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According to Nielsen, children nowadays watch, on average, over a day of TV every week. (An article on the report is here.) Specifically, children ages 2-5 watch an average of over 32 hours, and children ages 6-11 watch an average of over 28 hours. The figure includes live TV, TV that is recorded on a DVR or video (does anyone use those anymore?), DVDs and video game console usage. So, with a lot of kids we can assume that a some of that figure is eaten by video game time.
Still, that's a lot of TV.
I suppose I can't be too judgemental - I know I watch more than 32 hours of TV every week, especially if we're talking about playing video games too, because that's something my husband and I love to do together. Also, while I'm watching TV, I'm usually multitasking - reading, knitting, surfing the Internet, talking to my husband, chatting on the phone, writing a blog entry. And if I'm home alone, that TV is almost always on, just for background noise so that I don't freak myself out when I hear the cat scampering around upstairs or the furnace turning on and off. Also, I'm an adult, not a kid with a developing brain.
Also, I can't be too judgemental because I don't yet have children of my own, and when I do I'm sure that they will watch some TV because that's how I was raised. Not completely, of course - my sister and I played together a ton, and I read constantly, and we played games and went on outings as a family. But TV was a factor in my childhood, too. In the morning while we ate breakfast we had the Today Show on, and Tom Brokaw joined us for dinner nearly every night. We also watched Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy nearly every night, which I think helped me develop my love of words and my ability to quickly remember facts from a wide array of subjects and phrase my answer in the form of a question. (I think I actually scared my in-laws the first time they saw me watch Jeopardy, because I was so quick and good at it.) And we had a few prime-time shows we watched as a family ("Home Improvement," ABC's TGIF lineup, "The Simpsons"). We watched Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers and some other educational programming too, but I mostly remember watching TV with my whole family.
To make a long and rambling story short, I'm certainly not going to be quick to condemn parents whose children are in front of the TV quite a bit. There are quite a few mitigating circumstances - are they doing something else while they're watching TV? Is the TV just on for background noise while the kids play and mom makes lunch? Is TV time a family bonding time, like it was in my family? Are they watching something educational, rather than reruns of "Spongbob Squarepants"? Are they still exercising and interacting with people on a regular basis?
Listen, TV and video games aren't inherently evil, nor are they necessarily the brain-rotting tools that some people would have you believe. Sure, it's not great for children to get plunked in front of the TV or the Nintendo every day in lieu of creative play, reading, exercise or socialization. It's especially bad for infants, according to studies - a 2007 University of Washington study reported that babies who watched Baby Einstein or other such videos for infants actually knew fewer vocabulary words than children who didn't. At the same time, there are a lot of good educational programs out there, and I believe watching TV really can be a tool to help kids learn, or at least want to learn.
The key, I think, is limiting the TV intake - and that goes for adults, too. (Myself included, for sure!) Instead of immediately flipping on the TV, open a book, whip out a board game, get out the Barbie dolls or go for a stroll around the neighborhood. If we all did that for one hour a day that we'd normally watch TV, I bet we'd all be a little bit happier, a little bit healthier and a little bit better off.
What do you think - do kids watch too much TV? How much TV is the right amount? What should kids be watching? Sound off - I want to hear what you have to say, especially parents!
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