HHS HealthBeat (July 7, 2010)

Turn it off, kids

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Can’t say no when the kids say yes to TV? Actually, parents can say no, and kids can understand what "no" means. Susan Carlson of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention saw that in national survey data on kids ages 9 to 15. She was looking at parental rules that keep screen time within the recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics – no more than two hours a day:

[Susan Carlson speaks] "The group that had the lowest prevalence of exceeding recommended limits were those children who themselves reported consistent rules about screen time, and whose parents also reported consistent rules."

Encouraging physical activity can also limit screen time. Kids who did more physical activity were less likely to watch more than two hours a day.

The study was in the academy’s journal, Pediatrics.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: November 21, 2011