Analgesic effect of watching television

No, not in general, but using TV as a way to distract children while they are undergoing venipuncture. The authors, based in Italy, studied 7-12 year old children undergoing this procedure. Some were not distracted at all, some were in the same room as a television ("passive distraction") and some were actively distracted by their mothers. TV watching was more effective than the active distraction, perhaps, the authors say, because the mothers were emotionally involved in the procedure. The study appears in Archives of Disease in Childhood.