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No TV in the bedroom!
Finally! A recent New York Times story that vindicates a stance my Hubby and I have been advocating for years:
Kids are healthier when there is no TV in bedroom
Here’s one simple way to keep your children healthy: Ban the bedroom TV.
By some estimates, half of American children have a television in their bedroom; one study of third-graders put the number at 70 percent. A growing body of research shows strong associations between TV in the bedroom and health and educational problems.
Children with bedroom TVs score lower on school tests and are more likely to have sleep problems. Having a television in the bedroom is associated with being overweight.
One of the consequences is that the child will end up watching far more television. In a study of 80 children in Buffalo, N.Y., ages 4 to 7, the presence of a television in the bedroom increased average viewing time by nearly nine hours a week, to 30 hours from 21.
Although all the children in the study gained weight as they grew, relative body mass index dropped among those with mandatory time limits. The researchers found that cutting into TV time did not increase exercise levels. Instead, the children snacked less, lowering their consumption more than 100 calories a day. The study did not break down the data by bedroom television viewing.
Comments
By Lea
March 12, 2008 10:37 AM | Link to this
I didn’t have a television in my room until I graduated from high school and then it was a 7-inch black-and-white model. My stepkids don’t have televisions in their rooms either. At least at our house. When they go to visit their mother, it is a different story — televisions, DVD players (and one has an XBox). It’s hard enough to get them to do their homework before watching TV — and they despise having to go to bed at a set time — our rules are no TV within 30 minutes of bed time. We’re stretching it slowly — it will be one hour soon. Just have to get them used to our rules since they changed houses!By Trinal
March 5, 2008 10:58 AM | Link to this
I agreeBy Trina
March 5, 2008 10:52 AM | Link to this
This will be short, because I don’t feel you should have to say alot to get your point across. In our house we don’t encourage watching tv at all, NO TV watching around kids is my motto, because there is to much to lose from it, but will use it for our benefit only perhaps some weekends that is educational and fullfilling to them. My two boys love to read, perhaps because of the no tv rule.By Lynn
March 5, 2008 9:37 AM | Link to this
Good for you. I fought this battle 10 years ago after my boys’ friend got one in his room. They have plenty of time for TV without falling asleep to it. Good luck and stay the course.