Kids’ TV Viewing is at an 8-Year-High

Kids ages 6 to 11 are watching as much as 28 hours of TV a week, says a new report from The Nielsen Company. Younger kids, ages 2 to 5, are spending even more time in front of the TV screen -- as much as 32 hours a week -- presumably because their TV viewing is not interrupted by having to go to school.

TV isn't the only screen taking up kids' screen time today. The study found that children 6 to 11 are spending an average of 2 hours and 23 minutes playing video games.

The first thing that occurred to me when I read this report is, where are school-age kids finding all these hours for screen time? Now that my son is in third grade, he is spending more time than ever on homework. He barely has time for playdates and he only does one after-school activity, and yet we find ourselves scrambling every night to get homework done, have dinner, and get ready for bed on time. If we were making time for 28 hours of TV a week -- that's a whopping 4 hours a day -- we'd have to cut something out, like, say, sleep or family time.

I think TV and even videogames can have their place in kids' lives (even the shows and games that aren't "educational"), but if your kids are watching anything near 28 hours of TV a week, that probably means you're not having enough time with your kids, and your kids aren't spending enough time reading or playing with friends.

How does your family's TV viewing habits measure up against the Nielsen findings?