London - More than half of parents with children under six let them watch TV shows for adults such as The X Factor, EastEnders and Coronation Street.
They allow children as young as two to see soap operas and light entertainment shows despite the fact many have inappropriate content.
Experts said children could be left disturbed by their “toxic” viewing, leading to anxiety and behavioural problems.
A poll of 1,000 parents of children aged two to six found that 93 percent let them watch TV, and 54 percent allowed them to see adult programmes.
This included 433 parents of children aged two to four.
The most common programmes watched with children included EastEnders, Coronation Street, The X Factor, Britain’s Got Talent, Emmerdale, Hollyoaks, Strictly Come Dancing and the BBC News.
The research was released by the Hello campaign which aims to improve young people’s communication.
Literacy expert Sue Palmer, author of Toxic Childhood, said that exposing children to inappropriate TV was like the mental equivalent of “leaving a bottle of bleach lying around”.
She said: “Parents seem to be under the impression children can cope with the same things as adults but they can’t. It will disturb them.” - Daily Mail