Parking young children in front of television or on electronic games may not be as damaging to their mental health as has been feared, according to a major British research project reported today.
Researchers found that at the age of five nearly two thirds of children were watching between one and three hours of television daily.
And 15% of children watched more than three hours a day.
But two years later, at the age of seven, the children who had watched three hours or more a day showed a very small increase in conduct disorders – but this could be explained by family factors, researchers said.
The findings come from a study of more than 11,000 children born this century, reported in the Archives of Disease in Childhood.
The researchers warn that hours spent in front of screens might have other impacts on a child’s mental health – by causing sleeping difficulties, speaking problems and encouraging lack of physical activity.
Researcher Dr Alison Parkes said: "Our work suggests that limiting the amount of time children spend in front of the TV is, in itself, unlikely to improve psychosocial adjustment.
"In future it will be important to look at the influence of what children watch on TV, and the role of parents watching with their child and discussing content with them, as well as how much children watch."
The research was backed by the UK Medical Research Council.
Professor Hugh Perry, of the council, said: "This important study suggests the relationship between TV and video games and health is complex and influenced by many other social and environmental factors."
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