TV Violence and the Future of Our Children

After many television encounters with violence , the child may come to believe that violence is a part of everyday life in the real world . When a young boy in Ohio accidentally burned down his home , episodes of Beavis and Butthead were blamed for the tragic death of his sister . In numerous episodes , Beavis , a teenage delinquent , unsuccessfully tries to light a cigarette over and over again . The young boy probably didn 't know the power of fire since nothing serious happened to Beavis . By allowing children to watch such shows we say

that what he or she sees on TV is okay and a reality . If a young child cannot even remember which shoe goes on what foot how can we expect him to know that most of what he sees on television is fake . A hand full of other TV shows in the form of cartoons simulate violent crimes . South Park , another violent cartoon that is appealing to children has a repeated format in which the same character is killed in every single episode . He has been killed in numerous fashions , the next one being more violent than the last . In a study conducted over 20 years , by the time an average child reaches the age of 12 , he or she will have witnessed over 8 ,000 television murders Also , children may become more fearful of the world around them Children 's television programs actually contain five times more violence than the average prime time hour of TV . Children 's natural anxieties may become magnified by watching TV and movies in which the world is a dangerous place where violence triumphs over peace . Since a child 's mind is still developing during his early years , watching too much television may limit his potential by confusing him about what is...