Even a large percentage of very young children have televisions in their bedrooms. While the debate about TV has been going on for years, little has been known about the effects of having TVs in bedrooms until recently. Children who have TVs in their bedrooms perform more poorly in school. Families whose children have TVs in their bedrooms engage in fewer activities that don t involve electronic media, such as playing games, going on outings and reading. On average, children who have TVs in their bedrooms watch 5.5 hours more TV each week than children who don t have TVs in their bedrooms.
Parents monitor their children s media use less when their kids have TVs in their bedrooms.
Families whose children have TVs in their bedrooms have a pattern of greater electronic media use and less reading than families whose children don t have TVs in their bedrooms. For some children, the long-term consequences of having televisions in their bedrooms may be more punitive than their parents ever intended or imagined. National Institute on Media and the Family. These data are correlational and do not prove causality. There s something for everyone on our Web site.