TELEVISION in the home may only have been in its comparative infancy at this time 50 years ago but even then there were official warnings that too much watching "The Box" could be harmful to children.
The Journal of 1953 highlighted comments made to Worcestershire County Council by its chairman, Sir Chad Woodward:
"There is a danger of children contracting an eye disease through watching television too much. Youngsters seem obsessed with the set - you cannot tear them away - though this may well be because television is in its infancy."
The county council was discussing whether or not to equip its children's homes with television sets, particularly with the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II coming up. In the end, councillors agreed to hire sets for some of the homes in the belief that television would be helpful to "educationally backward" children.
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