Want to Raise a Bully? Turn on the TV
Dubbed "Generation M," today’s children are exposed to hefty
amounts of media. The problem is not just a child watching too
much TV. It’s the child watching too much TV in addition to
spending too many hours playing video games and with online
activities.
TV watching statistics abound. These statistics of watching
television commonly list obesity and inattention as possible
effects on the child watching too much TV. With a new study
released this month, you can now add bullying and other types of
aggression to the effects on the child watching too much TV.
A University of Washington study linking television to
aggressive behavior in children revealed that younger children who
watch television are more likely to become bullies, mainly due to
the increasingly violent nature of animated videos and cartoons.
Researchers compared existing data from a national study of
more than 1,250 4-year-olds to follow-up reports two to seven
years later to learn if the children studied exhibited bully
behavior. The TV watching statistics tallied were shocking;
- Four-year-olds watching the daily average (3.5 hours) were 25
percent more likely to become bullies.
- The child who watching eight hours of television per day was
200 percent more likely to bully.
Researchers, stating that violent animated shows can cause the
child to become desensitized to violence, suggested that parents
follow the American Academy of Pediatric guidelines for watching
television. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommend no TV for
children under 2 and no more than two hours of viewing time a day
for older kids.
If this study was not enough to encourage limited television
watching, consider these television statistics;
- A study of more than 700 families found that 14-year-old boys
who watched relatively more television were more likely to have
assaulted someone or committed a serious act of aggression by the
time they were 22 years old.
- Another study showed that preschoolers who watch television
violence and play violent video games are more likely to show high
levels of aggression and antisocial behavior than those not
exposed to violent television and video games.
- There is a direct correlation between a child’s weight and
the number of hours the child spends watching television. As TV
viewing has risen over the past three decades, so has the average
weight of American children.
- The number of sexual incidents that occur during the "family
hour" prime-time hour (between 8-9 p.m.) increased more than 400
percent since 1976.
- The average child or teen watches nearly 3 hours of
television a day. If this number seems high to you, keep a log for
one week of every minute your child spends in front of the
television. You might be shocked to find out your child is close
to the national average.
On a positive note, these television watching effects are
easily curable by simply turning off the TV and participating in
enriching family activities. The 2005 University of Washington
study also found that in addition to eliminating or severely
limiting television watching time, kids were almost one-third less
likely to become bullies if they received cognitive stimulation
and emotional support from their parents.
The bottom line is this; If you want to raise kind children,
turn off the television and take a trip to a museum. Or read a
book out loud. Expose your child to new ideas. Have family meals
together. Talk to your child.
There are excellent programs available on television. The
History channel, Discovery channel and Public Broadcast stations
are all great picks for finding quality programs. However, the
vast majority of children watching television are not choosing
quality programming. That’s where the parents step in. To help
curb the negative effects of television, parents should make the
effort to watch TV with their children, help the child choose
positive programs and limit the time spent in front of the
television.
Click
here for information about effective, all-natural and non-prescription supplements for Attention
Deficit Disorder.
Related Articles:
Television and ADHD
Excess Television Watching as a Toddler
Increases the Risk of ADHD as a Child.
Attention Deficit Risk Linked to Young Kids' Television Time,
Study Finds
Back to Archived
Newsletter page
