Even the very youngest children in America are growing up immersed in media, spending hours a day watching TV and videos, using computers and playing video games, according to a new study by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

Children 6 and under spend an average of just under two hours a day using screen media, about the same amount of time they spend playing outside and well over the amount they spend with books.

The average amount of time spent reading or being read to was 39 minutes.

KIDS & SCREENS Too Much Time With Electronic Media Discuss Kids' Media Use -- Do You Have Rules? Report From Kaiser Family Foundation Report: Young Kids & 'Screen' Time

New interactive digital media have become an integral part of children's lives. Nearly 48 percent of children 6 and under have used a computer, including 31 percent of those under 3 and 70 percent of those between four and six.

Just under one-third have played video games (14 percent of those under 3, half of those between four and 6 years old).

The study found, however, that reading is still part of the day for 80 percent of children under six years old.

Even the youngest children -- those under 2 -- are widely exposed to electronic media. Forty-three percent of those under 2 watch TV every day, and 26 percent have a TV in their bedroom. In any given day, two-thirds of children under 2 will use screen media for an average of just over two hours.

Children with a TV in their room spend an average of 22 minutes more a day watching TV and videos than other children do. Those living in heavy TV households are more likely to watch every day and to watch an average of 34 minutes more a day. They are also less likely to read every day and spend less time reading when they do. In fact, they are less likely than other children to be able to read at all.

"So much new media is being targeted at infants and toddlers, it's critical that we learn more about the impact it's having on child development," said Vicky Rideout, the lead author of the study, titled " Zero to Six: Electronic Media in the Lives of Infants, Toddlers and Preschoolers."

"These are astonishing data. Today's preschoolers are starting to use media much younger than we thought," said study co-author Ellen Wartella, dean of the College of Communication at the University of Texas. "Where previous generations were introduced to media through print, this generation's pathway is electronic. This is a trend we must follow."

Other findings from the study include:

Parents of young children appear to have a largely positive view about TV and computers. They are significantly more likely to say TV "mostly helps" children's learning (43 percent) than "mostly hurts" it (27 percent); the overwhelming majority (72 percent) say computers "mostly help" children's learning. About half of parents consider educational TV shows (58 percent) and videos (49 percent) "very important" to children's intellectual development. They are also far more likely to say they have seen their children imitate positive behaviors from TV like sharing or helping than negative ones like hitting or kicking.
One-third of children under 6 have a TV in their bedroom, more than one in four have a VCR or DVD, one in 10 have a video game player, and 7 percent have a computer.
In a typical day, about one in four 4 to 6-year-olds uses a computer, and those who do spend an average of just over an hour at the keyboard. More than 39 percent use a computer several times a week or more; 37 percent in this age group can turn the computer on by themselves and 40 percent can load a CD-ROM.
Many children are growing up in homes where the TV is an ever-present companion. Sixty-five percent live in homes where the TV is left on at least half the time or more, even if no one is watching, and 36 percent live in homes where the TV is on "always" or "most of the time" (the latter group are considered heavy TV households.)
The vast majority of parents say they have rules about TV, including 90 percent with rules about what their kids watch and 69 percent with rules about how much they can watch. The study indicates the rules may have an effect: children with time-related rules spend an average of almost 30 minutes less per day watching TV than other children.
Despite the plethora of new media, reading continues to be a regular part of young children's lives. In any given day, nearly eight in 10 children 6 and under will read or be read to, and those who do spend an average of 49 minutes reading.