Better quality television encourages parents to let their children watch TV programmes as part of their education
The majority of parents allow their children to watch more TV per day than they were allowed when growing up, according to a new survey.
Researchers at Exeter University teamed up with free satellite TV service Freestat, to investigate modern attitudes towards television. Over 50% of the 2,000 parents surveyed admitted their children watched more TV than they did as children. Over 60% claimed this was because TV is now better quality and teaches children new skills.
Couples in the Midlands were the most relaxed about TV watching, with 10% saying they let their children watch more than five hours over a whole day. But the strictest parents live in the North East where 17% ration their children’s TV watching to under an hour a day.
Because of the growing role of TV in children’s development, 75% of parents felt the 9pm watershed was vital in avoiding unsuitable material and want broadcasters to pay close attention to their content before this time.
“The relationship between the TV industry and the family is one where assurance and trust is crucial,” said Emma Scott, from Freesat. “Not only do broadcasters now have an even greater responsibility to provide better quality, educational content for their young audiences, TV providers also need to ensure there are robust parental controls in place so parents can get the very best out of TV for their children.”
How strict are you with your children’s TV watching?
