We've been a one TV household for many, many years. Extends back into my childhood, actually (save a brief period during college when I had a TV in my bedroom, primarily for playing Nintendo). I guess I'm honestly surprised at some of the numbers in this study.
By some estimates, half of American children have a television in their bedroom; one study of third graders put the number at 70 percent. And a growing body of research shows strong associations between TV in the bedroom and numerous 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 strongly associated with being overweight and a higher risk for smoking.
One of the most obvious consequences is that the child will simply end up watching far more television -- and many parents won't even know.
In a study of 80 children in Buffalo, 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. And parents of those children were more likely to underestimate their child's viewing time.
Wow. Twenty-one hours of TV, on average, even without the bedroom TV. That just blows my mind.
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