Watching Television Diminished Children's Development

The more television children watch, the worse their development. This is the conclusion of a Canadian study done with 1314 children between 29 and 53 months.

Two-year old children watch an average of 8.8 hours per week television. For four year old, that number increased to 14.8 hours. Any hour that children watch longer TV, however, decreases their performance in mathematical terms by 6%, they become less socially involved (7%) and start more bullying (10%).

Moreover, these children eat more and more salty snacks in front of the TV and thus take the obesity problem ever further. The researchers also noted that this diminishing development also has effect at old age. "It's not just that these children develop later. They develop more slowly and less," said the researchers.