Too much TV 'boosts attention problems risk'

Watching too much television increases a child’s chances of being unable to pay attention in school, according to a study published today.

Each hour in front of the TV screen increased by 10% the chances that a child will show signs of attention deficit disorders, US researchers found.

Children under two should watch no TV at all, while those who are older should be allowed to watch just two hours a day, experts recommended.

“The truth is there are lots of reasons for children not to watch television,” said study author Dimitri Christakis, of the Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Centre in Seattle.

“Other studies have shown it to be associated with obesity and aggressiveness.”

He said young children are often mesmerised by the TV screen.

He said: “The newborn brain develops very rapidly during the first two to three years of life. It’s really being wired.

“We know from studies of newborn rats that if you expose them to different levels of visual stimuli… the architecture of the brain looks very different.”

The study, appearing in the April issue of the US journal Pediatrics, involved 1,345 children.

Parents were questioned about their children’s viewing habits and asked to rate their behaviour at age seven on a scale similar to that used to diagnose attention deficit disorders.

The youngsters who watched the most television were more likely to rank within the top 10% for concentration problems, impulsiveness, restlessness and being easily confused.

Every additional hour of viewing increased a child’s chances of having attention problems by about 10%.

Those who watched TV for about three hours a day were 30% more likely to have attention difficulties than those watching no TV.

The researchers took into account other factors such as home life and their parents’ mental states.

While previous studies have researched the amount of television children watch, this was the first to link it to attention disorders.

In a Pediatrics editorial, educational psychologist Jane Healy said the study was “important and long overdue” but needed to be followed up by further research.