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Objective. Violent media exposure has been associated with aggressive behavior, and it has been suggested that child health professionals counsel families on limiting exposure. Effective violence prevention counseling requires an understanding of norms regarding parental attitudes, practices, and influencing factors. Both theories of reasoned action and planned behavior emphasize that subjective norms and attitudes affect people's perceptions and intended behavior. Few data exist on violent television viewing and monitoring from a cross-section of families. By understanding the spectrum of parental attitudes, community-sensitive interventions for violence prevention can be developed. The objective of this study was to assess attitudes about and monitoring of violent television viewing from the perspective of parents. Methods. An anonymous self-report assisted survey was administered to a convenience sample of parents/ guardians who visited child health providers at 3 sites: an urban children's hospital clinic, an urban managed care clinic, and a suburban private practice. The parent questionnaire included questions on child-rearing attitudes and practices and sociodemographic information. Results. A total of 1004 adults who accompanied children for health visits were recruited for the study; 922 surveys were completed (participation rate: 92%). A total of 830 (90%) respondents were parents and had complete child data. Of the 830 respondents, 677 had questions on television viewing included in the survey and were the focus of this analysis. Seventy-five percent of families reported that their youngest child watched television. Of these, 53% reported always limiting violent television viewing, although 73% believed that their children viewed television violence at least 1 time a week. Among television viewers, 81% reported usually or always limiting viewing of sexual content on television and 45% reported usually or always watching television with their youngest child. Among children who watched television, parents reported that they spent an average of 2.6 hours per day watching television. Limitation of television violence was associated with female parents and younger children. Conclusions. There was variability in attitudes and practices regarding television violence viewing and monitoring among parents. Attitudes and practices varied on the basis of the age of the child and the gender of the parent. Pediatrics 2004;114:94-99; media violence, television viewing, violence prevention, anticipatory guidance, parental norms. ABBREVIATIONS. OR, odds ratio; CI, confidence interval., The American Academy of Pediatrics has encouraged child health professionals to be proactive in addressing violence prevention in child health supervision. The policy statement entitled "The Role of the Pediatrician [...]

Context. Television (TV) Viewing is associated with obesity among school-aged children, adolescents, and adults, but this relationship has not been evaluated in preschool-aged children. Objective. To describe the TV/video viewing habits of a multiethnic, low-income preschool population of children and to determine whether TV/video viewing is related to their adiposity. Design. Cross-sectional survey of parents/guardians with measurements of children&apos;s height and weight. Setting and Participants. Two thousand seven hundred sixty-one adults with children, 1 through < 5 years, from 49 New York State agencies of the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children. Outcome Measures. Cross-sectional relationships between the amount of time the child spends viewing TV/ video and the presence of a TV set in the child&apos;s bedroom, with the prevalence of overweight children (body mass index [BMI] >85th percentile) after adjustment for potential confounders. Results. Mean TV/video viewing times were higher among black children and Hispanic children than white children and increased with the child&apos;s age. In multiple logistic regression, the odds ratio of children having a BMI >85th percentile was 1.06 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.004-1.11) for each additional hour per day of TV/ video viewed, independent of child age, child sex, parental educational attainment, and race/ethnicity. Almost 40% of children had a TV set in their bedroom; they were more likely to be overweight and spent more time (4.6 hours per week) watching TV/video than children without a TV in their bedroom. In multiple logistic regression, the odds ratio of having a BMI >85th percentile was 1.31 (95% CI: 1.01-1.69) among those with a TV in their bedroom versus those without a TV, after statistical adjustment for child age, child sex, child TV/video viewing hours per week, maternal BMI, maternal education, and race/ethnicity. Conclusions. This study extends the association between TV viewing and risk of being overweight to younger, preschool-aged children. A TV in the child&apos;s bedroom is an even stronger marker of increased risk of being overweight. Because most children watch TV by age 2, educational efforts about limiting child TV/video viewing and keeping the TV out of the child&apos;s bedroom need to begin before then. Pediatrics 2002;109:1028-1035; obesity, television, preschool, child, parent, behavioral. ABBREVIATIONS. BMI, body mass index; TV, television; WIC, Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children; NYS, New York State; CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; OR, odds ratio; CI, confidence interval., Over the past 20 to 30 years, the prevalence of obesity has dramatically increased among adults and children in the United States. (1-3) Fifty-five percent of adults are overweight with [...]

Objectives. Recognizing the negative effects of television on children, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that children 2 years and older watch Methods. Data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1990 to 1998, were used to analyze reported television viewing at 0 to 35 months of age and to follow the trajectory of a child&apos;s viewing from infancy through age 6. Logistic regression models were used to determine risk factors associated with greater television viewing at 0 to 35 months and the association of early viewing habits with school-age viewing. Results. Seventeen percent of 0- to 11-month-olds, 48% of 12- to 23-month-olds, and 41% of 24- to 35-month-olds were reported to watch more television than the AAP recommends. Compared with college graduates, less-educated women were more likely to report that their children watched more television than recommended. Children who watched >2 hours per day at age 2 were more likely to watch >2 hours per day at age 6 (odds ratio: 2.7; 95% confidence interval: 1.8-3.9), controlling for maternal education, race, marital status and employment, household income, and birth order. Conclusions. A substantial number of children begin watching television at an earlier age and in greater amounts than the AAP recommends. Furthermore, these early viewing patterns persist into childhood. Preventive intervention research on television viewing should consider targeting infants and toddlers and their families. Pediatrics 2002;109:634-642; television, infant, children, longitudinal survey, socioeconomic factors. ABBREVIATIONS. AAP, American Academy of Pediatrics; NLSY, National Longitudinal Survey of Youth; HOME, Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment; OR, odds ratio; CI, confidence interval., The substantial amount of television watched by school-aged children (1-6) and the associated adverse effects (7-26) are increasingly well documented. Although a few researchers highlight the benefits of television, (12-14) [...]

This statement describes the possible negative health effects of television viewing on children and adolescents, such as violent or aggressive behavior, substance use, sexual activity, obesity, poor body image, and decreased school performance. In addition to the television ratings system and the v-chip (electronic device to block programming), media education is an effective approach to mitigating these potential problems. The American Academy of Pediatrics offers a list of recommendations on this issue for pediatricians and for parents, the federal government, and the entertainment industry., ABBREVIATIONS. AAP, American Academy of Pediatrics; MTV, Music Television; E/I, educational/informational. For the past 15 years, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has expressed its concerns about the amount of [...]

A physician discusses ways to shield children from the violence in the media. Parents, teachers, doctors and the entertainment industry must all share the burden of reducing children's exposure to violence and sex in the media. People in the media claim they only give people what they want, but a vast amount of scientific research shows that exposure to violence creates violent children and adults., I believe television is going to be the test of the modern world, and that in this new opportunity to see beyond the range of our vision we shall discover [...]