MEDIA BEHAVIOUR OF PRESCHOOL CHILDREN: TV AND TV ADVERTISING VIEWING

Abstract

This study aims to analyse the TV and TV advertising viewing habits of preschool children. This study uses a qualitative approach based on media diaries, which were completed by the parents of fifteen preschool children over one week. The findings show that the preferable daypart for viewing TV by preschool children is the evening hours. Furthermore, the children mostly view children’s oriented TV programmes either alone or with their siblings. The results show that advertising influences children’s behaviour. In contrast with several previous studies, this paper does not support the claim that children begin to understand advertising messages from the age of eight as the study shows they understand it at an earlier age. Ultimately, this study confirms that TV advertising is still a convenient tool for communication with preschool children. The findings of this study contribute to the on-going debate about children’s TV viewing behaviour and children’s TV advertising.