The more time children spend watching television the (poorer) they perform academically, according to three studies published on Monday.
Excessive television viewing has been (blamed) for increasing rates of childhood obesity and for aggressive behavior, while its impact on schooling have been inconclusive, researchers said.
But studies published on the topic in this month's Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine concluded (television) viewing tended to have an adverse effect on academic pursuits.
For instance, children in third grade who had televisions in their (bedrooms) -- and therefore watched more TV -- scored lower on standardized tests than those who did not have sets in their rooms.
In (contrast), the study found having a home computer with access to the Internet resulted in comparatively higher test scores.
"Consistently, those with a bedroom television but no home computer access had, on average, the lowest scores and (those) with home computer access but no bedroom television had the highest scores," wrote study author Dina Borzekowski of Johns Hopkins University.
American homes with children have an average of (nearly) three televisions each, the report said, and children with televisions (in) their bedrooms averaged nearly 13 hours of viewing a week compared to nearly 11 hours by children who did not have their own sets.
The American Academy of Pediatrics has (urged) parents to limit children's television viewing to no more than one to two hours per day -- and to try to (keep) younger children (away) from TV altogether.
In two other studies published in the same (journal), children who regularly watched television before the age of 3 ended up with lower test scores later on, and children and adolescents who watched more television were less (likely) to go on to finish high school or earn a college degree.
Questions)
1.How does watching TV hurt children?
2. What kind of TV programs do you like to watch ?