Kids and TV

     A study done by the Center for Child Health, Behavior And Development in Seattle was published in the March issue of Pediatrics and it gives an interesting slant on the ongoing debate about children and television.

     Most studies in the past have shown that the more television children watch, the more those children have obesity, school problems, aggression, antisocial behavior and early sexual behavior. In fact, another study in the same issue of Pediatrics reported that the more television children watched, the more likely those children were to have a criminal conviction before reaching age 26.

     The Seattle study, however, did not look at how much television children watched. The researchers studied how the content of the programs affected the children’s behavior. They allowed the children to watch as much television as they usually did, but they replaced violent and inappropriate content with educational and non-violent programs. They also decreased antisocial and violent content of the DVDs, videos, and computer games that the children were exposed to. The study was based on the well-established fact that children copy behavior that they see. The children were 3 to 5 years old and the study lasted 12 months. The children’s parents, relatives and day care workers were all involved in changing the viewing content.

     After 12 months, the children in the study showed significant improvement in their social and emotional responses to testing.  Low-income boys showed the greatest benefit. It is clear that not viewing violent and antisocial media improves children’s attitude and behavior. The authors of the study said it best: “Although television is frequently implicated as a cause of many problems in children, our research indicates that it may also be part of the solution”.