Understanding Your Child’s Physical Development

Cutting down on TV usage can help your child become more physically active. Use this chart to log the hours of TV your child watches. Gradually decrease the number of hours and replace that time with physical or creative activities. You can also log the shows watched as a way to monitor the kinds of things your child is seeing.

	Mon	Tues	Wed	Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun
Hours watched
Shows watched

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends the following viewing habits:

• Children under 2 years old: no TV (or other media, such as computers or videos)

• Children over 2 years old: maximum of 1 to 2 hours of TV (and other media) per day

The AAP also recommends a “media-free zone” for children’s bedrooms, keeping them free of TV, computers and video games.

— Veola Vazquez

Last updated: May 2005

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On This Topic

• Introduction • Healthy Body Images • Sudden Infant Death Syndrome • Comparing Physical Skills • TV Facts • Organized Sports • Preparing for Puberty • How Much TV?