When TV Becomes Kids' Nanny

From Seeker's Digest

Move over, Mary Poppins. There's a new nanny in many homes that comes with a remote control, not a magical umbrella.

A new report states that parents of babies, toddlers, and young kids "often turn to media as an important tool to help them manage their household and keep their kids entertained."

"Many parents find media a tremendous benefit in parentingparenting and can't imagine how they'd get through the day without it (especially TV, videos, and DVDs)," states the report, titled "The Media Family: Electronic Media in the Lives of Infants, Toddlers, and their Parents."

The report comes from the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation, which focuses on health care issues. Data stems from a survey of more than 1,000 parents of kids aged 6 months to 6 years.