Parents’ Views on Their Kids’ TV Watching

Tube Time Survey* Results
We asked our readers to tell us about your families’ TV-viewing habits, rules and issues. Here’s a look at what they had (see Profile below) had to say about:

Limits
Controlling Content
Viewing Decisions
Parents’ Concerns
Access and Exposure
The Respondants


How Much TV?


  • 37 percent of our respondents say their children watch one hour or less of TV daily.
  • 24 percent say they watch one to two hours.
  • 3 percent report that on an average day, their children watch no TV.
So roughly 64 percent are adhering to the TV-viewing time limits for children over 2 years of age recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics. (The AAP’s stance is that children younger than 2 shouldn’t be watching any TV at all.) But 36.5 percent of respondents reported that their children are watching two or more hours a day.
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Imposing Limits


  • 39.5 percent of respondents base TV-watching limits on whether or not homework is done.
  • 33 percent base them on whether it’s a weekday or weekend.
  • 27 percent allow or restrict viewing as a reward/punishment for behavior.
Respondents also commented that the program had to be “worthwhile” for their children to be allowed to watch it. “Is it worth your time?” wrote one parent. “There are so many activities available to today’s children, why must we allow the media to steal our precious time?”
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Controlling Content
Most parents agree that controlling content is important. Children and teens watch an estimated 10,000 violent acts each year, according to a report from the National Television Violence Study being conducted by media researchers at four universities. The American Academy of Pediatrics recognizes exposure to violence in media, including TV, as a significant risk to the health of children and adolescents. Extensive research indicates that media violence can contribute to aggressive behavior, desensitization to violence, nightmares and fear of being harmed. Most respondents (75 percent) reported that they restrict the content of what their children watch. But 18.5 percent reported setting no limits at all.
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Factors in Viewing Decisions
What influences parents’ decision to let children watch?


  • 60.5 percent of the respondents make their decisions about programming after screening the program themselves.
  • About 10 percent indicated that they rely on word of mouth and parent rating systems.

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