Detailed contribution information
| Contribution title | 3449 - TELEVISION VIEWING AMONG TODDLERS, INFANTS AND PRESCHOOLERS |
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| Contribution code | PS01-86 (P) |
| Authors | |
| Form of presentation | Poster |
| Topic |
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| Abstract |
OBJECTIVES: Establish the demographic profile and identify the characteristics of television exposure on Tunisian children aged 0 to 5 years. METHODS: A descriptive and cross-sectional study conducted from January 18 to January 31, 2016, on “Facebook” (in groups for parents or scholar institutions’ forums). Parents of Tunisian children aged 0 to 12 years were asked to answer an anonymous and voluntary questionnaire. 37 items concerned sociodemographic data and assessed screen media access and use among children (computer, smartphone, television, tablet device, video games). In this work, we are interested in Television (TV) access and use among children aged 0-5 years. RESULTS: Our group featured 115 children, half of whom were babies and toddlers (56,5%). The sex ratio was 0,77. The average age was 3,09 years. Nearly all parents (97%) had a high education level. The majority of children (80%) were registered in a kindergarten. The average age at first exposure was 20,21 months. 90% had access to TV at home and 74% watched it at least once a day, with an average of 1hour for 42,85% of them. Only 4,3% of the children had a TV in their bedroom. Adults co-viewing were found in the third of cases (29%). Harmful TV contents were prohibited in most families (91%). Cartoons, films and clipart for kids were the highly watched programs. Nearly the quarter was more likely to consume either an educational content (23%) or a documentary (22,8%). The main parental expectations for this exposure were: having fun (50.8%), acquiring new knowledge (43%), occupying their child while they did chores (41%) and learning new words (11%). One child out of three (31%) was multitasker, using simultaneously a tablet device and watching TV. Among 0-to-3-years-old, the majority (86%) were already exposed to TV, with an average time spent of 1,5hour a day. CONCLUSION: Tunisian children are early and passively exposed to TV, with more than half of parents considering it as an educational platform. An awareness-raising campaign is needed among parents, general practitioners and pediatricians on television’s impact on the cognitive and social development of the child. |