Kids Who Watch TV for More Than Three Hours Per Day are More Prone to Bullying

Researchers at University of Montreal in Canada suggest that young kids who watch more than three hours of TV in a day may be more prone to bullying and could find themselves educationally stunted or physically weak. The researchers observed nearly 2,000 children aged 29 months and who were part of the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development in which the mothers reported their television viewing behavior.

The researchers found that those toddlers who watched TV for up to 2 hours and 52 minutes in a day had no negative effective but those who watched beyond that limit struggled with diminished vocabulary and math skills and were more likely to be picked on by their classmates. The study has been published in the journal Pediatric Research.

“This is the first time ever that a stringently controlled associational birth cohort study has looked at and found a relationship between too much toddler screen time and kindergarten risks for poor motor skills and psychosocial difficulties, like victimisation by classmates. These findings suggest the need for better parental awareness and compliance with existing viewing recommendations put forth by the American Academy of Pediatrics”, lead researcher Professor Linda Pagani said.


Source-Medindia