For Your Child's Health, Turn off the Tube

What happened to children playing outside with other neighborhood children and experiencing the joys of nature and fresh air? Leisure activity has changed and is now more sedentary due, in large part, to television, video and computer games and the Internet. American children spend more time – an average of 17 hours per week - watching TV and videotapes and playing video games than doing anything else except sleeping. A recent study released by the Harvard School of Public Health analyzed data from nearly 1,200 middle school students in the Boston area and found that these students averaged approximately three hours and 20 minutes per day of viewing time, including playing computer and video games.

Modern electronic media has its benefits. Today’s children surf the Web to assist with homework assignments, use software to make new designs and creations, and learn about a vast array of topics ranging from history to science. In addition, news is available 24 hours a day and weather is forecast days in advance.

“ This technology carries wonderful benefits,” states Dr. David Walsh, president of the National Institute on Media and the Family, in Minneapolis. “We just have to use it intelligently.”

Excessive media consumption can have negative effects on children’s bodies as well as their minds. Because children are largely sedentary while engaged in television viewing, many health professionals view TV watching as a contributing factor to the increasing incidence of overweight children. In addition, inappropriate use of television and other electronic media may interfere with development of intelligence, thinking skills and imagination.