Since the late 1980s I have read one study after another regarding the impact of excessive television viewing by young children and adolescents. Although the individual studies have focused on different aspects of the issue, the findings of all of the studies have been remarkably consistent. All have painted a rather distressing picture. While I know that I have talked about a number of these studies in the past, I believe that the issue is such a compelling and serious one that it is worth raising again at the start of the new school year. In addition, there is a new study which raises additional concerns.

The September 2007 issue of Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, contains an article entitled "Does Childhood Television Viewing Lead to Attention Problems in Adolescence? Results from a Prospective Longitudinal Study" by Carl Landhuis, BA, Richie Poulton, PhD., David Welch, PhD, and Robert Hancox, PhD.

This study focused on over 1,000 children born in New Zealand between April 1972 and March 1973. In their childhood years (ages 5 to 11) these children watched an average of 2.05 hours of television each day. From age 13 to 15 television time increased to 3.1 hours per day.

The findings in particular struck me:

1. Those who watched TV three or more hours a day during childhood had "above-average symptoms of attention problems in adolescence."

2. Young children who watched the most TV were likely to carry that habit into adolescence.

3. Even if they broke that habit when they got older, the damage was done.

Worth considering!