For years, parents and educators have been concerned about the impact of television on children. A study from the University of Minnesota documents another concern about teenagers who have a television in their bedroom. The researchers have found that teenagers who have a bedroom television are less likely to exercise. They are also less likely to eat fruits or vegetables and enjoy family meals. And, they also found that these teenagers also consumed larger quantities of sweetened beverages and fast food.

There were also a few gender differences. Girls with a TV in their bedrooms spent less time in vigorous activity each week than girls without TVs in their rooms. They also ate fewer vegetables and had fewer family meals. Boys with TVs in their rooms not only had lower fruit intake and fewer family meals, they also had a lower grade point average compared with their counterparts with no TVs in the bedroom.

The chief researcher suggests that parents help their teens decrease unhealthy behaviors by removing a television from their child’s bedroom. Or if they don’t have a TV in their bedroom, they should make sure they don’t put one in there. She notes: “Our findings suggest the importance of not having a television in a child’s bedroom. When families upgrade their living room television, they may want to resist the temptation to put the older television set in their children’s bedroom.”

“The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that parents remove television sets from their children’s bedrooms.” But in spite of this recommendation, the researchers found that almost two-thirds of teens had a bedroom television.

Of course the problem is larger than just television. I have said for many years that young people spend too much time in front of a screen. That would include a TV screen, a video screen, a movie screen, and a computer screen.

I think it is noteworthy that even secular researchers are coming to the same conclusion that many Christians have had for years. Putting a television in your teen’s bedroom is not a good idea.