Too much TV-watching can harm children's ability to learn and even reduce their chances of getting a
college degree, new studies suggest in the latest effort to examine the effects of television on children.
One of the studies looked at nearly 400 northern California third-graders. Those with TVs in their bedrooms
scored about eight points lower on math and language arts tests than children without bedroom TVs.
A second study, looking at nearly 1000 grown-ups in New Zealand, found lower education levels among
26-year -olds who had watched lots of TV during childhood.But the results don't prove that TV is the cause
and don't ride out that already poorly motivated youngsters (年轻人) may wash lots of TV.
Their study measured the TV habits of 26-year-olds between ages 5 and 15. These with college degrees
had watched average of less than two hours of TV per weeknight during childhood compared with an average
of more than 2 1/2 hours those had no education beyond high school.
In the California study, children with TVs in their rooms but no computer at home scored the lowest while
those with no bedroom TV but who had home computers scored the highest.
While this study does not prove that bedroom TV sets caused the lower scores, it adds to accumulating
findings that children shouldn't have TVs in their bedrooms.