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Home › Articles › Parenting Preschoolers › Crash! Boom! Bang!

Crash! Boom! Bang!

Does TV Violence Affect Our Children?

By Mark Stackpole

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Miller is not so much concerned about how much violence is on television as he is about when it is shown. "As long as the more violent shows are aired later at night, I really have no concern," Miller says. "It is when you turn on the TV at 8 p.m. and see extreme violence and/or nudity that it concerns me. Too many parents do too little to monitor their children's viewing habits."

The Millers do their best to ensure that Brittany views only age-appropriate material, which they determine by using the TV and movie rating system. "Be a parent," Miller says. "You are not their buddy, pal or playmate. Get involved and participate in your child's life."

Experts such as Dr. Viteritti agree that parental involvement is the key, even in the face of increasing industry clamor about a stricter regulation process. "I am not suggesting censorship," Dr. Viteritti says. "A significant weapon against children being violent is a vigilant parent. Censorship is more at a governmental level versus having a parent articulating a point of view. Developing values in children is the responsibility of a parent."

Make a Plan

Aside from paying closer attention and making rules to regulate viewing, what can parents do to get their children's attention when it comes to implementing a change in viewing habits? Dr. Virginia Shiller is a licensed clinical psychologist and the author of Rewards for Kids! (Magination Press, 2003). She believes parents can successfully decrease the amount of time spent in front of the television set and ties this in directly with doing more fun and family-oriented activities.

First, parents must familiarize themselves with what their children are watching. According to Dr. Shiller, once a parent has a better grasp on exactly what is being watched, it is easier to determine which shows should be prohibited and to decide how to limit the number of overall hours children are watching.

"One system to limit TV would be to give kids a certain number of tickets or tokens each week, each of which can be exchanged for watching a half-hour of TV," Dr. Shiller says. "Educational shows might not require any tokens, while shows with greater violence might require two or three tokens."

Any system of limiting viewership is more likely to be successful if the following steps are followed:

  • Parents or other adults must be around enough of the time to supervise television watching.
  • Parents should sit down with children, communicate understanding about why the children enjoy these shows and then provide an explanation as to why they want to reduce television viewing.
  • Parents can offer healthy rewards for cooperating with the plan, such as a weekend trip to the bowling alley.
  • Parents should encourage alternate activities to television viewing to prevent boredom or sibling squabbles.


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