We have seen a steady stream of studies in recent years about the negative impact of television on kids, and today we learned that preschoolers are watching, on average, four hours of TV a day, MSNBC.com reports.

New research shows that children in home-based care watch the most, roughly 5.5 hours during their entire day, which includes both time at home and in child care, while those in commercial child care stared at a screen the least, about 3.2 hours, according to “Preschoolers watching WAY too much TV.” 10/28/10.

 "When children are at home, whether with parents or another caregiver, it's easier to turn the television on," (Dr. Pooja) Tandon (who works at the Seattle Children's Research Institute and the University of Washington) told LiveScience. "Many of those settings are not regulated or licensed; many tend to be less structured."  – LiveScience via MSNBC.com.

This research adds yet another element to the challenge of managing TV time in families. In June, a study found only 49 percent of parents said they often or very often put limits on how much time their kids spend watching TV.

And last year, we learned that preschool-age children in home-based daycare watched, on average, 2.4 hours of TV a day, compared to those in centers who sat in front of a television 0.4 hours.

New Book on Transitions in PreK-3rd: One of the leading experts in early learning, Sharon Lynn Kagan, has co-authored a new book, “Transitions for Young Children: Creating Connections Across Early Childhood Systems.”

Smooth early childhood transitions are key to ensuring positive outcomes for young children the world over—but in today's fragmented early education systems, it's difficult to ensure continuity among programs and services. Early childhood professionals will help change that with this book, the first to propose a comprehensive, practical framework for repairing fissures in the system and making transitions successful for young children globally. – Brookes Publishing Company.