In the last few years, reality TV has shifted from some slightly stale neglected formats (Survivor 13 and Big Brother Season 57) to being the fresh and respectable centre of the Australian television landscape in shows such as Master Chef, Junior Master Chef and the Celebrity Apprentice (The Sydney Morning Herald, 2011). However, bringing child relevant programming into prime time viewing has had an unwanted consequence in keeping children awake later during school nights according to Sarah Blunden from the University of South Australia's Centre for Sleep Research (cited in Browne, 2011).
In the article, Late programs keeping kids from a decent snooze, Blunden suggests that the thirty minutes or more of sleep lost per night to view these television shows can have a detrimental effect on a child's ability to perform well in class (cited in Browne, 2011). Blunden cautions that long term sleep deprivation in children can encourage aggressive behaviour and problems concentrating as well as discourage physical activity such as sport (cited in Browne, 2011). This negative effect contrasts with the many positive messages portrayed by Junior Master Chef about healthy eating, creativity and cultural awareness which gave it such popular and critical acclaim (Hardy, 2011).
As with the familiar messages given about healthy eating; education and moderation are the key take-home ideas from this article. Parents should be making sure that their primary school aged children's sleeping patterns are not too disrupted in becoming viewers of these television shows. The television shows also offer "catch up television" viewing options via their web sites, allowing more children friendly viewing times which parents could provide as alternatives.
References
Browne, R. (2011, October 23). Late programs keeping kids from a decent snooze, The Sydney Morning Herald, Retrieved from http://www.smh.com.au/
Hardy, C. (2011, October 5). Canberra's young chef, The Canberra Times, Retrieved from http://www.canberratimes.com.au/
The Sydney Morning Herald. (2011, October 23). Stars line up for a reality cheque, The Sydney Morning Herald, Retrieved from http://www.smh.com.au/
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Child falling asleep eating Creative Commons Photo by Lance Nishihira |
As with the familiar messages given about healthy eating; education and moderation are the key take-home ideas from this article. Parents should be making sure that their primary school aged children's sleeping patterns are not too disrupted in becoming viewers of these television shows. The television shows also offer "catch up television" viewing options via their web sites, allowing more children friendly viewing times which parents could provide as alternatives.
References
Browne, R. (2011, October 23). Late programs keeping kids from a decent snooze, The Sydney Morning Herald, Retrieved from http://www.smh.com.au/
Hardy, C. (2011, October 5). Canberra's young chef, The Canberra Times, Retrieved from http://www.canberratimes.com.au/
The Sydney Morning Herald. (2011, October 23). Stars line up for a reality cheque, The Sydney Morning Herald, Retrieved from http://www.smh.com.au/
