Carrie Heitzler, MPH¹, Amy Jordan, PhD², Amy Branner, MS², James C. Hersey, PhD³, Holly Massett, PhD³, Judith A. McDivitt, PhD¹, Lucia Rojas-Smith, DrPH⁴, and Sharon Telleen, PhD⁵. (1) Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity and Adolescent and School Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Hwy, M/S K46, Atlanta, GA 30341, 770-488-5286, cheitzler@cdc.gov, (2) Annenberg School of Communication, University of Pennsylvania, 3620 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, (3) Research Triangle Institute, 1615 M St. (Suite 740), Washington, DC 20036, (4) Health Economics Research Division, RTI International, 1615 M Street N.W., Washington D.C., DC 20036-3208, (5) University of Illinois at Chicago, 912 Greenleaf Ave., Wilamette, IL 60091

Nearly 9 million American children today are overweight, a figure that has tripled since 1980. Recent studies suggest that children’s heavy television viewing may be contributing to the rise in childhood overweight. As a result, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that parents limit children’s TV viewing time to two hours per day. However, it is not clear how children and their parents would react to reducing TV time, nor do we know the range of challenges facing program planners in developing effective interventions to reduce children’s TV viewing time. To explore these issues, small group interviews were conducted to understand individual, family, and community factors that influence TV use by children. Specifically, 160 parents and their children participated in 3-person focused interviews (56 parent triads and 56 child triads) during the fall of 2003 and the winter of 2004. Equal numbers of groups were conducted with Caucasian, African American, and Hispanic families. Children (ages 6 to 13) were interviewed separately from adults. This presentation will detail the findings about why children watch television, strategies parents use to manage children’s time with television, what motivates parents to limit TV time, and how parents and children responded to several approaches to reducing children’s TV time (e.g., limiting TV to 2 hours a day, not having a TV in the child’s bedroom). Differences by racial/ethnic group and by age group will be examined.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, participants will be able to

• Describe individual, familial and community factors that shape children’s television viewing.
• Discuss potential barriers to reducing children’s TV time and strategies for overcoming them.

Keywords: Media, Health Communications

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.