Excessive television watching by children seriously compromises their physical and emotional condition. Yet few parents understand the important connection between watching television and their child's health. Inactivity associated with too much television as well as the child's vulnerability to mass marketing messages leads to many physical problems such as obesity, poor diet and loss of manual dexterity. Heavy television viewing is also associated with poor development of parts of the brain that lead to academic difficulties and behavioral problems. Parents need to be made to understand that using television as a babysitter leads to many harmful problems and possibly a lifetime of suffering and illness. According to a study cited by the Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the majority of children reported spending 3 hours a day watching television. The study consisted of small group interviews with 180 parents and children aged 6 to 13. The study found that while parents have restrictions on the types of TV programs their children watch, they don't limit the actual time they spend watching TV. “The interviews revealed that many of these families do not care that watching television is a problem for their child.” The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests that children over the age of 2 spend less than two hours per day viewing screen media, as too much viewing has been linked to several physical, academic, and behavioral problems (Heitzler et al.). Since watching television takes away from physical activity time, children who watch too much television are more likely to be overweight. "A number of studies have linked being overweight to watching television, as...... middle of article...... child development experts agree that Violent media in a child's life must be eliminated in order to prevent its harmful effects on a child's outlook on the world and society. Parents must become actively involved in a child's television viewing habits. their children and ensure that their children reach their maximum abilities in life Works Cited Endsley, Richard C. and Surbeck, Elaine. age and gender. Page. Academic Research First. February 18, 2011. Health effects of excessive television viewing by children. , Hersey, James C., Jordan, Amy B. and McDivitt, Judith A. Reducing television viewing time for children: a qualitative study of parents and their children. Pediatrics. American Academy of Pediatrics. June 7, 2006. the web. February 18. 2011.