NEARLY HALF of all nine-year-old children in Ireland have a TV in their bedrooms and close to 45 per cent have a mobile phone.
Researchers from the ESRI and Trinity College Dublin, who interviewed 8,500 nine-year-old children in the State, also found two-thirds of them spend one to three hours a day watching TV. A further 9 per cent spend between three and five hours a day watching the box.
Not surprisingly then, one in four of them is overweight or obese.
The findings from the initial phase of the first national “longitudinal study” on children growing up in Ireland, were published yesterday.
The Growing Up in Ireland study is being funded by the Department of Health in association with the Department of Social and Family Affairs and the Central Statistics Office. It began in 2007 and will cost €29 million over a seven-year period. It is also tracking the lives of 11,000 nine-month-old children, who will also be followed up at age three.
While findings on bullying have not yet been published, the early indications, the researchers say, are that many parents are not aware their nine-year-olds are being bullied.
Prof James Williams, principal investigator and co-director of the study, said the fact that so many nine-year-olds had TVs and mobile phones illustrated the way the world was moving. He said these children would be followed up again at age 13 and this would allow researchers see whether these possessions had affected their development.
Minister for Children Barry Andrews said he was concerned at the obesity levels identified, and while pleased at the high levels of what are considered as optimal parenting styles, found “a substantial number of children where there are parenting practices associated with unfavourable outcomes for children”. The study found 17 per cent of nine-year-olds had mothers and 20 per cent had fathers whose parenting style was “permissive”. In addition 2 per cent of mothers and 6 per cent of fathers had a parenting style classified as “neglectful”.
It also noted that about one in five of the children lived in lone parent families and for more than half of them – 53 per cent – their mothers worked outside the home, as did 75 per cent of their fathers. Mr Andrews said the findings from the study “will inform the Government’s strategic decisions around the allocation of resources and services in a more restricted economic climate”.