Parenting: Children and television Next week is TV Turn Off Week - give yourself and your family a break from the box

TV is the butt of everyone's criticism nowadays, but anyone who watches children's programming will discover that it is, in the main, very worthy. The trouble with telly, however, is that it's very hard to control your viewing time, and children are especially poor at switching off in favour of other activities.

TV Turn Off week is an American idea, but every time I've turned off, I've succeeded in altering my TV habits for good. Last year I managed to purge myself of an addiction to a particular soap opera - and earned nearly 100 hours of new leisure time in the last 12 months as a result.

With a child in the house, the imperative to control TV viewing is even stronger. Two pieces of research published this week drive the message home.

According to a report published in a journal of the US American Psychological Society, there is now "unequivocal evidence that media violence increases the likelihood of aggressive and violent behaviour" in children and youth.

The report examines the vast body of research that has investigated the ways in which violent media influence behavior. Across all media - from film to computer games - the authors found that the research consistently shows that even short-term exposure to violence "increases the likelihood of physically and verbally aggressive behaviour, aggressive thoughts, and aggressive emotions."

The report, entitled The Influence of Media Violence on Youth, probes both the short- and long-term effects of viewing media violence. In the short-term, the authors claim, media violence can boost aggression by prompting aggressive thoughts and increasing physiological arousal. Over time, repeated viewing of violence can reduce individuals' normal negative emotional responses to violence.

A second research paper released this week links the rising incidence of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) to excessive TV viewing. In the first research project of its kind, scientists at Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Centre in Seattle, Washington State, examined the TV viewing habits of children aged one to three.

For every hour of television watched daily by children at ages one and three, the risk of attention problems at age seven increases by almost 10 per cent.

Children in the study with attention problems at age seven were more likely to have difficulty concentrating, to be easily confused, impulsive and restless. The problems were similar to symptoms for ADHD.

There are a range of possible reasons for these outcomes - one of the authors of the study, Dr Christakis, believes that the pace of events represented on TV gives children an expectation that life will afford the same immediate gratification. When real life unfolds more gradually, children lose interest and focus, becoming impatient and unable to set and achieve goals. The frustration of this experience feeds back into itself, making the situation progressively worse.

Control is the key here, as the negative effects were directly informed by the number of hours spent viewing.

"A child who watched, say, six hours a day would be 60 per cent more likely to have these problems at age seven than one who watched no television," said Christakis, who is also director of the Child Health Institute at the University of Washington. "That child would have greater challenges in school." The study is reported in this month's edition of the journal Pediatrics.

Other research has shown that children who watch television excessively have increased risks of obesity and aggressive behaviour. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no TV before age two and that children over two be limited to one to two hours a day of educational material on TV or other screen media.

TV has a lot to give - controlled viewing limited to quality programmes can bring a lot to the educational experience of a child. However, excessive viewing of endless pap is even more damaging than first thought. Turn off next week and return to TV with a new perspective.

PARENT TRENDS: What's New in the World of Parenting

The parent support group Parentline is hosting a free conference for parents - The Ten Commandments of Parenting - at the Bank of Ireland Arts Centre next Saturday from 11 a.m. until 12.30 p.m. The Ten Commandments of Parenting will be delivered by Dr Vincent Moloney, clinical psychiatrist.

Dr Moloney regularly speaks to parents' groups and has written a number of books on parenting. Saturday's lecture promises to be entertaining and informative, based on his experience as a doctor and as a father. The talk will cover such subjects as teaching your children impulse control, learning to blame the behaviour and not the child, making memories and effective discipline. All are welcome and admission is free.