Our kids may be plugged in to tune out

By Erin Monda

It's no secret that we're an increasingly media-centered society -- we're plugged in wherever we go. But are we passing these habits to our children?

According to industry experts, the answer is yes -- and that might not be a good thing. Various surveys have reported that American children, on average, watch 21 hours of television per week. When other forms of visual media are included, total exposure increases to 35 to 55 hours per child. Yet these figures can range even higher in other developed countries. As of 2008, the Synovate Young Asians Survey reported that teens between the ages of 8 and 24 clock their media exposure at an average of 10 hours a day.

And psychologists are beginning to understand the side effects of this unregulated media exposure.

Dr. Laura Seese is a East Granby educational psychologist who is on the board of directors at the Independent Educational Consultants Association. She is also a member of both the National Association of School Psychologists and the Council for Exceptional Children. Locally, Seese serves as a consultant to the Stamford School District and also performs evaluations for the Fairfield school system. Many of her clients come from the Fairfield county area.

She has developed a firm stance on media exposure. "There is substantial research documenting negative effects on physical health. There has been data gathered that shows that children engaging in more media viewing are three to four times more likely to be overweight than their more active peers. By selecting a media activity, children de-select the other options, like exercising or reading a book."

Becoming overweight isn't the only possible side effect of media overload. "Frequent exposure to television and video games is associated with decreased school performance, irregular sleep and attention problems," she says. "There are also well-documented connections between media violence and aggressive behavior, with children watching more television also being more likely to get into physical fights or engage in bullying."

Thankfully, Seese has a few tips about how to prevent children from becoming glued to the grid. She recommends limiting how frequently youths are allowed to interact with media forms -- particularly as the American Academy of Pediatrics has put forth age-related guidelines for media regulation. She feels it is important to be stricter with younger children because the earlier ages are critical for life and brain development and electronic media can interfere with the integral tasks of exploring, playing and interacting.

It is less important to regulate older children's media habits, but parents should remain involved in their children's choices and emphasize past-times featuring values. For added assistance, she suggests that bedrooms be kept as media-free zones.

So how are real, local mothers combating the threats posed by technology?

There are a variety of different strategies parents can use. By implementing simple restrictions and becoming more involved in their children's media choices, they can achieve profound results.

Jennifer Howland, a mother of two from Norwalk, chose to limit her children's television consumption to programs she was familiar with -- and approved of.

What prompted her decision? When her children, now in their early 20s, began watching television at ages 5 and 6, she noticed a lack of quality in the programs geared toward their age bracket. Howland remembers making her decision after one specific occasion, when she saw them watching a show encouraging contestants to do foolish things for the audience's amusement.

"What I thought mattered was that viewers were being educated in laughing at or mocking others and I thought that was bad to get accustomed to," Howland says. "I don't like laughing at others -- it's the opposite of the right emotion, which is empathy. So I thought it seemed like starting down the wrong path, of objectifying others and being distanced from their hurts."

In the Howland household there was an emphasis on studying and family activities -- if the girls finished their schoolwork, they could watch television for an hour or two a day. They also did not have television in more than one room.

To fill her children's free time with non-electronic related activities, Howland and her husband relied on the power of song. "My husband played the piano and I sang and taught the girls how to sing when they were very little, like two and three years old. Both girls had great musical abilities and just picked up on all the music and had the innate talent themselves."

Howland and her husband are avid readers, which is a habit they were able to pass onto their children by reading together as frequently as possible.

By limiting the presence of television in her children's lives and recognizing their innate talents, Howland was able to steer them towards more productive past-times.

But she isn't the only mother employing media-limiting strategies. Fairfield resident Trevor Mahony Crow has placed similar restrictions on her own children -- and for good reason. One day, when Crow asked her 11-year-old son why he enjoyed playing video games so frequently, he said: "Everything feels better when I play." This gave her pause because these words were, verbatim, something she had heard from her patients -- specifically, patients with addictions.

As a therapist with her own practice, Crow recognized her son's statement for what it was -- an indication of a problem. She immediately put restrictions into place to try and help manage her son's media habit by instilling limits similar to Howland's -- her son earns media access for two hours a day, provided he finishes his schoolwork. "I want him to enjoy the cultural aspects of being exposed to media," she says. "But it is important to find a balance."

While her son would, without boundaries, prefer more media time, Crow does her best to stick to the guidelines she has set forth. But she acknowledges that it's a struggle that she and many other parents go back and forth on -- especially as their children's media habits require increasing amounts of parental supervision.

Tips to help your children avoid media overload

• Place an emphasis on education over entertainment.

• Recognize and inspire other hobbies and interests early on. Ballet, gymnastics and sports are valuable social outlets.

• Read to your children as often as you can. Many libraries offer activities which can help socialize your child.

• Limit the number of televisions and computers in the home.

• Monitor how much time your children are spending with various forms of media.

• Opt to buy the car without the built-in DVD player.