Study of television viewing habits in children.

Previous studies from developing countries have reported that Television (TV) viewing, if excessive and of poor quality has a proven negative influence on child health. Indian studies on this subject are few. The present study aimed at determining TV viewing habits of children and their families as well as parental perspectives on the impact of TV on child health using a provider completed indigenously developed questionnaire in Hindi. The study group comprised of 109 children attending a government hospital who belonged predominantly to lower socio-economic strata with poor maternal literacy. It was observed that 100 % children watched excessive TV (> 2 h daily), with majority viewing unsupervised and low quality content. There were minimal parental restrictions and no active discussion regarding contents. Negative impact was found on play, hobbies, sleep hygiene and eating habits in most children. Most parents were unaware of unhealthy viewing and the associated deleterious effects. As pediatricians we need to enquire about TV viewing habits routinely and educate parents about appropriate TV viewing.