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Media Violence and Its Effect on Children© Karen Cabiac
Mar 12, 1999
Nearly every day I pick up the newspaper and find yet another report of violence involving children. Across the country we have all been shocked - no, traumatized - by the incidents of shootings in schools. "How can this be happening?" we ask ourselves. We read of brothers shooting their sisters and parents who have "no idea" what the problem was. Where are we? As parents we are bound to be responsible for our children. Does this mean then that as long as we know where our children are that they are okay, despite what it is that they may be doing? Do we take the time to meet the parents of our children's friends, find out what it is that they do at school when they are not in class, and for working parents of children who are old enough to come home and take care of themselves for a couple of hours do we know what our children are doing in those couple of hours? It is imperative that the answers to these questions are positive. We MUST be involved in our children's lives, we MUST ask questions, pry, and make demands for truthful answers. For, if we don't we may become one of the statistics.
My older children are entering their college years (actually, the oldest is completing his first year of college). Many, many years ago, before media violence and Internet safety had even been heard of I witnessed a strange phenomenon. My children, even though they are boys, are relatively calm, easy going people. Not that we didn't have our share of crazy moments, but I would never consider my children out of control. However, after watching TV shows like GI-Joe (that was the big one back then) they (the children) became kicking, jumping, punching, yelling creatures that I was sure did not belong to me. Something must have invaded their bodies? I noticed after several days that this only happened during and after watching "action" shows. I immediately banned these shows from the lives of my young ones. In my son's class was a child whose mother allowed him to wear "fatigues" to school - not only allowed but apparently encouraged as he had all the extra gear that went along with it - guns, hand grenades, knives, etc. This child was the school "bully." I mentioned to the teacher that I had discovered that TV viewing had a strange impact on my children and wondered why this mother allowed her child to "become" this type of personality. The teacher kindly smiled and quietly said, "I wish all parents would realize that."
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