Take the time to discuss with children, at a level they can understand, the effect TV shows  and other forms of media have on them.

When my son was five years old, I think he believed that if he watched too much TV, he would have brains that look like oatmeal. That’s the only visual image he had for “mush.” Yes, I sometimes would answer in exasperation to the many “Why?”s I got when I enforcing our TV watching rules, “…because TV turns your brains to mush!”

Actually, that’s not far from the figurative. Four-, five-, or six-year-old children developmentally are not able to understand that their brain is being conditioned by media messages. At some level they can begin to understand that TV teaches them something.

Television and Media “Teaches” for Better or for Worse

I used to say to my children, “When you watch Mr. Roger’s, you learn about people and the jobs they do. What else do you learn!” or “TV teaches you about … (fill in with something positive that is very concrete to them, such as ABC’s, counting, etc.). When you watch Power Rangers, or VR Troopers, you are learning also. How do Power Rangers solve their problems? (Most children will answer: “Fighting or they beat up the bad guys.”) This show is teaching you to solve problems by fighting.” This is an important conversation to have about the influence of media on children. Variations of this conversation need to happen regularly.

Teach Children what Television and Media Teaches Them

It is important to help children understand that on TV a person can get kicked ten times and can then get up, but in real life getting kicked hurts.  In addition, discuss with children ways that superheroes can solve problems without violence.

Living in a society saturated by violent images, parents have a difficult road to follow if they are going to take a stand against media violence. Somehow, a balance needs to be achieved. If we completely deprive our children of all media violence, we worry that they will eventually rebel against our standards, making violence a steady diet, or will feel that they don’t fit in with their friends.

At Home: A Moderate Path in a Media Saturated Culture

A moderate path would be to carefully choose the shows that your child is allowed to watch. Monitor the amount of time your child watches those shows. Watch with your child. Discuss their values, lessons, and methods of problem-solving. Discuss what is real and what isn’t. Discuss the real life consequences of behavior modeled on the television show. If your child is paying violet video games, discuss the images and messages in video games, also.

In the Classroom: Critical Thinking through Television and Media Analysis

In the classroom, teachers can take an interest in their students’ favorite shows. Discuss the shows with the students to help them to understand what is real and what isn’t. Help them to employ alternatives to violence in their own play.

Teach and Reinforce Empathy

The single most important thing that parents and educators can do for preschoolers to limit negative effects caused by violence in the media is to teach them empathy. Preschoolers cannot see another person’s point of view. To require three- through five-year-olds to see someone else’s point of view is developmentally inappropriate. Preschoolers can feel empathy. Empathy needs encouragement to flourish. Here are some examples of how to encourage empathy:

• Allow children to talk about their emotions
• Notice a child sharing or showing concern for others
• Hold class or family meetings where relationships and feelings can be discussed openly

And finally, when children are unkind to one another, instead of forcing an apology, require restitution. Here are some excellent ideas for restitution and meaningful discipline. “Restitution Ideas for Disciplined Children” by Debra Pachucki

Excerpted from Free the Children by Susan Gingras Fitzell.

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Are our children becoming warriors?

In 2010, The Nielsen Company reported that over 80 percent of U.S. households own multiple television sets.  In fact, the average number of televisions per household (2.93) exceeds the average number of people per household (2.54).  Unfortunately, more television sets often means children are watching more violent television shows.

Are we, by allowing our children to be exposed to violence on TV, setting up an environment that physically changes the brain by making it ‘good at’ thinking violently? In doing so, are we also increasing the possibility that the next generation of children will inherit a brain adapted physically to warlike thinking? Carlson-Paige and Levin write that “at no other time in history have children had daily exposure to so many images removed from direct experience, many of which focus on violence.” How might this exposure to violence affect the physical structure of the brain?

According to Jane Healy (1990), neuroscientists understand that “…what children do every day, the ways in which they think and respond to the world, what they learn, and the stimuli to which they decide to pay attention … shape their brains. Not only does it change the ways in which the brain is used (functional change), but it also causes physical alterations (structural change) in neural wiring systems.”

Healy refers to the work of E. James Potchen, who has studied 18,000 brains: “Dr. Potchen tells of both animal and human brains that have restructured themselves significantly on the basis of learning experiences.” If the average child spends approximately 24 hours a week watching TV and Power Ranger-type videos, it would follow that this activity becomes a significant part of his/her learning experience.

Says Marian Diamond, professor of neuroanatomy at the University of California, Berkeley: “There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that children’s brains are changing. Whatever they’re learning, as those nerve cells are getting input, they are sending out dendritic branches. As long as stimuli come in to a certain area, you get more branching; if you lose the stimuli, they stop branching” (Healy).

This contention is backed up by Michael D. Chafetz in his book Smart for Life: “Whenever brain cells are activated by seeing, speaking, or solving problems, they begin to change. They take in more chemical energy and remodel nerve endings and receptors. They form new connections.”

New scientific studies and advanced technology have taken our understanding of how the environment affects us beyond the psychological foundations of conditioning: “People, including children, tend to develop a taste for what they are conditioned to. There is no indication that in the 1950’s boys enjoyed TV less because it was less violent …. It is an acquired taste that the media have played an important role in developing.” The National Institute of Mental Health published a report in 1982 which confirms that “children who watch a lot of violence on television may come to accept violence as normal behavior” (Miedzian, 1991).

If one takes these concepts to a logical conclusion, one might deduce that not only are children who have violent media input as part of their learning experience being psychologically conditioned to think in violent ways, but their brains are developing the neural connections and dendritic branching for violent thinking. Psychological conditioning physically changes the brain. Violence in the media is creating a psychological and physical predisposition for violence in our children.

As parents or educators, what can we do?

According to Terrence Webster-Doyle (1989), “being conscious of the influence of advertising and of programming that is unhealthy is of utmost importance since media has such a tremendous effect on the brain.”

We need to stop denying the impact the media are having on our children and to be aware of the effects. Scientific evidence indicates that television viewing creates passive learners unable to think: “If our society wants citizens who can reflect as well as respond, who can come up with solutions to the problems of a complex world, it must teach its children to stop, listen, and think as well as react” (Healy).

Violence is a pervasive problem in our complex world! In order for our children to be able to deal effectively with conflict and violence, they need to be able to stop, think, talk through problems, plan ahead, and act rather than react impulsively.

Some suggestions for parents and teachers:

• Place firm limits on television and video watching viewing.  Address what children should watch and how long they should watch.
• Participate with children whenever possible.  Talk with them about television content, methods of audience manipulation, point of view, etc.
• Give substitute caregivers strict guidelines regarding TV and video use.

Violence in the media is a problem with devastating consequences. Not only are our children being conditioned to think in terms of combat, to think of it as entertainment, and to accept it as normal, but there is also strong evidence indicating that it physically alters the brain. However, we are not without hope. As parents and educators, we must take action. It’s up to us to make a difference.

Excerpted from Free the Children by Susan Gingras Fitzell.

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Facebook, Cartoon Network to Help Prevent Bullying

It appears all the attention given to both cyberbullying and traditional bullying in the news lately has finally sparked a desire for change among the media and social networks.

Facebook, for example, recently announced that it is joining forces with the national parent-teachers’ association to promote internet safety through resources for youth, parents, and schools.

According to a recent Teacher’s Magazine article, Facebook and the National PTA will work together to create a program to provide information about issues such as cyberbullying, good online citizenship, and Internet security.

Facebook is not alone in its efforts to reduce bullying, however.  Cartoon Network announced last month that they plan to use their influence among young people, especially middle-schoolers, to start a new campaign focused on educating bystanders to take action to prevent bullying.

The campaign will launch in October, 2010 and feature on-air PSAs directing viewers to online resources for both youth and adults.  CNN, a sister station to Cartoon Network, will also air feature stories on bullying to help educate viewers on ways that bystanders can initiate change.

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I’ve always believed that as a parent it was my job to monitor my children’s media exposure. My belief is reinforced once again with the following research:

Children whose parents allow them to watch R-rated movies are more likely to drink alcohol than their peers, exclusive of any other parenting decisions, according to researchers at Dartmouth Medical School.

Researchers found that 24.4 percent of middle-school students allowed to watch R-rated movies all the time had used alcohol, compared to 18.8 percent among those who were allowed to watch R movies sometimes, 12.5 percent among those allowed to watch R-rated films occasionally, and 2.9 percent among youths who parents never permitted them to watch such movies.

The study controlled for other parenting decisions and permissiveness levels.

The findings were published in the May 2010 issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs at: http://www.jsad.com/jsad/article/Parental_RRated_Movie_Restriction_and_EarlyOnset_Alcohol_Use/4460.html

for further information visit: http://www.jointogether.org/news/research/summaries/2010/study-says-kids-who-watch.html

SOURCE: Join Together Direct, Daily Edition, 4/29/10

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Reduce and Monitor Children’s Television Viewing

Relationship skills are taking a back seat to watching TV and videos and playing video games. Children are not interacting with each other to build necessary social skills. Children bring their computer games to school, which further decreases interactive games and activities. Preschool and primary school teachers repeatedly tell me that children are coming to school without basic social skills. These teachers believe that the media play a large role in this situation. The TV is a wonderful baby-sitter! The price we pay for that “baby-sitter” is costing our children the ability to develop socially.

Adapted from Free the Children! Conflict Education for Strong, Peaceful Minds, by Susan Gingras Fitzell, copyright 1997 Gabriola Island, BC, Canada, and Stony Creek, CT: New Society Publishers

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They provide a collection of free-loan accessible media, guidelines for educational description and captioning, and a variety of other services designed to support and improve the academic achievement of students who are blind, visually impaired, deaf, hard of hearing, or deaf-blind.

Best of all, it’s FREE!

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