TV and the health of children

Press, 24 February 1977, Page 15

TV and the health of children

Stuttgart Television is probably the most popular “babysitter” in the country, but. too much TV does children no good at all, says the Health Education Institute in Stuttgart. Federal Republic of Germany. Doctors and psychologists agree that the continual surfeit of stimuli, combined with children’s inability to distinguish between real life and what they see on TV, cause children both physical and mental trouble. Parents are frequently too lazy to do more than switch the TV on to keep themselves and the children amused.

They fail to appreciate that too much TV can cause aggression, unrest, insomnia, laziness, lack of concentration, poor

eyesight and headaches n children. Children ought not to spend more than one hour a day in front of the TV set. and their viewing ought to be limited to programmes suitable for them. Fifteen per cent of eight-to-13-year-olds and 5 per cent of three-to-seven-year-olds watch detective serials at peak viewing periods, the survey revealed. What is more, one in five eight-to-nine-year-olds keeps his eyes glued to the screen during the evening meal. The Stuttgart doctors disapprove of these habits, just as they disapprove of children being left to their own devices in front of the TV set.