Study: Kids in home-based day care watch more TV

Children who attend home-based day-care programs are watching twice as much television per day as was previously thought, according to a study released online Monday and published in the December issue of Pediatrics. In a survey of 168 child-care programs in four states, researchers found that toddlers, ages 1 to 3, in home-based day-care centers watched an average of 1.6 hours of television there each day, including videos and DVDs. Preschool-age children, 3 to 5 years old, watched 2.4 hours a day in home-based centers. Prior studies have estimated that preschool-age children watch one to three hours of television a day. But those relied on reports from parents about children's habits at home and did not count the time they spent in front of the television during day care, underestimating the total TV time by up to 100 percent, researchers said.