728x90
my iParenting
From Our Sponsors
e-newsletters
Sign up to receive our free weekly e-newsletters

new terms of use
new privacy policy
award-winning products
The iParenting Media Awards program helps parents find the best products for their families.
Home › Articles › Family › The Bedroom Set

The Bedroom Set

(And We're Not Talking About Furniture)

By Lisa A. Goldstein

Pages:  1  2  3  4  

When parents were asked why they put a television in their child's room, the majority (55 percent) said the main reason was so that parents or other family members could watch their own shows on the other TVs in the home, Rideout says. The second most common reason was to keep the child occupied so the parent can get stuff done around the house. Thirty percent said it helps the child fall asleep.

"In focus groups with parents, we heard many comments about trying to 'keep the peace' between siblings who all had different favorite shows," Rideout says. "We also heard about parents bribing their kids with a bedroom TV as an incentive to get the child to sleep in his or her own room."

Dr. Michael Rich, director of the Center on Media and Child Health at Children's Hospital Boston, posits that parents simply don't think about this issue too much. Among the many reasons for putting a TV in a child's bedroom, "perhaps the most powerful is simply that, with rapidly evolving television technology, Mom and Dad get a new set for themselves, but their (barely) used one is perfectly good," Dr. Rich says. "They can't put it out on the curb, so they put it in their child's room. Parents rapidly discover that this has additional benefits. Their child doesn't fight them for control of the remote. If they can watch their own programs, Mom and Dad have control over their set. The child can keep her/himself quiet and occupied for long periods of time. [Parents] often convince themselves that television is educational, therefore it is a good thing for their child to have ready access."

Negative Effects

These responses by parents indicate that television viewing may be an increasingly isolated experience, even for very young children, the study says. There is increasing evidence that bedroom television in particular is linked to a number of poor outcomes, including academic, social and physical activity.


Pages:  1  2  3  4  

Want to see more?

Comments

There are no comments for this article yet.Be the first to add a comment.

Post As:
Enter your comment below:
Title
Comment Text
CAPTCHA
Please note that any comments submitted become the property of Disney Family / iParenting and can be edited and posted at our discrection.