Children love watching TV. Never mind that it's their 37th time watching that "Barney & Friends" DVD -- it has their entire attention everytime. No surprise then, that many parents turn on cartoons and educational programs to keep their kids occupied. A new study, however, has shown that preschoolers are getting way too much screen time.

Recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) advise that parents limit combined screen time from television, DVDs, computers, and video games to 2 hours per day for preschool-age children. But in their study of nearly 9,000 preschool-age children in the United States, researchers from Seattle Children's Research Institute and the University of Washington found that two-thirds of the kids are exposed to more than the maximum 2 hour limit -- both at home and while at child care.

On average, preschoolers were exposed to 4 hours of screen time each weekday, with 3.6 hours of exposure occurring at home. Those in home-based child care had a combined average of 5.6 hours of screen time at home and while at child care, with 87 percent exceeding the recommended two-hour limit.

Children who went to child care centers watched 3.2 hours each weekday at home and while at child care. Children who didn't go to child care on the other hand clocked 4.4 hours per day.

"A majority of children under the age of 5 years in the United States spend almost 40 hours a week with caregivers other than their parents, and it's important to understand what kind of screen time exposure children are getting with these other caregivers," says study author Dr. Pooja Tandon.

If your child is watching more than two hours of television per day, here's some expert tips on how you can limit his screen time at home:

• Let him choose what to watch. Allow your child to choose specific programs, and wait until the selected show is airing before turning on thr TV.
• Eliminate background TV. Don't keep the television on unless someone's actively watching.
• Use your telvision's sleep feature to pre-set the TV to auto shut-off after half an hour.
• Don't install TV in the bedroom. Children with TVs in their rooms watch more TV than children who don't. Keep the TV in the living room or another common area in your house where you can monitor your child's screen time.
• Work out a TV viewing chart with your child and teach him to plan the shows he would like to watch during the week.
• Suggest other activities to wind down. Rather than relying on TV for entertainment, try reading a book together, playing a sport or new board game.
• Be a good role model. Set a good example and limit your own TV time.