Toddler Television Viewing Associated With Irregular Sleep

Television viewing may be associated with irregular sleep for infants and toddlers, according to a new study published in Pediatrics (AAP).

In the study, researchers surveyed parents of young children about their child's nap and bedtime schedules along with their television viewing and other household habits. Twenty seven percent of the children had irregular bedtime schedules, and 34 percent had inconsistent nap schedules. The mean hours of television viewing was .9 hours a day for children younger than 1 year, 1.6 hours for children ages 12 to 23 months, and 2.3 hours for children 24 to 35 months.

The research showed a direct correlation between the amount of time a child spent watching television and the regularity of their sleep schedule.

Inadequate sleep can cause a variety of behavior and health problems in children. The AAP recommends no television or media for children under age 2, and less than two hours a day for children ages 2 and older.

Source: American Academy of Pediatrics

 
* This is true because I observed this in our neighbor here. The child will not take a nap during afternoon due to watching television. The parents still allow their children to do such thing. The child will sleep late in the evening because of watching her favorite tv shows. I thank God because my child is not addict to television. She will only watch "Princess Sarah" in the evening then after that she will sleep. She loves to sleep especially at noon and so I have no problem with her when sleeping. *

by: jil0504 at 13:24 | link | comments