Congrats, Parents: TV Viewing by Kids Reaches 8-Year High

Babysitter? We don't need no stinkin' babysitter -- not while we still have a TV!

Nielsen just issued a release stating that children's TV viewing is an eight-year high, with kids age 2-5 now spending "more than 32 hours a week on average in front of a TV screen. The older segment of that group (ages 6-11) spend a little less time, about 28 hours per week watching TV, due in part that they are more likely to be attending school for longer hours."

Frankly, this probably isn't as alarming as it sounds. Most of us baby boomers watched way too much TV as kids, too, and it's not like we turned out to be a bunch of overweight couch potatoes with health problems and a slightly jaundiced view of the world.

Oh, whoops.

The interesting factoid here is that kids are still watching so much TV despite the influx of video games, DVDs and space-age toys at their disposal. Given that I know parents who won't let their kids watch anything but DVDs -- the best way to exercise complete control over the content they see, short of forcing them to go outside and play -- it's surprising that viewing has actually continued to rise.

Then again, TV has a wider variety of channels now aimed at kids -- at younger ages -- than ever before, despite some medical studies suggesting that children's screen exposure ought to be limited until they're old enough to fully process what they're seeing.

On the plus side, Nielsen's latest data should offer hope and consolation to many parents who doubtless feel guilty about parking their tots in front of the tube for extended stretches.

Think you're doing a bad job? Hey, guess what: Other people are doing even worse.