Strollerderby
TV in Your Kid’s Bedroom = Bad, Bad, Bad
I remember being shocked the first time I heard of a kid my kid’s age having a TV in their bedroom. WTF? And I grew up having free rein to veg out to Saturday morning cartoons and wasn’t opposed to TV for kids until later, but still the idea of a six-year old having their own TV seemed…wrong. On many counts.
It turns out it’s WAY wrong. It’s making kids emotionally numb. Not to mention giving them disturbed sleep and behavioral problems. Yikes. About 2700 kids were studied and tracked from birth and queried about their TV viewing habits at the ages of 2.5 and 5.5 years. It was found that five-year-olds who watched a lot of TV had fewer social skills, specifically in the areas of cooperation and self-control. In addition, it was noted that kids with bedroom TVs were less “emotionally reactive”, meaning they were less apt to be bothered by changes in routine than other children and were less moody. While that sounds like a good thing, researchers are saying that in reality these kids are simply numb emotionally and that the “intensity with which they react to stimulation” has been dampened.
The good news is that some of this can be reversed simply by cutting back on the amount of TV that’s being watched. In other words, they say that kids who started out watching a lot of TV but then later cut back weren’t at risk for behavioral problems. No word on the numbness thing, though, and while that point is based on conclusions drawn by researchers, it’s my guess that if true it’s something that could likely set up a pattern of response that would follow a child his entire life.
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7 Comments
RachelZ commented on Jan 01 70 at 12:00 amIf I would allow my husband to put a TV in the bathroom, he would. He is a shameless addict and just laughs me off when I ask him to turn it off unless he’s watching something specific, especially on weekends when Jillian is up and about. He just doesn’t get it.
Jillian won’t have a TV in her room until she can buy one herself. I’d like to take the TV out of my bedroom, but then I might have more sex and I’m just too tired for that.
trayletha commented on Jan 01 70 at 12:00 amNo TV in mine or my D’s room, I always told my husband if we need a TV in our bedroom we’ve got BIG problems. We’ve only got one TV in the entire house so everybody’s got to agree on what we’ll be watching – except if the Steelers are playing.
Anonymous commented on Jan 01 70 at 12:00 amGosh, I’m starting to think that my brother and SIL put a TV in their kids room for the numbing effect…..
Anonymous commented on Jan 01 70 at 12:00 amMy son has a tv in his room.
However..we don’t have a family room for tv viewing so his room IS the family room for sat morning cartoons.NO tv at night though. Nuh uh.
WE control the when and what goes on it.And again…all things in moderation and control.
BBBGMOM commented on Jan 01 70 at 12:00 amMy husband and I don’t even have a TV in our room. No way will kids get TVs in their rooms… I don’t understand what makes parents think this is a good idea…
Anonymous commented on Jan 01 70 at 12:00 amMy brother and sister-in-law allow all three of their children (7, 5 and 3) to have TVs their bedrooms. She says the kids “need the TV on in order to go to sleep.” How is it that parents think this is okay?????
I’m hoping this large of a study will educate people, but I’m not sure the people who really need to know this stuff are glued to CNN.
Anonymous commented on Jan 01 70 at 12:00 amPingback from TV » TV in Your Kid's Bedroom = Bad, Bad, Bad
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