London, Sep 21 (IANS): Children who spend just 15 minutes or more a day watching their favourite cartoons on television may be at an increased risk of losing their creative minds as compared to those who read books or solve jigsaw puzzles, a study says.

"There was clear evidence that children came up with less original ideas immediately after watching television,"said Sarah Rose, Lecturer at Staffordshire University in Britain," although adding "these effects disappeared after a short time."

However, "if children are less creative in their play, this could, over time, negatively impact their development," Rose said.

There is a belief that slow-paced programmes are more educational but our findings do not support this, Sarah said.

In the study, the team looked at the immediate impact of television on three-year-old's creativity. They compared children who watched -- Postman Pat, with those who read books or played jigsaw puzzles.

The children were tested for throwing up maximum original creative ideas.

The study is potentially useful to those who produce children's television shows, early year educators, as well as parents.

The findings were presented at the British Psychological Developmental Conference in Belfast, recently.