In the vast majority of homes, the television is on for most of the day or at least for some time. But every day the TV turns on a couple of times. What's more, many children relax in front of the television and enjoy their favorite programs, on many occasions without the parents constantly monitoring what they see.
But when these shows are rich in violence, this could have a lasting impact. Researchers have wondered many times about the impact that the use of violent programs has on children. In an attempt to prove or disprove this correlation, researchers from a variety of organizations have devoted themselves to studying this phenomenon and its consequences. The results are very important for parents to take into account from now on.
Impact of violence on television
During childhood, many children watch television and with it a great deal of violence. Before the age of 18, young people will have seen more than 200.000 acts of violence on television, something that can undoubtedly affect their development or their way of understanding the world. The studies that reported these results spoke of not only that excessive amount of violence has an impact on children, it will have much more impact on the children themselves when they become adults.
Children are very impressionable beings and they are also more prone to being desensitized than adults. For this reason, it is very important that parents control everything that their children see on television, but also what they can see or the games they can play on the computer, tablets or smartphones.
Reason for impact
Children feel the effects of violence on television more than adults because they lack the real-world experience to guide them about adult interactions with violence. In addition, they are not able to separate what is reality from what is fiction, so what they are seeing on the screens affects them doubly.
Children who see things on the screen think they are happening in a real way, so they Children may have a hard time understanding that the violence they see on television is not the same as the violence that exists in the real world. They may also have difficulty understanding that violence in the real world has consequences that do not occur on screen, that are often temporary and insignificant.
They imitate what they see
In the same way that young children try to repeat the words that others say or the actions they see in their parents or reference person, children often imitate the violence they see on television. Because they do not see the potential consequences of these acts when they watch television, It makes them believe that if they imitate these actions they would not have negative consequences for themselves or for others.
Therefore, it is very important to educate children through positive discipline where consequences are present and that children are able to realize that all actions have consequences, positive or negative.
They learn to react in different situations in a negative way
As children grow, they will determine how they will react in different situations. The development of this is necessary for children to learn to face different situations on a day-to-day basis, But it is crucial that parents teach them the good example and that television is not the one who does it through programs that are not always for children.
News, violent programs or even cartoons that are not suitable for the age of your children, can have a negative impact on their cognitive scripts, their development will be very different from how it would be with other types of values in their learning. When children see all conflicts about violence, they will develop the idea that this is the way to deal with conflicts: through violence.
It is crucial to prevent violence
Parents are the most influential people in children's lives, because in addition to being the best example for them, they will also be the ones who guarantee a good education for them through guidance, perseverance and good work. Parents should watch the television their children watch and select programs that, in addition to not being rich in violence, have content that is appropriate for the age of their children.
When children see violence on television, for example because it has been on the news, or on a program, it is a good idea for parents to minimize the impact of this vision by talking to them and explain the difference between what is real and what is fiction. This could help children realize that what they see on television differs from what they can experience in the real world.
It is possible that your children will also ask you about the violence they see on television and in that case it is necessary that you be honest about what is happening in the world, but always keeping in mind a few words and a way of explaining that is consistent with their evolutionary age and being able to understand. It is not about making children feel afraid of violence, but about understanding that the violence that they almost always see on television is not real and that the violence that occurs in the world and in society has no justification, because all violence in the world it should have consequences. It is necessary to educate our children through respect for the other and love along with tolerance, empathy and assertiveness. On television there is violence because it is too socially accepted, but you are the one who must educate your children correctly.