Children, Television and Weight Gain

How to Limit Kids’ Screen Time

Mar 1, 2009 Wei Yin Wong

Parents should limit children's screen time because excessive TV watching has been linked to weight gain.

Children and television seem inseparable. A survey by the Australian Institute of Family Studies showed that four- and five-year-old children spend an average of 2.3 hours daily in front of the television.

This is worrisome as screen time directly affects weight gain. After all, watching TV is a sedentary activity that doesn’t burn many calories. Here are some useful suggestions to limit children’s TV watching.

Monitor TV viewing

As tempting and convenient as it is, it’s never a good idea to use the television as a babysitter. The American Academy of Pediatrics discourages TV viewing for kids aged two and below. For older kids, limit it to two hours a day. Break up TV time into several sessions a day. To monitor it better, get the kids into the habit of asking for permission to watch television first. Set a time in the morning or afternoon for watching TV. Once the show is over, turn off the TV.

Provide Healthier Alternatives to Watching TV

In the book Weight Watchers: Healthy Parent Healthy Child [New South Wales: Allen & Unwin, 2006] author Karen Miller-Kovach writes that adding a family activity after dinner – walking the dog, bicycling or throwing a ball in the backyard – offers a healhthier alternative to watching television. “There can be a gradual change in the amount of television watched in the evening, for example, taking an after-dinner walk before sitting down to watch,” she adds.

Have TV-free Days

Every week or fortnight, try to organize a TV-free Day for the entire family. A weekend will be ideal. Take the family out for some fun at the park, cycle along the nearest bicycle trail, go to the beach, go camping or bush walking. Include lots of physical activity. The only rule is that there will be no TV for the entire day. It’s easy and fun when everyone in the family is involved.

Watch TV with Kids

Carol Fallows and Shayne Collier, co-authors of A Common Sense Guide for Australian Parents [Australia: Murdoch Books, 2004], suggest that parents watch TV with kids if possible. “This allows you to talk about the program so it becomes a shared learning experience,” they write.

Parents as Role Models

Parents should always lead by example. Miller-Kovach says if parents want their children to watch less TV, they should reduce their own TV time. Another thing is to not have a television set in any bedroom in the house, including the parents’ room. This sends a strong message to children about how serious their parents are when it comes to limiting TV viewing.

Excessive TV viewing has been linked to weight gain and related problems that continue from childhood to adulthood, hence the need to limit this sedentary activity. Parents can monitor TV viewing, provide healthier alternatives to watching TV, have TV-free days, watch TV with kids and be children’s role models. With healthier options and parents’ involvement, watching less TV will soon become a habit.

Those who find this article useful may also like to read Preventing Childhood Obesity, Physical Activity for Kids and Healthy Weight for Kids.

The copyright of the article Children, Television and Weight Gain in Stay-at-Home Parents is owned by Wei Yin Wong. Permission to republish Children, Television and Weight Gain in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Limit Children's TV Watching