After years of exposure to countless violent news stories and rated "R" movies, it's easy for adults to become immune to cartoonized TNT explosions and characters getting bashed over the head with large anvils. However, it's in childhood that this immunity to violence begins. Recognizing how rampant TV violence is and knowing how it might affect children will help parents protect their young, impressionable viewers.
Statistics
While only about 10 percent of American homes had television in 1950, over 99 percent of homes have TVs in 2010 and over half of children have TVs in their rooms, according to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Children are constantly exposed to TV, viewing about 28 hours of TV every week and observing over 200,000 violent acts by the time they reach age 18. This figure isn't surprising, considering the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry says that TV programs display 812 violent acts every hour and children's TV shows display up to 20 violent acts per hour.
Numbness to Violence
Repeated exposure to TV violence can ultimately cause children to become desensitized to it. As a result, they gradually accept that violence is a way to solve issues, identify with characters and may act aggressively as they imitate violence they see on TV, according to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
Fear
Small children are likely to become frightened by scary images and violence, and telling them that certain images aren't real doesn't necessarily console them since they aren't able to distinguish between reality and fantasy, according to the Nemours Foundation. While older children may also become frightened, they may be reasoned with because they can comprehend that certain images aren't real. Still, particularly frightening scenes may get the best of them. Excessive fear may cause children to have nightmares and behavioral problems.
Risks
Since children under age four can't distinguish fact from fantasy, they may begin to perceive violence as an everyday occurrence when they see it on TV, according to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Children remain vulnerable to the influence of violence on TV as they grow older. According to the Nemours Foundation, they may justify the use of violence as a means of conflict resolution because "good guy" role models are often depicted acting violently to serve a greater good, such as getting rid of the "bad guy."
Protection
Parents may help protect their children from the adverse effects of violence on TV by watching shows with them, discussing what is on TV and making rules about acceptable versus unacceptable programming. Also, limiting the amount of TV children watch naturally reduces the amount of violence children witness. The American Academy of Pediatrics also recommends giving children media education to reduce instances of violent behavior and to encourage children to make wise viewing decisions when they are away from their parents. See the "Media Literacy" link under "Resources" for more information about media education.
