TV Use Pervasive Among Tiniest Tots

Dr. Christopher Lucas, director of the early childhood service at the New York University Child Study Center in New York City, agreed that it's difficult to keep children under 2 from watching any TV, because TV has become so ubiquitous in American life.

"The guidelines seem out of sync with what the reality is," said Lucas.

Neither Vandewater or Lucas is specifically advocating TV watching for young children. Instead, they're just acknowledging that it does occur and that there's currently no evidence to prove that it's harmful.

Lucas said to be helpful, TV needs to be put into context for children. "Unsupervised, passive watching probably isn't helpful, but educational media -- when watched with parents or another caregiver -- could be helpful," he said.

Both Vandewater and Lucas were concerned about the growing trend of TVs in children's bedrooms. Most often, parents interviewed in the study said they put a TV set in their kid's room because it freed up other TVs in the house for parental use.

"There is a growing body of literature showing that TV in the bedroom is related to a host of negative outcomes. I would strongly urge parents not to put TV in a child's bedroom," said Vandewater.

"There's this belief that TV is helpful to children and may soothe them, but TV activates the brain and actually makes it more difficult to sleep," explained Lucas.

Vandewater's final advice? "Media is a treat. Like any other treat, it's best in moderation."

More information

To learn more about the American Academy of Pediatrics' stance on television and children, visit their Web site.

SOURCES: Elizabeth A. Vandewater, Ph.D., associate director, population research center, and associate professor, human development and family sciences, The University of Texas at Austin; Christopher Lucas, M.D., director, early childhood services, New York University Child Study Center, and associate professor of child and adolescent psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine; May 2007,Pediatrics