But there's yet another cause for concern. It's an hour or so before bedtime for the kids. They're sitting on the carpet engrossed with their toys, but close by where you can keep an eye on them. You switch the TV to your favorite police procedural - plenty of gun shots, screeching tires, talk of bodies and blood, or maybe it's your favorite Sci-fi fantasy with laser weapons, exploding pace craft and aliens that talk like they have a mouth full of marbles.
But that's okay, right? Your kids aren't watching. They even have their backs turned. But they aren't deaf. How much of what they're hearing is sifting down into their subconscious minds? It's hard to tell just by watching them, but some of it may emerge later as nightmares, sleepwalking or other sleep disturbances. This is called passive TV watching.
Worse yet, you might even decide to watch an X-rated show. Again the kids aren't watching and, besides, they wouldn't understand what's going on anyway. I have news for you. As I mentioned, they're not deaf, and neither are they stupid. They may understand a lot more than you give them credit for, and what they don't understand may worry or frighten them. Again, what they absorb can manifest in sleep disturbances.
A recent study done in Helsinki, Finland, suggests that TV viewing does have an effect on children's sleep. Researchers sent surveys to over 300 families with young children asking about TV viewing habits and sleeping disturbances. The results showed:
- The majority of children watched TV one to two hours a day and were exposed to passive TV another hour or two.
- Both active and passive TV viewing led to shorter sleep duration and other sleep disturbances.
- The frequency of disturbances rose when children were exposed to adult content.
- Watching TV in any capacity caused sleep onset problems.
- Watching TV at bedtime caused a variety of sleep problems.
- Exposure to two or more hours a day of adult programming was strongly related to sleep disturbances.
The answer? Watch how much TV your children are exposed to. Monitor what they watch, and be wary of the type of programming you watch when the kids are in the room, even if they are not actively watching. Remember, even current events and the news can contain some pretty scary stories for young children.
Resources:
Medical News Today
