More than two hours a day of TV causes behavior problems for kids

Turning off the tube is a great practice for many parents, but unfortunately, many use the device as a pacifier and/or babysitter. The thing is, more television viewing can lead to increased behavioral problems, according to a new study.

Two or more hours of watching television was found to lead to more behavioral issues in younger kids, including sleep, attention, and aggressive behavior problems. The kids that were observed for the study ranged in age from two-and-a-half to five-and-a-half.

But, even more disturbing, the research showed that those children aged at five-and-a-half developed fewer social skills if permitted to watch more than two hours of TV per day. Moral of the story: cut down on that television watching for those younger kids. Come to think of it, we could all use less of the tube in our daily lives.