Leaving TV on hampers toddlers’ learning

'Parents need tools and information on how to set rules for screen time, how to introduce non-screen related activity into children’s daily routines and how to control their own screen time behaviours.'

Pre-school children are more likely to end up watching more than an hour a day of television in households where parents tend to leave the TV on, regardless of whether they are watching or not.

A study looking at the factors in screen time for children aged three to five also found that households where there were restrictions on outdoor play were also likely to see higher rates of television watching among pre-schoolers.