They imitate what they are seeing on television and learn to identify with certain characters, victims, and/or victimizers. Violence on television often times does not show the end results, and the victimizers usually go unpunished. (Children and TV Violence) Television shows like "Cops- portray officers using violence as an avenue to detain perpetrators. As a child, I held police officers in high regard as the good guy. What is a child to think when they see authoritative figures using violence?.
Mary Davis, of Lexington, has a four-year-old son named Max. Max, like many other young boys in his age group, viewed "The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers- on a regular basis. Mary began to notice a change in her son's behavior. He played more aggressively with other children his age. "Max and his friends would be playing make-believe and they would get carried away. Someone would always get hurt in the end,"" Davis said. (Davis).
Children under the age of eight cannot separate fact from fiction: That is why they believe in the Tooth Fairy, and worry about monsters under their beds. (White) It is this reason that children cannot differentiate between real-world aggressions and pretend aggressions. Aggression is part of human nature, whereas, violence is a learned behavior. (White) Parents need to accept responsibility and talk to their kids. Violence can be unlearned just as easy as it is learned "especially for younger children.
By the age of eighteen, the average American child will have seen 200,000 acts of violence on TV. (Facts and Figures) Parents need to screen the TV shows their children are viewing; take a moment to sit down with their kids and explain to them that real-life violence causes real-life pain or death. (Children and TV Violence) Set limits on the amount of television they are allowed to watch each day allow two hours. Parents are also encouraged to spend quality time with their children, but not in front of the television.
