Our children are like sponges in that they absorb everything they see and hear. With Halloween upon us, there are movies, shows, commercials, and here lately, even the daily news can be frightening. It is so important to monitor what your children are watching and hearing. If they have already seen something scary or violent on TV or the internet, please talk with them about it. As much as possible, avoid watching, playing, or listening to violent content when young children are around.
These are just some of the ways exposure to violent or scary content affects children:
Children begin to fear that their environment is a scary place and that something bad may happen to them or their loved ones. I have worked with quite a few children who
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Children may have nightmares or trouble sleeping. As your school counselor, I have visited with many children who report having nightmares or intrusive thoughts. Many times these thoughts are related to characters in scary movies or violent video games.
Children exhibit aggression and other behavior problems. In the movies, "good guys" defeat the "bad guys" through acts of violence. Children love to act out what they see on TV. In everyday life, violence does not solve problems.
Children display risky behaviors. The characters in these shows or movies seem to recover from violent attacks or dangerous behaviors.
Children are confused about fantasy vs. reality. The characters and events in scary movies may seem silly or unrealistic to us, but children have a hard time differentiating what is real and what is not.
Children become anxious or stressed. We have had children become physically ill due to content they have seen or heard that frightens them.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends parents place consistent limits on media exposure, and using media in positive ways such as educational games or shows. You can do this
Violent T.V shows and video games can increase children's aggression. Dr Phil explains "the number one negative effect is they tend to in appropriately resolve anxiety by externalizing it. They can attack someone, they can kick a wall or they can be mean to a dog, abet or even people." It means that the kids who are exposed to violent shows or
Many young adults grow up watching horror movies. Either they are surrounded by friends or family that enjoy the thrill of the subject matter or they find it interesting themselves. According to two authors these movies can have both positive and negative effects on those who frequently enjoy them. According to Stephen King’s essay, “Why We Crave Horror Movies” those who seek out scary movies are simply doing so to gain a release from the real world. In opposition, Bernie DeGroat author of the essay “Scary Movies Can Have Lasting Effects on Children and Teens” presents study findings that horror and violent films may be detrimental to the development of a young person. Stephen King’s essay, “Why We Crave Horror Movies” provides a more
The overall theme of this series is violence and survival. In the one hour and twenty minutes, there was a total of 43 violent scenes. There was a violent or gruesome scene about every 2 minutes. These scenes included the use of guns, knives and shovels to kill zombies. There were many scenes where it shows when the actors would shoot zombies on the forehead and fights among the survivors. Overall each scene was bloody and extremely graphic. By watching these television shows children are more likely to develop an aggressive behavior and play in a harmful way. Psychologically, it affects the child to the extent that they might want to imitate the behavior and become accustomed to seeing these shows daily. If they have repeatedly watched a violent show children are becoming less sensitive towards human suffering, and are growing up with a mentality that violent acts are permitted and
Numerous amounts of kids watch brutal shows, as well as, movies. The shows and movies have characters with a poor attitude, while some even have behavior issues. These attitudes and issues are picked up by the kids that watch these shows. The kids start to increase in a bad attitude or in behaving in every environment.
It is a matter of great importance how much of media content children are exposed to and what exactly they are viewing on media. The issue of violence is not a new phenomenon among children and keeps increasing with time and change in technology and information technology. The causes of violence in children are seen to be multifactorial and exposure of children to media violence is said to be an important factor when it comes to the etiology of behaviors that are violent among children.
"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself, " famous quote by Franklin D. Roosevelt. The single human mind isn't always born with several outrageous fears, but they are incorporated in during the journey of life. There are numerous ways to obtain fears, but a majority is acquired through the horror genre. Unfortunately, as middle school students age, the horror genre is becoming more and more popular for them, therefore, them wanting to participate in this trend and lead up to them gaining certain mental health complications because of it. Some such as anxiety and phobias, insomnia, and aggressive behavior.
Premium broadcasting networks include a larger variety of various potentially violent materials (Freedman). Could lots of euphorically violent images and stories on television affect the mind of a young child over time? What might have been missing in the child’s life that left him or her in a mental state not strengthened by positive reinforcement?
This is because kids are extremely impressionable at young ages, and they try to learn everything about the world whether it is real or fake, and horror movies give the kids genuine reactions of fear which adds to the immersiveness of their fantasies in the real world. This sort of thing is pretty common without horror movies, but it is much worse when your reality becomes a nightmare. This happens in Stephen King’s article, “Now You Take “Bambi” or “Snow White” - That’s Scary!” when his son says, “Cruella Deville is in my room.” Cruella Deville is a villain in 101 Dalmatians, which makes it a little weird that she is in his room.
When you were younger did you ever wake up in the middle of the night fearing that monsters were under your bed? These irrational fears are more common in young children because as they age, they are introduced to new experiences that can be frightening to them. Also, with the readily available news reports and television, kids are becoming more conscious of world problems and violence (Understanding Childhood Fears and Anxieties, NA). Nightmares and irrational fears of monsters are especially common in preschool-aged children because as their imagination develops, they realize that there are things that can hurt them. Another common fear in children is the fear of being separated from
Fear is a perception that individuals endure psychologically. It resides everywhere, even if it isn't actually legitimate. The feeling of terror or anxiety is almost always mental, and it shocks everyone of all ages. Being scared is always in one's mind.Individuals are subjected to fear and anxiety at any point of a day. At young ages, children are startled by many encounters. An example would be images, family members, animals, objects, and so forth. It may cause anxiety for them when they mature later in life. "We can easily forgive a child for being afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light." (Plato). Being subjected to this causes a child to become fearful of the world.
Viewing violence encourages children to see other people as enemies rather as individuals with thoughts and feelings like themselves. Violent scenes less arouses children whom watch a lot of TV than those who only watch a little. They are less bothered by violence in general and less likely to see anything wrong with it. "For example, in several studies, children who watched a violent program instead of a non-violent one were less quick to intervene or to call for
Television is a big part of today’s society. Everybody watches television, including the children. There is a potential problem with letting children watch television. Ask this question, would someone let their own child watch some of the programming that they watch, too? Some of these programs are intended for the adult generation, not young children. Violence has a major role in television these days. Letting children watch this violence could corrupt their minds and eventually lead to bad behavior. There needs to be a limitation on the types of television programming that parents let their children watch, because violence in television can negatively affect children.
There have been a copious amount of studies done that prove that viewing aggressive and violent behavior on television has a direct affect on children. Children learn from a very young age that they are able to imitate what they see and/or hear. Often, children are found reciting the ABCs after watching one or two episodes of Sesame Street. Most kids will usually imitate everything they hear or see, even if it’s not right for them to do. Watching characters or real life people act in such violent ways usually allows
In most of the violent acts on television no punishment is shown. The portrayal of violence is often seen as a reward, a scene where killing the "bad guys" to save the princess is seen as a good thing. In these situations the perpetrator of the violent act is the hero. When violence is presented without a punishment, children are likely to learn that violence is a successful way to handle a situation.
Creative violence can give children a tool to master their anger; however, not all violent media is good for children. Some media can, and will cause harm to a child’s