly assigned 16 preschool or daycare centers to the intervention group or the control group. The intervention group received a seven-session program designed to reduce television viewing. The program emphasized reading and other alternatives to watching television and stressed the importance of eating meals together as a family. The children were rewarded with stickers for not watching television and were given an anti-television themed book. The control group participated in a safety and injury prevention program.
Researchers report at the start of the study, the intervention group watched 11.9 hours of television per week and the control group watched 14 hours per week. After the intervention program, the children in the first group reduced their television viewing by more than three hours per week and the children in the control group increased their viewing by 1.6 hours per week. Unlike studies with older children, researchers say there was no difference in weight gain between the two groups.
Study authors say to their knowledge, this is the first study to show an intervention program that successfully reduces a preschool child’s television viewing habits. They say further research is needed to study the long-term effects of an intervention program at this age.
SOURCE: Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine, 2004;158:170-176
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, who offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, go to: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.