New Terrain

I'm technically working, and shouldn't be, say, scanning The New York Times homepage. And I definitely shouldn't be publicizing my non-productivity. But I am and I will. Check out the article on the negative impact of TVs in children's bedrooms.

According to the article, "Children with bedroom TVs score lower on school tests and are more likely to have sleep problems. Having a television in the bedroom is strongly associated with being overweight and a higher risk for smoking."

"In one two-year study, the devices in half the homes were programmed to reduce children’s overall viewing time by half. (Children had to use a code to turn on any TV in the home, and the code stopped working once the allocated TV time for the week had been reached.)

Although all the children in the study gained weight as they grew, relative body mass index dropped among those with mandatory time limits. The researchers found that cutting into TV time did not increase exercise levels. Instead, the children snacked less, lowering their consumption more than 100 calories a day."

Just a thought: As educators, is it our responsibility to send out notices to parents about these new studies in order to better inform and encourage parents to make these changes? I wasn't one of the lucky children with a TV in my bedroom (or at least so I thought at 12), but I also don't know if my two working parents would have necessarily read the article or study on their own to help determine their decisions.