During my lunch break today, "Science Friday" was covering a recent study which discussed the effect that watching tv would have on 1 and 3 year olds once they turned 7. Specifically they were looking into the relationship of hours spent infront of the tv to the risk associated with attention problems.

Early television exposure in children ages 1-3 is associated with attention problems at age 7, according to a study from Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle. The study, published in the April issue of PEDIATRICS revealed that each hour of television watched per day at ages 1-3 increases the risk of attention problems, such as ADHD, at age 7 by almost 10%. These results control for other attributes of the home environment including cognitive stimulation and emotional support.

However, what I was really thinking during the show, was the amount of tv that I watched when I was younger compared to what kids watch today. I relly cannot say that I have a reference point for "today’s" kids but the mere excistence of VCR’s and DVD’s on today’s SUV has to be a pretty good sign that things have changed. Now, I just hope they don’t come up with a similar study for 20-something year olds, otherwise I will be in trouble.