Media Message

ELECTRONIC MEDIA and PRESCHOOLERS

Children under six are now spending more time connected to electronic media than reading books. This is the finding of a study, "Zero to Six: Electronic Media in the Lives of Infants, Toddlers, and Preschoolers," recently completed by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Here are some of their findings:

Children six and under spend an average of two hours a day using screen media, about the same amount of time they spend playing outside and well over the amount they spend reading or being read to.
Nearly half (48%) of children six and under have used a computer: 31% of 0- to-3-year-olds and 70% of 4-to-6-year-olds.
Just under a third (30%) have played video games: 14% of 0- to-3-year-olds and 50% of 4-to-6-year-olds.
Forty-three percent of those under two watch TV every day, and 26% have a TV in their bedroom.
In any given day, two-thirds (68%) of children under two will use a screen media, for an average of just over two hours.
Seventy-two percent of parents surveyed said that computer products mostly help children's learning.

You can visit the Kaiser Foundation Web site to learn more about this study. Go to http://www.kff.org/entmedia/entmedia102803nr.cfm .

To learn more about using television in an educational and appropriate way with preschoolers, visit http://www.pbs4549.org and click on Ready To Learn.