PA
New figures show that more than half of all parents with kids under six let them watch adult TV shows.
Despite the adult-themed content and shocking storylines in soaps like EastEnders and Corrie, parents are letting tots as young as TWO tune in, to the horror of experts who are claiming youngsters could be left with anxiety issues and behavioural problems as a result.
A thousand parents took part in the poll, which looked at the viewing habits of children from two to six years old. It found a staggering 93 per cent of mums and dads allowed their little ones to watch television, with 54 per cent allowing them to see adult programmes.
EastEnders, Coronation Street, The X Factor Britain's Got Talent, Emmerdale, Hollyoaks, Strictly Come Dancing and the BBC News were the most common shows youngsters were tuning into.
The research comes from the 'Hello' campaign, which aims to improve young people's communication skills.
Speaking about the results of the survey, literacy expert Sue Palmer said that letting such young children see programmes intended for grown ups was the mental equivalent of 'leaving a bottle of bleach lying around'.
'Parents seem to be under the impression children can cope with the same things as adults but they can't. It will disturb them,' she said.
Do you agree?
Or do you allow your youngsters to watch EastEnders and Corrie and other adult programmes?