More TV Means Less Family Time, Study Says
POSTED: 9:42 am PST February 6, 2006
Children who spend more time watching television spend less time interacting with their family and playing creatively, according to researchers from the University of Texas and Harvard Children's Hospital.
Researchers surveyed 2,900 children under age 12 and analyzed their activity for one weekday and one weekend day.
Increased time watching television was associated with decreased time interacting with parents and siblings and playing creatively. Also, older children who spent more time watching television spent less time on homework.
Television did not interfere with reading or playing outdoors, though it is a commonly held belief that it interferes with these activities.
"Now we know that time spent watching television is negatively related to time spent with parents," said Dr. Elizabeth Vandewater. She said the work supports guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics, which says kids under the age of 2 should not watch television and children older than 2 should watch no more than two hours a day.
"When AAP made these recommendations, we actually knew nothing about how much time infants and toddlers were spending in front of the screen," said Vandewater.
She said TV cut most into family time for 9- to 12-year-olds, because they spent less time with their parents in general.
Children spend more time watching television than any other single free time activity, a news release said.
