During a well-child exam, the parents of a 4-year-old child inform the nurse that they are thinking of buying a television for their child's bedroom, and ask for advice as to whether this is appropriate. The best response from the nurse would be

Question

1. "Research has shown that children with a television in their bedroom spend significantly less time playing outside than other children."
2. "Research has shown that watching educational television shows improves a child's performance in school."
3. "Don't buy a television for your child's room; he is much too young for that."
4. "It is okay for children to have a television in their room as long as you limit the amount of time they watch it to less than two hours per day."

Answer 1

1
Rationale:
1. Young children need to be physically active at this age. Research has shown that children with a television in their bedroom spend significantly less time playing outside than do other children, and physical inactivity in children has been linked to many chronic diseases, such as obesity and type 2 diabetes. Telling parents this is the best response because it gives the parents an evidence-based rationale for not placing a television in the child's room.
2. This statement might encourage increased television watching by the child, and the child's developmental need for physical activity is greater than the benefit that he might obtain by watching educational programs.
3. "Don't buy a television for your child's room; he is much too young for that" does not give parents a rationale, and might seem opinionated to them.
4. "It is okay for children to have a television in their room as long as you limit the amount of time they watch it to less than two hours per day" is correct in that limiting television viewing to less than two hours per day is appropriate, but the probability of this occurring with a television in the child's room is low, and the child will most likely be watching much more than two hours per day.