Children's Perceptions of TV and Health Behavior Effects

Purpose: To understand and document children's stated experiences and beliefs about television and to elicit their suggestions for alternative activities. Design and Methods: Eleven focus groups were conducted with 51 Anglo and Latino children, ages 7–10, in a large Northern California city. Philosophical underpinnings of developmental psychology were the basis for multiphase thematic analysis. Data were collected in 1998–1999. Results: Themes were identified in five conceptual categories. Findings showed that children did not perceive many parental rules related to TV watching, rather daily routines are associated with TV viewing. Children revealed both covert and overt motivations for watching. Nearly all participants spoke of the deception of advertising, but they were unclear about the role of commercial sponsors in payment for TV shows. Children perceived both negative physical and behavioral health effects of TV and they had great difficulty imagining life without a TV. Conclusions: Children perceived television as providing educational and relational needs. Although they preferred alternatives to TV, they had difficulty articulating and getting those needs met. Clinicians and researchers can utilize these findings to design health interventions that attenuate the health‐impairing effects of habitual sedentary activity in childhood.