LOS ANGELES, Oct 27, 2009 (UPI via COMTEX) -- For young children in the United
States, TV watching is almost a full-time job, with the 2-5 set spending 32
hours a week glued to the tube, a study finds.
The findings released Monday by the Nielsen Co. showed TV watching drops
slightly when children enter elementary school. Those ages 6 to 11 spend an
average of 28 hours a week in front of the set, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Patricia McDonough, Nielsen senior vice president of insights, analysis and
policy, suggested children are spending more time watching TV because of the
broader range of material available.
. "They're using the DVD, they're on the Internet," McDonough said. "They're not
giving up any media. They're just picking up more."
The trend worries children's health experts. Studies have found children who
watch more TV are likely to have delayed language skills and to be overweight
than those who watch less.
"I think parents are clueless about how much media their kids are using and what
they're watching," said Dr. Vic Strasburger, a professor of pediatrics at the
University of New Mexico and a spokesman for the American Academy of Pediatrics.
"The biggest misconception is that it's harmless entertainment."
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