Getting 'square eyes' from watching too much television may just be a prospect that we tease childen with, but excessive viewing can indeed lead to serious developmental problems.
Early years experts are worried by the Independent Television Commission's recent annual survey of viewing habits in the UK. Television: The Public's View found that more than one third of children under the age of four now have television sets in their bedroom. The number has risen dramatically from 21 per cent in 1999 to 36 per cent last year, prompting fears that children's social and physical development are being undermined. The National Campaign for Children's Radio is now pressing for the return of radio programmes aimed at pre-school children (Nursery World, 27 September) that would stimulate the listening skills and the imaginative powers that television can repress.
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