Despite the fact that their own ratings systems found the
material appropriate only for adults, the motion picture,
music, and video game industries practice “pervasive and
aggressive marketing” of violent movies, music, and
electronic games to children. – Federal Trade Commission
finding regarding child entertainment
The values
depicted on TV and movie screens are a far cry from the
values you want your children exposed to in their formative
years. For example, the average American child will have
watched 100,000 acts of televised violence, including 8,000
depictions of murder, by the time he or she finishes the
sixth grade. In a typical American home, the TV set is on
for over seven hours each day, and the average child spends
more time watching that TV than they do in school, or doing
any other activity besides sleeping. And, while your
children are glued to the tube watching so-called child
entertainment, they will see between 1,000 and 2,000
television ads promoting alcohol every year.
It’s
difficult to control parental outrage in the midst of that
kind of media influence. How do you teach your child the
concepts and character traits that translate into better
learning habits at school, better behavior at home, and
better citizenship in the world? How do you define loyalty
to a five-year-old? How to you teach a four-year-old about
bravery and respect? And how do you explain love?
These aren’t simple words that can be taught to your child
by rote. They’re complex concepts that your child needs to
know, understand, and adopt at an early age if they’re to
succeed in life.
The key to teaching children
sophisticated character traits – such as courage, loyalty,
justice, respect, hope, honesty and love – is
character-based education. The heart of character-based
education is guiding your children toward TV shows, kid
movie, and books that reflect positive values. While you
may not be able to give your child the words that explain
diversity, you can exert and control parental influence by
giving him or her any Winnie the Pooh book, which
demonstrates that theme in ways a child can easily
understand. Pooh Bear also interprets the concept of family
and the value of friendship.
Thomas the Tank
Engine teaches lessons about cooperation, sharing, and the
value of hard work. Your child may not realize that they’re
being taught a lesson while reading about or watching
Thomas and his friends, but by the end of the book or TV
show, they will have learned a complex concept – and been
entertained in the process.
For older readers, The
Wizard of Oz follows a similar theme. When the Scarecrow
complains of his lack of a brain, the Cowardly Lion
discusses his lack of bravery, or the Tin Man wishes he had
a heart, your child learns what intelligence, bravery, and
love are, and why they’re so important. Dorothy tirelessly
tries to find her way home, and in doing so surrounds
herself with new friends who work together to overcome
their weaknesses and harness their strengths. Even though
your child is engrossed in the story, the concepts of
family, courage, cooperation, home, and love are made
clear.
When you look at the values presented in
the media, it becomes clear that positive character traits
are poorly defined for children. What one child learns
about bravery and loyalty from watching two bank robbers in
a kid movie is much different than what another child learns
about bravery and loyalty through reading about or watching
Winnie the Pooh helping a friend out of a jam.
As
parents, combating the negative influence of media by
filtering the content to which our children are exposed –
such as looking at a movie rental review – may not be
enough. Even if our children are an exception to the
national average – over six hours of daily exposure to the
media – it’s safe to assume that their peers have
internalized negative media messages and will influence our
children. To counteract negative media and peer influences,
we must take charge of our children’s character education.
That’s not easy, given that our active lives and hectic
schedules leave little time for reviewing and selecting
appropriate reading and viewing material for our
children.
Still, you should do what you can to guide
your family toward materials that reinforce values that you
hold dear. Evaluate the content of each children’s book,
television show, and movie rental review for positive and
negative examples of the following ten traits:
self-discipline, compassion, responsibility, friendship,
work, courage, perseverance, honesty, loyalty, and faith.
Also, look for negative behavioral influences, such as
violence, profanity, nudity, sexual content, scary elements,
and the use of drugs, alcohol, and tobacco. Then, make your
selections according to the messages that each book,
television show, or movie sends your children.
-By: Brent Sitton
Brent Sitton is the founder of DiscoveryJourney.com [http://www.discoveryjourney.com]. DiscoveryJourney has a variety of tools available to parents to help counter the effects of media violence. Discovery Journey has compiled a Kid Movies [http://www.discoveryjourney.com/kidmovies.htm] list containing violence-free children’s movies. Each movie rental review [http://www.discoveryjourney.com/kidmovies.htm] includes a listing of positive character traits and a listing of negative behaviors, along with a Character Score that helps parents select appropriate child entertainment.