The Communication Trust survey of 1,000 parents of children aged two to six years also found that 25 per cent of parents use TV as a babysitter, and nearly 78 per cent say the two hours their children watch TV each day are spent alone.
To coincide with the poll, a new ten-point plan for parents on TV time has been devised by experts from the Hello campaign, the 2011 national year of communication.
The ten points include making sure children are not watching TV alone, ensuring the programmes they watch are age-appropriate, and communicating with children during a programme.
The Hello campaign is also championing CBeebies' new series 'Raa Raa the Noisy Lion', which explores children's communication skills. The programme is shown every weekday at 3.30pm from Monday 9 May.
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