- Nearly two out of three TV programs contain violence, averaging 6 violent acts per hour.
- The average child who watches two hours of cartoons per day may see more than 10,000 violent acts a year.
- There are more than twice as many violent incidents in children’s programming than in other types of programming.
- Teens who watch more than 1 hour of TV per day are four times more likely than other teens to commit aggressive acts in adulthood.
- In a study of third and fourth graders, reducing TV and video game consumption to less than 1 hour per day decreased verbal aggression by 50 percent and physical aggression by 40 percent.
- According to the AAP, violence is a leading cause of death for children, adolescents, and young adults—more prevalent than disease, cancer, or congenital disorders.
- By the time kids enter middle school, they will have seen 8,000 murders and 100,000 more acts of violence on broadcast TV alone.
- Younger kids are particularly vulnerable to the health effects of media violence—especially those under seven who can’t easily distinguish between fantasy and reality.
- The younger kids are when they see a violent or scary movie or TV show, the longer-lasting the effects—particularly in nightmares and increased anxiety.
Common Sense Says:
Explain consequences. What parent hasn’t heard “but there’s no blood” as the justification for seeing a movie or playing a video game? Explain the true physical consequences of violence. Point out how unrealistic it is for people to get away with the kind of mayhem modeled in media. Explain how games, in particular, actually encourage and reward violent acts (how else can you win?).
Teach conflict resolution. Kids know that clocking someone on the head isn’t the way to solve a disagreement, but verbal cruelty is also violent. Teach kids how to disengage, use their words, and stand up for themselves without throwing a punch.
Be Age Appropriate:
- Kids ages 2 to 4 often see cartoon violence. But keep them away from anything that shows physical aggression as a means of conflict resolution, because they’ll imitate what they see.
