Background Television in the Homes of US Children WHAT’S KNOWN ON THIS SUBJECT: Exposure to background television (ie, times when the television is on but the child is attending to another activity) is negatively associated with children’ s cognitive functioning and social play. WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS: US children (8 months to 8 years) are exposed to nearly 4 hours of background television on a typical day. Younger children and African American children are exposed to more background television. Family behaviors associated with background television are offered. abstract OBJECTIVE: US parents were surveyed to determine the amount of background television that their children are exposed to as well as to isolate demographic factors associated with increased exposure to background television. After this, we ask how certain home media practices are linked to children’ s background television exposure. METHODS: US parents/caregivers (N = 1454) with 1 child between the ages of 8 months and 8 years participated in this study. A nationally representative telephone survey was conducted. Parents were asked to report on their child’ s exposure to background television via a 24- hour time diary. Parents were also asked to report relevant home media behaviors related to their child: bedroom television ownership, number of televisions in the home, and how often a television was on in the home. RESULTS: The average US child was exposed to 232.2 minutes of back- ground television on a typical day. With the use of multiple regression analysis, we found that younger children and African American chil- dren were exposed to more background television. Leaving the televi- sion on while no one is viewing and children’ s bedroom television ownership were associated with increased background television exposure. CONCLUSIONS: Although recent research has shown the negative con- sequences associated with background television, this study provides the first nationally representative estimates of that exposure. The amount of exposure for the average child is startling. This study offers practitioners potential pathways to reduce exposure. Pediatrics 2012;130:1–8 AUTHORS: Matthew A. Lapierre, MA, a Jessica Taylor Piotrowski, PhD, b and Deborah L. Linebarger, PhD c a Communication Studies, University of North Carolina Wilmington, Wilmington, North Carolina; b The Amsterdam School of Communication Research, Department of Communication Science, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands; and c Department of Teaching and Learning, College of Education, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa KEY WORDS television, children, media, child development, survey ABBREVIATIONS TV—television US—United States www.pediatrics.org/cgi/doi/10.1542/peds.2011-2581 doi:10.1542/peds.2011-2581 Accepted for publication Jun 19, 2012 Address correspondence to Matthew A. Lapierre, MA, Communication Studies, University of North Carolina Wilmington, Leutze Hall #237, Wilmington, NC 28403. E-mail: lapierrem@uncw. edu PEDIATRICS (ISSN Numbers: Print, 0031-4005; Online, 1098-4275). Copyright © 2012 by the American Academy of Pediatrics FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE: The authors have indicated they have no financial relationships relevant to this article to disclose. FUNDING: This study was supported by a grant to Dr Deborah Linebarger under a cooperative agreement between the US Department of Education, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and the Public Broadcasting System for the Ready to Learn Initiative, PR# U295A050003. These contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the US Department of Education and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government. This research was completed while the first two authors were graduate students at the Annenberg School for Communication and the third author an assistant professor at the Annenberg School for Communication. PEDIATRICS Volume 130, Number 5, November 2012 1 ARTICLE