Editorial: Creating crib potatoes

Saturday, May 12, 2007 | 7:21 a.m.

A merica is sadly growing a new generation of Teletubbies, as children are watching television early and often.

A study published Monday in the journal Pediatrics shows how pervasive television is.

For example:

"A lot of these parents are kind of checking out," the study's lead author, University of Texas professor Elizabeth Vandewater, told the Chicago Tribune. "It's not really neglect, it's more like absentee parenting."

Absentee parenting has consequences. The study cites research that has linked TV to inactivity, childhood obesity, poor test scores and attention problems. It also notes that children are saturated by electronic media, which has become "part of the fabric of their daily lives."

So what is a parent to do?

In an interview with U.S. News & World Report, Vandewater said parents should carefully screen what children watch - some programs can be good - and watch it with them so they don't turn into crib, or couch, potatoes.

Or, even better, parents could turn off the tube.

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