Center on Media and Child Health

On Demand: Appropriate Control, or Encouraging Impatience?

How does having TV on-demand affect children? In The Boston Globe this week, CMCH Director Dr. Michael Rich attempted to answer this question.

He says that although we don't really know how the ability to see what they want when they want affects kids, we do know that, if overused, on-demand media can be as much of a trap as any other kind -- especially when parents feel the need to keep their kids constantly entertained. And as Dr. Rich points out, "If there's nothing good on TV...that's a good reason to turn the set off."

Potential problems aside, however, the article suggests that on-demand media can be a boon to parents and children alike by allowing parents to:

• Substantially reduce their kids' exposure to TV advertising
• Store a selection of child-appropriate shows to use as desired
• Hold off on watching a particular show until the time is right (e.g., it's not too late at night, homework is finished, etc.)

>> See how one parent discovered the benefits of having a DVR
>> See our guide to using DVRs to help your family

TV Use Down; Computer Use Up

The 2007 Youth Risk Behavior Survey is now available.  Here are the results of the media-related questions:

• 35% of students watched television 3 or more hours per day on an average school day (see table).  This is down from 43% in 1999.
• 25% of students used a computer for something that was not school work for 3 or more hours per day on an average school day (see table).  This is up slightly from 22% in 2003.

Though overall use between the two is down, I wonder if teens are really watching less television, or whether the availability of TV episodes over the Internet combined with widely available broadband access means they are watching those shows over the Internet instead of on a traditional TV set.

Infant TV Associated with Limited Verbal Interactions

In a new study by Mendelsohn et al , researchers studied the TV behavior of 154 low-income mothers and their 6-month-old infants.  97% of the mothers reported that their infants watched TV every day.  The researchers observed that the parents interacted with their children just 23% of the time that the TV was on.

As CMCH mentions in our guide to media and developmental stages, infants and toddlers need stimulation in three main ways, none of which are provided by television-watching: interacting with people, interacting with their physical environment, and solving open-ended problems. 

March Newsletters: TV in Bedrooms and Techno Time-Outs

The monthly CMCH e-newsletters are now available for March.  To subscribe, see www.cmch.tv/newsletter.asp

• Parents' Issue
• Teachers' Issue
• Researchers' Issue

TV Dinners

63% of homes have the television on during meals.  Research has shown a number of concerns about this practice such as:

• People eat more junk food and fewer fruits and vegetables while watching TV
• People eat more food while watching TV than while listening to music

Dr. Michael Rich, Director of CMCH, was interviewed for a podcast on this topic where he discusses what the research shows and explores options for parents.

Best Advice? Ban Bedroom TVs

An article in the NY Times suggests that children should not have TV sets in their bedrooms.  The author points out studies that have connected children having bedroom TVs with negative effects on sleep, overweight, smoking uptake, and school functioning.  The CMCH Database of Research contains 24 studies that have examined some aspect of having televisions in kids' bedrooms.

The article suggests that these effects are because parents simply are not sure what kinds of shows or how long their kids are watching on these private televisions.

The article also mentions new research by Epstein et al where researchers put monitors on household televisions, which resulted in a reduction of hours kids spent in front of the TV and a decrease in Body Mass Index.

Baby Einstein No Longer Advertised as Educational

Last Summer we reported on a study of baby videos that showed children who regularly watched these programs scored about 10% lower on language skills than those who did not watch them. 

After this study was released, the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC) asked Disney, the parent company of Baby Einstein, to "release research showing that Baby Einstein videos are beneficial to babies or publicly acknowledge that no such research exists."

The CCFC has announced that this plea has resulted in a complete redesign of the Baby Einstein website, which no longer promotes their DVDs as educational.  Though the implication of the name Einstein remains the same, it's a step in the right direction. 

Tempering Real-Life Violence with Media Violence?

A recent NY Times article explored a study which concluded that because violent movies attract violent people and keep them contained in movie theaters, there are 1,000 less violent crimes every week.

On the one hand, this seems like a time displacement argument with a very narrow focus -- akin to saying that there are less people playing football in the park during the time that the Superbowl is on.  (see submitted Letter to the Editor)

On the other hand, one could consider that keeping youth off the streets (whether through entertainment or after-school activities) is a valid way to keep crime down.  Though of course this brings up the question of whether the content of that entertainment matters in the short- or long-term. 

Here's the full text of the study -- what do YOU think?  Respond by clicking on the Comments link below. 

Nielsen Keeps Up With Change

At its essence, the purpose of Nielsen Media Research is to keep track of who watches what.  By tracking the TV program choices of 12,000 homes, they are able to learn which shows are most popular, thus influencing advertising rates and program continuation.  They recently announced that they will triple the size of their sample to 37,000 households with 100,000 people. 

According to their press release, this move is part of their Anytime Anywhere Media Measurement (A2/M2) initiative, which "seeks to measure televised video as it moves beyond the television set in the home to the Internet, hand-held devices and to platforms outside the house." 

Social Skill Deficit from Heavy Viewing in Early Childhood

Mistry, Minkovitz, Strobino, and Borzekowski examined the effects of heavy TV viewing in early childhood for a study in the October issue of Pediatrics.   They found that children who watched more than 2 hours of television per day between the ages of 2 ½ and 5 ½ had problems with social skills and with displaying aggressive behavior.  Those who didn't watch much TV as toddlers, but who watched a lot at age 5 ½  also had difficulty with social skills. 

The good news is that children who were heavy viewers as toddlers, but who reduced their viewing by age 5 ½ did not have significant social or behavioral problems.

>>See USA Today article