Sound and sufficient sleep are important for a child's health and growth. A regular nap and bedtime schedule should be a part of a child's day. Previous studies have shown that the more television older children and adolescents watch, the less regular their sleep patterns. Now we can say the same the thing for even younger children.
In a group of 2068 children four to thirty-five months old, 34% had irregular naptime schedules and 27% had irregular bedtime schedules - surprisingly high numbers. The average amount of time spent watching television was 0.9 hours per day for the children under 12 months old; 1.6 hours per day for children 12 to 23 months old; and 2.3 hours per day for children 24 to 35 months old.
The researchers found that the more television a child watches per day, the greater the chances of irregular naptime and sleep schedules. The researchers are not sure if the increase in TV watching caused the increased chances of irregular schedules or if there's another factor causing both. However, parents should be aware of how much television their children watch and may need to reduce the number of hours if their child is having nap or bedtime problems.
Pediatrics, 10/05
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