An annual monitor report by research agency Childwise has found thattoday's children are growing up 'multi-tasking', often eating, sleepingor using the internet at the same time as watching television.
Researchers examined the media habits of 1,147 UK children aged five to16 by conducting face-to-face interviews via schools.
It found a huge growth in the use of social networking sites, such asClub Penguin and Bebo, and a revival in television viewing, which hadfallen for three years in a row.
The average 'screen time' spent overall was five hours and 20 minutes aday, with television viewing at 2.6 hours a day.
Younger children watched television slightly less than the average, but36 per cent of five- to six-year-olds regularly watched televisionduring their evening meal.
Childwise research director Rosemary Duff said, 'TV has become abackground thing. It isn't something children do any more, it's justaround in the background. There is a smaller proportion of internetusers, who use it less frequently and for less time. The youngestchildren mostly use it for playing games.'
The survey also found that a third of five- to eight-year-olds own theirown mobile phone and mp3 player, while two-thirds have their own TVset.
'We need to be cautious before we start ringing alarm bells,' Ms Duffadded. 'We need to understand that children approach things in adifferent way, like multi-tasking. It's a part of life and the pace oflife is changing. More than castigating parents for putting a TV orcomputer in their child's room we need to make sure they understandtheir responsibilities alongside this.'