Children and Tv Violence

Summary: In this article, it talks about how children watch an average of three to four hours of television on a daily basis. It describes how the television can be a powerful influence in the development of value systems and shaping behavior. And how it’s unfortunate that most of today’s television has violent content. In studies of the effects of television violence on children and teenagers, show that children become “immune” to the horror of violence. They also, gradually accept violence as ways to solve problems. They imitate the violence they see on television, and they start to identify themselves with certain characters, victims, and or victimizers. The article states that watching large amounts of violence causes greater aggressiveness, in children. In some cases, watching a single violent program can increase aggressiveness. Children who watch television shows in which the violence is realistic, frequently repeated or unpunished, are evident in the child’s behavior or may surface years later. It then says that it doesn’t mean that violence on television is the only source for aggressive or violent behavior, but that it is a significant contributor. In it’s closing statements it helps explain how parents can help protect their children form excessive television violence in certain ways. Examples are pay attention to what they watch, sit down to watch some with them. Set limits on how much television