Friday Fact - Television Viewing

Did you know that the average child watches 6,240 hours of television before entering first grade?  That comes out to be about 2 hours and 45 minutes per day!  There can be significant consequences for watching this much television…

It has been shown that children who watch television more than 10 hours a week suffer negative academic effects (www.cybercollege.com).  This could be the reason why:

• Viewing television is a two-dimensional activity, because it has a flat screen.
• Watching multiple hours of television per day can impact the eye’s ability to focus correctly.
• Our eyes are designed to adjust focus at many different angles and ranges.
• When children are playing around, their eyes are constantly refocusing.
• When they watch television, their eyes are sustaining focus at only one range.

The long-term effects of too much television watching can be harmful.  A child’s eyes may:

• Struggle keeping near objects in focus (such as worksheets, reading materials, and other deskwork).
• Have trouble focusing quickly, and accurately, between near and far objects (such as the desk and board when taking notes, doing a worksheet, or working on a class project).

Source:  Minnesota Learning Resource Center