Parents - Young kids now watch TV 32 hours a week

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Young kids now watch TV 32 hours a week

LOS ANGELES (UPI) -- For young children in the United States, TV watching is almost a full-time job, with the 2-5 set spending 32 hours a week glued to the tube, a study finds.

The findings released Monday by the Nielsen Co. showed TV watching drops slightly when children enter elementary school. Those ages 6 to 11 spend an average of 28 hours a week in front of the set, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Patricia McDonough, Nielsen senior vice president of insights, analysis and policy, suggested children are spending more time watching TV because of the broader range of material available.

. "They're using the DVD, they're on the Internet," McDonough said. "They're not giving up any media. They're just picking up more."

The trend worries children's health experts. Studies have found children who watch more TV are likely to have delayed language skills and to be overweight than those who watch less.

"I think parents are clueless about how much media their kids are using and what they're watching," said Dr. Vic Strasburger, a professor of pediatrics at the University of New Mexico and a spokesman for the American Academy of Pediatrics. "The biggest misconception is that it's harmless entertainment."

Copyright 2009 by United Press International

This news arrived on: 10/28/2009

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