How to Protect Your Child From Violence and Sex on Television

By the time children complete elementary school, they will have seen an average of 100,000 violent acts on television, including thousands of murders. They may also have witnessed many acts of simulated sex. If you are aware and vigilant, you can protect your children from at least some of the sex and violence TV has to offer.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• TV Guide
• Highlighter Pens
• Videocassettes
• Non-violent Video Games

1. Plan family viewing ahead of time. Ask your children to let you know in advance what they would like to watch so that you can consider whether or not it is appropriate. If some of your favorite shows include violence or sexual scenes, try to watch them after your children have gone to bed, even if this means you must videotape them.
2. Remember that even very small children absorb more than you might think. Toddlers may not seem to be watching the television intently, but they will pick up a lot of what they see and hear, even if they are just playing nearby.
3. Check out animated shows carefully. Many cartoons are definitely not appropriate for children.
4. Try to watch TV with your children, rather than letting them watch unsupervised. This allows you to deal with inappropriate content immediately if it comes up.
5. Make sure your children are supervised when they visit their friends. While you can't control what your child does outside your home, you can let other parents know about your family's TV rules, and ask them to respect your wishes when your child visits their home.
6. If you leave your child with a babysitter or other caregiver, make it clear what your children are allowed to watch. Leave a list of appropriate shows or videos, and ask the caregiver not to watch other programs with the children in the room.
7. Keep the TV out of your child's bedroom. This makes it much easier for you to monitor what your child is watching.

Tips & Warnings

• Use the TV ratings system if you are in an area that offers such a system. It is designed to help you narrow down the range of appropriate choices for children's viewing.
• Use a highlighter pen in your TV magazine or guide to mark programs you and your family plan to watch. Doing this in advance, and sticking to the plan, will help the whole family limit TV time, and reduce the 'channel-flipping' that often leads to inappropriate viewing.
• Explain your views on media sex and violence to your children rather than just censoring ' that which is forbidden without explanation often becomes even more attractive. Let your children know why a particular show may not be appropriate and answer questions they may ask as honestly and thoroughly as possible.