What Parents Should Know About Their Toddlers' TV Viewing

If your toddler has trouble sleeping at night, and wakes up tired and grumpy, it may have something to do with what they are seeing on the video screen.

Wake Forest University communication professor Marina Krcmar, whose research includes studies related to children and television viewing, says parents need to know that many images— not just the ones adults typically think of as frightening — can be disturbing to young children.

Unusual image can be frightening

“Any unusual image may be frightening to a preschooler,” said Krcmar. “Whether a character is ‘good’ or funny is irrelevant. For example, children may find the Count on Sesame Street frightening because of his fangs and unusual hair and clothing.”

Watching older siblings play video games can also be disturbing. Younger children may be upset by violent graphics in video games. To preschoolers fighting is fighting, even if it is happening to rescue a princess from a castle.

What should parents do? First, take a look at what your young children are watching. Make sure it isn't something overtly scary.

When children are frightened by something they seem Krcmar says parents shouldn't try to talk it out. Instead, she says, children simply need a hug.

It is better to offer physical comfort to young children than to tell them that what they saw on television is make-believe. Young children have a hard time distinguishing reality from fantasy until they are about six, so is better to just ensure them they are protected.

Bed time viewing has most impact

“If children see something right before bed time, it will be hard for them to settle down and forget about it — especially in a dark room,” Krcmar sais. “It’s best to keep the television off in the evenings.”

Krcmar is an expert on children, adolescents and the media and is the author of Living Without the Screen. Her research appears in the journal Pediatrics.