How can I lessen the risk of overweight related to media?

There are a number of ways that parents can work to lessen the risk of overweight by managing their children's media use. CMCH recommends taking these steps:

Encourage lots of social and extracurricular activities.
The amount of time that children use media is often determined by the amount of down time that they have at their home. If you think your child is spending too much time watching TV, find other fun activities for them to do.

Do not allow televisions in your children’s rooms.
Having a television in a child's bedroom has been linked to overweight and sleep problems. By keeping the television in a family area, you can see how much television your children watch. You can also more easily keep track of time limits. Remember that it is much easier to never put a television in your child’s room than it is to remove one that’s already there.

Do not allow your children to eat while watching television.
Studies have shown that children often eat more and choose less healthy foods while they are using media. Prevent "mindless eating" by only allowing them to eat at the table and away from the television.

Set time limits.
It is easy to watch TV for hours at a time. If you give them a screen time " allowance", it will lead them to make thoughtful choices about what they want to watch during that time instead of channel surfing for hours.
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Avoid commercials.
VCRs and DVRs can both record programs and allow the viewer to fast forward through commercials. This will limit the amount of advertising your children see for sugary and unhealthy food.
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Practice media literacy.
Teach your children about media literacy so they can think critically about the commercials they see and hear.
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Be a media role model.
Use the amount of media you’d want your children to use and they will follow your example.
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CMCH resources for parents and teachers are made possible
by a grant from the American Legion Child Welfare Foundation.