A March 3 press release from New York's University at Buffalo announced that when parents use an automatic device to restrict the time children spend in front of video media (both television and computer), chubby children get thinner. Or as the press release puts it, children's Body Mass Index is reduced. While it is hardly a surprise that less time sitting in front of a video screen translates to better health, it is newsworthy that—as the study found—the use of an electronic device to restrict viewing time is one of the most effective tools for that purpose. In an editorial comment, Harvard's Steven L. Gortmaker noted that "other strategies have been proposed that can effectively limit television and other screen time, including keeping televisions and other devices out of the household altogether. For households with televisions, one useful strategy for limiting viewing is to not put sets in rooms in which children sleep, as studies have shown a television set in a child's bedroom is a major predictor of use." There's a head-scratcher for you. We all know that less video time is likely to mean increased exercise time combined with decreased mindless munching on the sofa. Ergo, less childhood obesity. But in all the discussion about this study, there is no mention of how effective parental monitoring and restrictions might be. Instead, the options offered are: remove the TV from the household altogether or invest in a $100 electronic monitoring device. Are parents really so unlikely to be involved in their children's lives that they are unable to curtail harmful activities without the aid of electronic devices or a radical videoectomy? | 
