A recent study uncovered some disturbing facts regarding movie watching habits of children. According to the study, more than 12 percent of kids aged 10 to 14 are watching R-rated violent movies.
Some movies scored even higher. The R-rated Scary Movie, had been seen by 48% of children aged 10 to 14.
This is a problem, because research clearly shows children are negatively affected by being exposed to violent media. Exposure to violent media increases the likelihood of aggressive thoughts, emotions, and even aggressive behavior in kids.
The movie rating system is supposed to prevent kids from getting access to inappropriate movies, but the system was designed 40 years ago, when the only way to see a movie was in a theater. The system is no longer effective, because there are now many other ways to watch movies, including DVDs, pay-per-view, and of course the Internet. As a result, kids have more access than ever to adult media. Many parents are not even aware that their kids are watching inappropriate movies.
It seems that the best solution is to educate parents about this problem and about ways to restrict children’s access to adult media. Researchers think pediatricians should play a leading role in educating parents.
Photo credit: n2linux
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Very good topic.
My eldest daughter, she is 9. She started to see teen serials and it was full of anger. She became nervous, bad sleep. I asked her to stop watching it, actually i prohibited it along with the explanation that it hurts her health. She accepted it and now we are back on track. I think my best move was explaining the reason behind the prohibition. I explained her it is much better to learn something that helps people - yelling and violence never helped anyone. She understood and accepted.
Hi Vered - I worry about the effect of violent movies on kids. After all, you see them watch things like Power Rangers, then role play what they’ve seen with friends, so where does it end?
I have tried to stop my son watching these movies. We have a lock on the TV, so he shouldn’t be able to access anything inappropriate. Trouble is, it doesn’t seem to work for all the channels. As you say, they can also access many films on the Internet.
Plus, I have an idiot mother in law who thinks it’s ok to buy him films like Friday the 13th (I usually throw them in the bin whilst he’s at school).
I guess we can’t stop some of these movies being made but I wish there was a way we could stop kids from watching them.
@ Alik: “I think my best move was explaining the reason behind the prohibition.” I agree. My oldest is 9, and at that age you can really reason with them.
@ Cath Lawson: The problem with grandparents is real. They don’t always respect our wishes, and their judgment is often very different than ours.
I love how the article is about kids watching violent movies, and the kids in the photo are watching the Charlie Brown Christmas movie.
Continuing the Discussion