Home  News Nuggets Despite warnings, most U.S. babies watch TV, DVDs
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Despite warnings, most U.S. babies watch TV, DVDs |
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Written by Administrator
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Tuesday, 08 May 2007 |
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About 90 percent of U.S. children under age 2 and as many as 40 percent of infants under three months are regular watchers of television, DVDs and videos, researchers said on Monday.
"We don't know from the study whether it is good or bad. What we know is that it is big," said Frederick Zimmerman of the University of Washington, whose research appears in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.
A second study suggested excessive TV viewing can lead to attention and learning problems down the road.
"Parents are getting the message loud and clear from marketers of TV and videos that this is good for their kids. That it will help their brain development ... None of this stuff has ever been proven," Zimmerman said in a telephone interview.
"Kids who watched less than one hour of TV per day were twice as likely to go to college as those who watched three or more hours per day," he said.
Parents said 22 percent of teens who watched less than an hour a day were often bored at school, compared to 35 percent of the moderate watchers and 42 percent of those who watched three hours or more.
Source: Reuters
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