As parents, we’ve grown accustomed to using some of our favorite lines on our children like, “Your clothes didn’t just get up and walk away”, “I don’t care who started it, two wrongs don’t make a right”, and the very popular, “Because I said so”.

In order to find out how much of children’s media is devoted to educational content, The Joan Ganz Cooney Center conducted a national survey of more than 1500 parents of children ages 2-10.  The results of the survey prove parents may want to give a second thought before they use the classic line, “Too much TV will rot your brain”.

The Joan Ganz Cooney Center’s report, Learning at Home: Families’ Educational Media Use in America is the first comprehensive analysis of parents’ experiences with the educational media their children use.  The survey covers children’s use of various media platforms: TV, DVDs, video games, smartphones, tablets, books, e-readers, and other mobile devices.

When it comes to educational media at home for kids, parents believe their children have “learned the most” from TV.  52% of respondents believe children learn the most from TV, compared to 47% from computers, 41% from video games, and 39% from mobile devices.

Additionally, TV leads the way in delivering educational content.  The same study found that 52% of TV content consumed by children is educational, while 36% of mobile device content is educational and video games contain 18% educational content.

Is it time to review exactly what your kids are watching on TV?  Regardless of the types of devices your children use, it’s the responsibility of the parents to monitor the content.  That way, you can ensure that at least a certain amount of “device time” is also “learning time”.