Pediatricians, schools, and media.

In 2012, schools increasingly have to compete with the media for the attention and time of children and adolescents. Young people currently spend more time with media (.7 hours/day) than they do in school.1 Far more research is now available about the impact of media on school-aged children and teenagers2,3 and the efficacy of teaching media literacy in the classroom.4 Since the development of Sesame Street 40 years ago, teachers have felt increasing pressure to entertain their students as well as to teach them.5 New technology in the classroom offers nearly limitless educational possibilities but potential problems as well (eg, students may be physically present in the classroom but downloading videos online or texting classmates). A recent longitudinal Canadian study of .1300 children at 29 months and in fourth grade found that for every additional hour of television viewed per day at 29 months of age, there was a 6% to 7% decrease in classroom participation, a 10% increase in victimization by classmates, a 9% decrease in physical activity, and a 5% increase in BMI by the fourth grade.6 Now that the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has made Children and Media one of its new strategic priorities, pediatricians may want to familiarize themselves with this issue and how they can play a key role.