KidsHealth Parents Positive Parenting Family Life
The average American child watches 3 to 5 hours of television every day. By high school graduation, most children have spent more time in front of the TV than in the classroom. In fact, television viewing accounts for more of a child's time than any other activity except sleeping! Excessive television watching encourages a sedentary lifestyle and unhealthy eating behaviors that can lead to obesity in children. To help you teach your children good television viewing habits, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has developed the following guidelines: - Set limits.
Know how much TV your child watches, and don't hesitate to reduce this time. Many children won't easily give up TV watching, but the AAP recommends that parents limit their children's viewing to 1 or 2 hours a day at the most. - Minimize the influence of TV in your home.
Make it a practice to keep the TV off during family mealtimes. Also, make conversation a priority in your home; don't center the furniture in your family/recreation room around the TV. Avoid having television sets in individual bedrooms since this tends to physically isolate family members and minimize family interaction. - Complement TV with other technologies.
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