How Young Children Spend Their Time Television and Other Activities

• Published in: Developmental psychology Vol. 35; no. 4; pp. 912 - 925
• Main Authors: Huston, Aletha C, Wright, John C, Marquis, Janet, Green, Samuel B
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Psychological Association 01-07-1999
• Subjects: Activities; Activities of Daily Living - psychology; Age Differences; Biological and medical sciences; Child; Child Behavior; Child Development; Child, Preschool; Childhood Development; Children & youth; Cohort Analysis; Cohort Differences; Cohort Studies; Context Effect; Daily Activities; Developmental psychology; Educational Television; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gender differences; Gender Identity; Human; Human Sex Differences; Humans; Leisure; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Mothers; Parent Background; Play and Playthings; Predictor Variables; Preschool children; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Reading; Relationship; Sex Differences; Sex Stereotypes; Stereotyping; Television; Television Research; Television Viewing; Time Factors; Time management; Time Studies; Young Children; Human; Preschool age; Social environment; Education level; Sex; Video game; Reading; Mother; Television; Follow up study; Social interaction; Leisure; Family environment; Evolution; Child
• ISSN: 0012-1649; 1939-0599
• DOI: 10.1037/0012-1649.35.4.912

Time-use diaries were collected over a 3-year period for 2 cohorts of 2- and 4-year-old children. TV viewing declined with age. Time spent in reading and educational activities increased with age on weekdays but declined on weekends. Time-use patterns were sex-stereotyped, and sex differences increased with age. As individuals' time in educational activities, social interaction, and video games increased, their time watching entertainment TV declined, but time spent playing covaried positively with entertainment TV. Educational TV viewing was not related to time spent in non-TV activities. Maternal education and home environment quality predicted frequent viewing of educational TV programs and infrequent viewing of entertainment TV. The results do not support a simple displacement hypothesis; the relations of TV viewing to other activities depend on the program content, the nature of the competing activity, and the environmental context.