Television and video viewing time among children aged 2 years - Oregon, 2006-2007

Excessive exposure of children to television and videos (viewing time) is associated with impaired childhood development and childhood obesity. In 2001, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommended that children watch no more than 1 to 2 hours of "quality programming" per day, and that televisions be removed from children's bedrooms. To determine the risk for excessive viewing time among children aged 2 years, CDC and the Oregon Public Health Division analyzed 2006 and 2007 data from the Oregon Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring Survey follow-back survey (Oregon PRAMS-2), which was used to re-interview mothers who had participated in PRAMS. This report summarizes the results of that analysis, which indicated that, on a typical day, 19.6% of children aged 2 years spent >or=2 hours watching television or videos. A total of 18.2% of children had a television in their bedroom; these children were more likely to have >or=2 hours viewing time compared with children without a television in the bedroom (34.1% versus 16.3%). In multivariable analysis, >or=2 hours of viewing time was positively associated with the presence of a television in the child's bedroom, non-Hispanic black maternal race/ethnicity, fewer than four outings with the child during the preceding week, and was negatively associated with obtaining child care in a child care center. In Oregon, these findings support the AAP recommendations that health professionals, parents, and caregivers recognize the extent of children's media consumption, and that televisions be removed from children's bedrooms. Other states should consider conducting similar surveys.