Children and Tv

Sitting in school, little Jane sits anxiously watching the clock. The teacher is talking to the class, but Jane can't wait to get home. When the bell finally rings, she runs out of the classroom, and all the way home. After blasting in the house, she runs to turn on the TV. Having nothing more exciting to do, Jane will sit in front of the television until her mom pulls her away for dinner. This is an all to familiar scenario in many American homes today. What many people don't realize are the problems that can develop from young children watching too much TV? Many emerging dilemmas are resulting from this concern. When a young child with a maturing brain sits if front of the TV for several hours every day, it can instigate loss of creativity, and violence further along down the road. The ability to be creative is an important factor in the development of a young child's mind. By sitting down and watching TV for a couple hours, the child's entertained but is also not thinking.

A national random sample of 527 parents of 2- to 17-year-olds completed Media Quotient questionnaires. The independent research firm Anderson, Niebuhr & Associates, Inc conducted the data collection. All data collection occurred between July 30 and November 4, 1998. The data reflect responses from all socioeconomic statuses. The data are weighted by income level to reflect national income distributions appropriately. The overall response rate for the study was 55 percent. The data is accurate to ±4% with a 95% confidence level (Media 1).

Over half of parents of 2- to 17-year-olds have seen effects of violent video games, television, and movies on their children 51 percent "agree" or "strongly agree" that their children are affected by the violence they see in video games.

Parents have expressed their concerns about the amount of sexual and violent content their children see in many surveys. While both sexual and violent content concern parents, the amount of sexual content has routinely been of slightly greater concern to parents. For the first time, this study shows that more parents are concerned about the amount of violent content their children see:

* 81 percent of parents of 2- to 17-year-olds "agree" or "strongly agree" that they are concerned about the amount of violent content their children see in movies or on TV.

* 77 percent of parents "agree" or "strongly agree" that they are concerned about the amount of sexual content their children see in movies or on TV.

The average American child:

* Watches 25 hours of television each week

* Plays computer or video games for 7 hours each week

* Accesses the Internet from home for 4 hours each week (among those who have Internet access)

20 percent of 2- to 7-year-olds, 46 percent of 8- to 12-year-olds, and 56 percent of 13- to 17-year-olds has televisions in their bedrooms. Children who have television sets in their bedrooms watch more television than children who do not have television sets in their bedrooms (5Ð... hours per week more, on average)(Media 1).

Although parents are concerned, and children are using media for many hours each day:

* Only 58 percent of parents have rules about how much TV may be watched

* Only 34 percent of parents "always" or "often" use the TV rating system to help choose what programs their children may watch

* Only 40 percent of parents "always" or "often" look at the industry ratings before renting or buying computer or video games.

* One-quarter (26%) of parents with Internet access use a blocking device for their children's Internet use.

Perhaps this pattern is due to the fact that 36 percent of parents think that media have less influence on their children compared to most children, whereas only six percent think that media have more influence on their children compared to most children (Media 1).

Family media habits can affect children's school performance. While it has been known for many years that the amount of television children watch is related to school performance this study gives insight into many specific facets of media use that were not known previously. Furthermore, this study measured many types of electronic media as well as alternatives to electronic media, thus giving a more complete picture of family media habits. Some key predictors of school performance include:

* Families that use electronic media less and read more have children who do better in school

* Parents who report that their children's behavior is less affected by media do better in school.

* Children who participate in more alternatives to electronic media with their parents' support perform better in school.

* Families that have the TV on during meals more frequently have children who do more poorly in school.

* Families that report having the TV on more often even if no one is watching have children who do more poorly in school.

* The average