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Toddlers who watch lots of TV 'are more likely to be bullied'

Big television watchers have a higher chance of being physically and verbally abused, study finds

Tom Brooks-Pollock
Monday 20 July 2015 16:36 BST
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Watching too much television as a toddler could make children more likely to be bullied at school, a new study suggests.

Higher rates of TV-watching among two-year-olds correlates to a higher likelihood of victimisation by the time they are 11 or 12, according to child experts.

Big TV-watchers were more likely to be physically or verbally abused and to have things taken from them by other pupils.

The paper, published in an American Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, argues that when children spend less time talking to their parents - and more time glued to the box - they fail to learn the inter-personal skills needed to make friends.

This process, known as socialisation, suffers, along with brain development - and the ability to look someone in the eye.

Paper author Linda Pagani, the study's author and a professor at the University of Montreal, said: "More time spent watching television leaves less time for family interaction, which remains the primary vehicle for socialization."

She added that making eye contact was a key cornerstone of friendship and social interaction, the Washington Post reported.

The study looked at 991 girls and 1,006 boys growing up in Canada, with their parents asked to report their TV-watching habits and 11-12 year olds reporting bullying themselves.

For every increase of 53 minutes in daily television viewing, bullying increased by 11 per cent, the study found.

Some paediatricians say that toddlers should watch no more than two hours of television per day. But this is controversial, with others arguing that programmes like Sesame street can teach kids to count.

"There are only 24 hours in a day, and for children, half should be spent meeting basic needs — eating, sleeping, hygiene — and the remainder spent on enriching activities and relationships," Prof Pagani added.

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