Many Children Live in Heavy Media Households Where TV is on Throughout the
Day, During Meals and in Bedrooms
TVs Are Put in Children's Bedrooms So Family Members Can Watch Their Own
Shows
WASHINGTON, May 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Electronic media is a central focus
of many very young children's lives, used by parents to help manage busy
schedules, keep the peace, and facilitate family routines such as eating,
relaxing, and falling asleep, according to a new national study released
today by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Many parents also express
satisfaction with the educational benefits of TV and how it can teach
positive behaviors. The report, "The Media Family: Electronic Media in the
Lives of Infants, Toddlers, Preschoolers, and Their Parents," is based on a
national survey of 1,051 parents with children age 6 months to 6 years old
and a series of focus groups across the country.
According to the study, in a typical day more than eight in ten (83%)
children under the age of six use screen media, with those children
averaging about two hours a day (1:57). Media use increases with age, from
61% of babies one year or younger who watch screen media in a typical day
(for an average of 1:20) to 90% of 4 to 6 year-olds (for an average of
2:03).
In many homes, parents have created an environment where the TV is a
nearly constant presence, from the living room to the dining room and the
bedroom. One in three (33%) children this age has a TV in their bedroom
(19% of children ages 1 year or younger, 29% of children ages 2-3 years,
and 43% of those ages 4-6 years). The most common reasons parents give for
putting a TV in their child's bedroom is to free up other TVs in the house
so the parent or other family members can watch their own shows (55%), to
keep the child occupied so the parent can do things around the house (39%),
to help the child fall asleep (30%), and as a reward for good behavior
(26%). As one mother who participated in a focus group in Irvine, CA said,
"Media makes life easier. We're all happier. He isn't throwing tantrums. I
can get some work done."
A third (32%) of children this age live in homes where the television
is on all (13%) or most (19%) of the time and a similar proportion (30%)
live in homes where the TV is on during meals all (16%) or most (14%) of
the time. As a focus group mother from Columbus, OH explained "The TV is on
all the time. We have five TVs. At least three of those are usually on --
her bedroom, the living room, and my bedroom."
Children whose parents have established these heavy TV environments
spend more time watching than other children: for example, those who live
in households where the TV is on all or most of the time spend an average
of 25 minutes more per day watching TV (1:16 vs. 0:51), and those with a TV
in their bedroom spend an average of 30 minutes more per day watching (1:19
vs. 0:49).
"Parents have a tough job, and they rely on TV in particular to help
make their lives more manageable," said Vicky Rideout, vice president and
director of Kaiser's Program for the Study of Entertainment Media and
Health. "Parents use media to help them keep their kids occupied, calm them
down, avoid family squabbles, and teach their kids the things parents are
afraid they don't have time to teach themselves."
At a time when there is great debate on the merits of educational media
for children, many parents are enthusiastic about its use. For example,
two-thirds of parents (66%) say their child imitates positive behavior from
TV, such as sharing or helping. A large majority of parents (69%) say
computers mostly help children's learning, and a plurality (38%) say the
same about watching TV (vs. 31% who say TV "mostly hurts" and 22% who say
it doesn't have much affect either way).
The study found that how parents feel about TV's benefits is related to
how much time children spend watching. Children whose parents say TV mostly
helps learning spend an average of 27 minutes more per day watching than
children whose parents think TV mostly hurts. In focus groups, parents
noted many specific benefits of TV viewing for their children, such as
spurring imaginative play, teaching letters and words, and learning a
foreign language. One mother form Irvine, CA stated, "Anything they're
doing on the computer I think is learning" and another from Columbus, OH
noted, "Out of the blue one day my son counted to five in Spanish. I knew
immediately that he got that from Dora." Another Columbus mom said, "My
daughter knows her letters from Sesame Street. I haven't had to work with
her on them at all."
The report, "The Media Family: Electronic Media in the Lives of
Infants, Toddlers, Preschoolers, and Their Parents," was released today at
a forum in Washington, D.C. that featured media executives and child
development experts. A webcast of the session can be found at
http://www.kff.org/entmedia/entmedia052406pkg.cfm .
The following are additional key findings from the survey and attached
are sample quotes from the focus groups:
Parent's Viewing Habits
* Children whose parents use screen media for more than 2 hours a day
(42% of all parents) spend an average of 28 minutes more (1:14 vs. 0:46)
watching TV than children whose parents watch for less than an hour (30% of
all parents).
Media in the Bedroom
* Among those with TV in their bedroom, a third (33%, or 11% of all
children) spend half or more of their TV-watching time watching in the
bedroom.
* Among children with a TV in their bedroom, 37% (or 12% of all
children) go to bed with the TV on half the time or more.
Youngest Children -- Under 2 Years Old
* More than four in ten (43%) children under 2 years old watch TV every
day and nearly one in five (18%) watch videos or DVDs every day.
* Most parents say they are in the same room with their child while
they're watching TV either all or most of the time (88% of those whose
children this age watch TV in a typical day).
* One quarter (26%) of parents with children younger than 2 years old
say their child has never watched TV.
Computer Use -- Digital Divide
* Eight in ten (78%) children 6 years old and under live in homes with
a computer, and about seven in ten (69%) have Internet access from home.
Three in ten (29%) have more than one computer.
* Among all children six and under, 43% have used a computer, and 27%
use a computer several times a week or more. Among children ages four to
six, 43% use a computer several times a week or more.
* There is a large gap in computer ownership, by income and parent
education. For example, just over half (54%) of children in lower-income
households (less than $20,000 a year) have a computer in the home compared
to 95% of those from higher income homes ($75,000 a year or more).
TV and Children's Behavior
* Two-thirds (66%) of parents say they've seen their child imitate
positive behaviors from TV, while 23% say they've imitated aggressive
behavior, like hitting or kicking. Older boys are more likely to imitate
aggressive behavior from TV (45% of 4-6 year-old boys).
* Over half (53%) of parents say that TV tends to calm their child
down, while about one in six (17%) say that TV gets their child excited.
Changes in Household Media Environment and Media Use
* Since a similar survey in 2003, there have been increases in the
share of children in households with at least one computer (from 73% to
78%), with Internet access (from 63% to 69%), and with high-speed Internet
access (from 20% to 42%).
* There was a small but statistically significant decrease in the
percent of children living in households where the television is kept on
always or most of the time, from 37% in 2003 to 32% in 2005, and of
children living in households where the television is on during meals
always or most of the time, from 35% in 2003 to 30% in 2005.
* Among children who do each activity in a typical day, children are
spending an average of 17 minutes less per day listening to music and 10
minutes less per day watching TV.
Methodology
The survey
The survey is a nationally representative, random-digit-dial telephone
survey of 1,051 parents of children ages 6 months to 6 years old. The
survey was conducted from September 12 through November 21, 2005. It was
designed and analyzed by staff at the Kaiser Family Foundation, in
consultation with Princeton Survey Research Associates International.
Fieldwork was conducted in English and Spanish by Princeton Data Source,
LLC. The margin of sampling error for the complete set of weighted data is
+/-3 percentage points. The margin of error for subgroups is higher.
Focus groups
Eight focus group sessions were conducted between March 22, 2005 and
March 1, 2006, in four locations: Columbus, OH; Irvine, CA; Denver, CO; and
Washington, D.C. Each session lasted approximately two hours and was
moderated by a Kaiser Family Foundation staff member. There were generally
eight participants in each group. Participants were recruited to the
sessions by an independent research firm.
In each location, two groups were conducted: one with mothers of
children between the ages of 1 and 3 years, and one with mothers of
children between the ages of 4 and 6 years. Participants were required to
have at least one television in their household and to say that their child
watches television, videos, or DVDs at least several times a month. In
addition, participants were screened to reflect middle-income families. The
recruiting firm attempted to ensure that at least a third of participants
in each group met each of the following criteria (reflecting the statistics
found in the national survey): the child has a television in his or her
bedroom; for the older groups only, the child plays video games at least
several times a month; and also for older groups only, the child uses a
computer at least several times a month.
The following are a sample of quotes from the focus groups:
Media making life easier as a parent:
"If he's watching TV, I can get things done. I don't have to constantly
watch him." Mother of a 1-3 year-old, Denver, Colorado
"They wake up and get to watch TV while I shower and get dressed. It
keeps them in my sight line." Mother of a 4-6 year-old, Denver, Colorado
"As much as I would like it [to be] otherwise, I have to keep the house
functioning. The laundry has got to get done. They have to eat. I do have
to bake. As much as I would love to believe that I can go into the bathroom
and shut the door and leave my two children reading a book or even playing
together, that's not going to happen." Mother of a 4-6 year-old, Denver,
Colorado
"I'll turn on the TV in the morning, and [my son] will watch cartoons.
My kids will have breakfast, and then we take my daughter to school. I'll
turn the TV on for him when we get home...We'll usually watch TV when we're
eating lunch." Mother of a 1-3 year-old, Irvine, California
"My son is really hyper. That's a time when I can get him to actually
calm down and watch a little TV. ...He will slow down and that helps change
his mood...It's much better for him and for me." Mother of a 4-6 year old,
Irvine, California.
Why parents put TVs in their children's bedrooms:
"I did it so I could watch my TV. I also wanted it so he would watch
and fall asleep." Mother of a 1-3 year-old, Denver, Colorado
"My 2-year-old will literally bounce in his crib to the Wiggles. As
soon as I turn it off, he lies right down and goes to sleep." Mother of a
1-3 year-old, Columbus, Ohio
Educational value of media:
"My daughter is learning a lot from the different shows she watches.
She's so into it. I think it's important." Mother of a 1-3 year-old,
Irvine, California
"He's always telling me what is right and wrong from the things he sees
on TV. It's opened doors in being able to talk to him." Mother of a 4-6
year-old, Denver, Colorado
"I think they get more skills from the computer. Our world is so
computer oriented. I certainly didn't know how to use a computer when I was
3... If I had a choice of the computer or TV, I would definitely choose the
computer." Mother of a 1-3 year-old, Columbus, Ohio
"I don't spend nearly as much time with my son as I need to...He has
learned huge amounts from the video and computer games we have...I'm very
grateful." Mother of a 1-3 year-old, Irvine, California
Food ads:
"They [commercials] really work on my son (4-6 years old) already.
He'll see something in a Burger King commercial. He'll tell me that we have
to go to Burger King today. It doesn't matter what we're doing, we have to
go." Denver, Colorado
"My daughter would eat a cheeseburger from McDonalds every day if I
would let her. She sees it on TV, and she will come to me right away saying
that's what she wants for lunch." Mother of a 1-3 year-old, Columbus, Ohio.
General thoughts on media:
"It makes life easier now, but in the long run, when they're older and
starting to run into all these problems, I think I'll wish I wouldn't have
let them do it when they were five." Mother of a 4-6 year-old in Columbus,
Ohio
"I don't think media has anything to do with how I am as a parent. I
would never sit her in front of the television so I could go and do
something. I learned a long time ago that the dishes can wait until
tomorrow. It can all wait. I have seen my 15 year-old grow up in the blink
of an eye...I take advantage of all the time I can get." Mother of a 1-3
year-old, Irvine, California
"For our little guy, TV time is all of us on the couch together. We'll
talk about what's going on. If it's Blue's Clues, we'll answer back. We
only do 20 minutes a night." Mother of a 1-3 year old from Irvine,
California.
"Being an adult is hard. There are times when my interacting with my
children is best served by me having an opportunity to allow them to do
something alone so I can regroup. When I got laid off a couple of weeks
ago, I didn't know it was coming. I got blindsided. I couldn't have
interacted with my children that night. I couldn't have done it." Mother of
a 4-6 year-old from Denver, Colorado.
"While my daughter has her princess movie in, my son can be upstairs
playing his Blues Clues CD-ROM...It gives them their own space and their
own quality time to be apart." Mother of a 1-3 year-old, Denver, Colorado.
TV Content:
"For a little while we weren't really supervising, but then we found
him quoting from a movie called Mansquito on the Science Fiction Channel."
Mother of a 4-6 year-old, Denver, Colorado.
"I watch CSI...[S]he sits down and watches with me. I don't know how
harmful it is to her. It's something gory, but it doesn't seem to bother
her. She hasn't had any nightmares from it." Mother of a 1-3 year old,
Irvine, California
The Kaiser Family Foundation is a non-profit, private operating
foundation dedicated to providing information and analysis on health care
issues to policymakers, the media, the health care community and the
general public. The Foundation is not associated with Kaiser Permanente or
Kaiser Industries.
SOURCE Kaiser Family Foundation
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Related links:
http://www.kff.org/entmedia/entmedia052406pkg.cfm
http://www.kff.org/
CONTACT:
Rob Graham, +1-650-854-9400, or
rgraham@kff.org, or Sarah Williams Kingsley, +1-650-854-9400, or
sarahw@kff.org, both of Kaiser Family Foundation; or Day of
Event, +1-202-347-5270
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