Imagine walking into a relative's house and their child comes charging at you claiming to be the yellow Power Ranger. You think nothing of it at first; he is just being a four-year-old. Now imagine he is charging at you carrying a plastic sword. In his eyes, you are the enemy and he is going to take you out with his almighty weapon. He swings the sword at you with all his might, and he hits you in the back of the legs. Ouch! Your sister-in-law apologizes to you, and turns to the child and scolds him. Your nephew is left standing there confused. He was only playing--imitating what he saw on "The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers-. To him, the yellow Power Ranger was considered to be a hero for taking out the bad guy. It is this exposure to television violence that is having a negative influence on our children.
On average, 98 percent of U.S. households have at least one television, and four hours per day is spent watching TV. (Facts and Figures) I am sure many people have or know someone who has more than one television set in their home. Many of us have a television in our living room and one in the bedroom also. As a child, the television in the living room was for my brothers, sister, and I to watch. My parents would leave us unsupervised and watch TV in their bedroom. Children between the ages of two and seven spend almost twenty hours per week watching TV unsupervised. (Facts and Figures) Ninety-one percent of children over the age of seven spend their television time without their parents. (Facts and Figures) This leaves children to be exposed to sexual content, violence, profanities, and other adult situations.
Frank Lloyd Wright once said that television was chewing gum for the eyes. (Facts and Figures) Extensive viewing of TV violence causes greater aggressiveness in children. Many studies of the effects of TV violence on children and teenagers have indicated that children become desensitized to the horror of violence and eventually accept violence as a means of solving problems.
