Bedroom TVs and sleep problems
I was looking through some of the really good resources collected in the Toddler Sleep Page on WEGO Health (thanks, Felisha!) and many of the articles I came across suggested removing the TV from your young child’s bedroom to help curb sleep problems.
Wait…
TVs in toddler bedrooms?? What are parents thinking?!?
Apparently, more than a third of parents of preschoolers – kids who are three and four, mind you - think that it is all right for their kids to have TVs in their rooms. Not only do they think it is ok, but they go out and buy them and enshrine them in their kids’ rooms. If I sound a little freaked out, I guess that’s because I am.
Don’t get me wrong – I love my Netflix as much as the next gal, but I’m pretty vigilant about monitoring any TV my little guy gets to watch. Having a TV in a toddler bedroom just seems to be asking for the kid to become a little media addict. Parents whose kids have TVs in the their bedrooms consistently underestimate the number of hours their kids watch TV, according to several studies (one cited here by the New York Times).
The NYT article also described kids with bedroom TVs as having more trouble falling asleep, and even hypothesized that the sleep problems caused by bedroom TV viewing at night can contribute to poor school performance.
There are so many forums, articles, and message boards devoted to kids’ sleep problems. Obviously, this is an issue for many parents. If 30% of us are putting TVs in our kids’ bedrooms, aren’t we setting up some of them for sleep problems?
Come on, mom and dad – hide that remote and crack open a bedtime story.
Wait…
TVs in toddler bedrooms?? What are parents thinking?!?
Apparently, more than a third of parents of preschoolers – kids who are three and four, mind you - think that it is all right for their kids to have TVs in their rooms. Not only do they think it is ok, but they go out and buy them and enshrine them in their kids’ rooms. If I sound a little freaked out, I guess that’s because I am.
Don’t get me wrong – I love my Netflix as much as the next gal, but I’m pretty vigilant about monitoring any TV my little guy gets to watch. Having a TV in a toddler bedroom just seems to be asking for the kid to become a little media addict. Parents whose kids have TVs in the their bedrooms consistently underestimate the number of hours their kids watch TV, according to several studies (one cited here by the New York Times).
The NYT article also described kids with bedroom TVs as having more trouble falling asleep, and even hypothesized that the sleep problems caused by bedroom TV viewing at night can contribute to poor school performance.
There are so many forums, articles, and message boards devoted to kids’ sleep problems. Obviously, this is an issue for many parents. If 30% of us are putting TVs in our kids’ bedrooms, aren’t we setting up some of them for sleep problems?
Come on, mom and dad – hide that remote and crack open a bedtime story.
Comment
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Comment by Felisha Griffin on April 6, 2008 at 1:45pm - Debbie, you aren't alone. My two oldest children (7 and 3) have had a TV in their room for quite a while; however, they rarely watch TV in their room. Friends and relatives gave us a couple of TVs so we dispersed them throughout the remaining bedrooms in the house. I definitely monitor their TV watching, and only allow them to watch for an hour or so before bed. I haven't had any sleep problems associated with them having their own TV. We have clear cut rules about what and how long they can watch. Setting limits is the key!!!!!!
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Comment by Jennifer Cochran-Biederman, MS, MA on April 6, 2008 at 11:56am -
I try so hard not to judge the actions of parents until I've had my own children, but it's really hard for me not to wonder what's going through these parents' minds!! A toddler having a television in his bedroom?
There has been a broad range of research done on the effect of early television exposure and subsequent problems with attention span in children. Some scientists have even theorized that it may lead to enhanced symptoms of ADHD and studies have shown that television viewing can reduce reading in later ages in addition to levels of concentration.
Television, undoubtedly, plays some role in the life of every child. It can be a great learning tool and source of entertainment, but it seems critical to carefully monitor the use of television during the important toddler years when there's a great deal of important cognitive and social development going on.
Great post. Thanks, Deanna!
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