['
Violence.
', "It's
", 'literally
', 'everywhere:
', 'in
', 'video
', 'games,
', 'movies,
', 'books,
', 'music
', 'videos,
', 'and
', 'cartoons,
', 'on
', 'the
', 'nightly
', 'news
', 'and
', 'the
', 'Web,
', 'and
', 'even
', 'in
', 'commercials.
', 'And
', "it's
", 'becoming
', 'harder
', 'to
', 'avoid.
', 'Today,
', 'with
', 'the
', 'explosion
', 'of
', 'technology
', 'and
', '24/7
', 'media
', 'access,
', 'the
', 'question
', 'more
', 'than
', 'ever
', 'is,
', "what's
", 'the
', 'impact,
', 'especially
', 'on
', 'our
', 'kids?
', 'The
', 'short
', 'answer
', 'is:
', 'We
', "don't
", 'know.
', 'Although
', 'experts
', 'agree
', 'that
', 'no
', 'single
', 'factor
', 'can
', 'cause
', 'a
', 'nonviolent
', 'person
', 'to
', 'act
', 'aggressively,
', 'heavy
', 'exposure
', 'to
', 'violent
', 'media
', 'can
', 'be
', 'a
', 'risk
', 'factor
', 'for
', 'violent
', 'behavior.
', 'Children
', 'who
', 'are
', 'exposed
', 'to
', 'multiple
', 'risk
', 'factors
', '--
', 'including
', 'aggression
', 'and
', 'conflict
', 'at
', 'home
', '--
', 'are
', 'the
', 'most
', 'likely
', 'to
', 'behave
', 'aggressively.
', 'Heavy
', 'exposure
', 'to
', 'violent
', 'media
', 'can
', 'lead
', 'to
', 'desensitization,
', 'too.
', 'And
', 'it
', 'may
', 'actually
', 'start
', 'with
', 'parents.
', 'A
', 'study
', 'by
', 'the
', 'Annenberg
', 'Public
', 'Policy
', 'Center
', 'at
', 'the
', 'University
', 'of
', 'Pennsylvania
', 'found
', 'that
', 'parents
', 'who
', 'watched
', 'a
', 'lot
', 'of
', 'movies
', 'were
', 'more
', 'likely
', 'to
', 'say
', 'it
', 'was
', 'OK
', 'for
', 'younger
', 'kids
', 'to
', 'watch
', 'movies
', 'that
', 'had
', 'R-rated
', 'violence
', 'and
', 'sexual
', 'content
', '.
', 'The
', 'good
', 'news
', 'is
', 'that,
', 'as
', 'parents,
', 'we
', 'can
', 'make
', 'a
', 'choice
', 'to
', 'consistently
', 'expose
', 'our
', 'kids
', 'to
', 'media
', 'that
', 'reflects
', 'our
', 'own
', 'personal
', 'values
', 'and
', 'say
', '"no"
', 'to
', 'the
', 'stuff
', 'that
', "doesn't.
", 'The
', 'number
', 'one
', 'influence
', 'on
', "kids'
", 'media
', 'consumption
', 'is
', 'how
', 'their
', 'parents
', 'think
', 'and
', 'act
', 'regarding
', 'media
', '.
', 'There
', 'are
', 'so
', 'many
', 'benefits
', 'to
', 'media
', 'and
', 'technology,
', 'including
', 'the
', 'potential
', 'to
', 'teach
', 'valuable
', 'skills.
', 'Doing
', 'research
', 'about
', 'TV
', 'shows,
', 'movies,
', 'or
', 'games
', 'before
', 'your
', 'kids
', 'watch,
', 'play,
', 'and
', 'interact
', 'with
', 'them
', 'will
', 'go
', 'a
', 'long
', 'way
', 'in
', 'helping
', 'them
', 'avoid
', 'iffy
', 'stuff.
', 'So
', 'how
', 'can
', 'you
', 'as
', 'a
', 'parent
', 'manage
', 'media
', 'violence
', 'in
', 'your
', "kids'
", 'lives?
', 'Tips
', 'for
', 'parents
', 'of
', 'all
', 'kids
', 'Explain
', 'consequences.
', 'What
', 'parent
', "hasn't
", 'heard
', '"but
', "there's
", 'no
', 'blood"
', 'as
', 'an
', 'excuse
', 'for
', 'watching
', 'a
', 'movie
', 'or
', 'playing
', 'a
', 'video
', 'game?
', 'Explain
', 'the
', 'true
', 'consequences
', 'of
', 'violence,
', 'and
', 'point
', 'out
', 'how
', 'unrealistic
', 'it
', 'is
', 'for
', 'people
', 'to
', 'get
', 'away
', 'with
', 'violent
', 'behavior.
', 'Keep
', 'an
', 'eye
', 'on
', 'the
', 'clock.
', "Don't
", 'let
', 'kids
', 'spend
', 'too
', 'long
', 'with
', 'virtual
', 'violence.
', 'The
', 'more
', 'time
', 'they
', 'spend
', '
immersed
', '
in
', 'violent
', 'content,
', 'the
', 'greater
', 'its
', 'impact
', 'and
', 'influence.
', 'Teach
', 'conflict
', 'resolution.
', 'Most
', 'kids
', 'know
', 'that
', 'hitting
', 'someone
', 'on
', 'the
', 'head
', "isn't
", 'the
', 'way
', 'to
', 'solve
', 'a
', 'disagreement,
', 'but
', 'verbal
', 'cruelty
', 'also
', 'is
', 'violence.
', 'Teach
', 'kids
', 'how
', 'to
', 'use
', 'their
', 'words
', 'responsibly
', 'to
', 'stand
', 'up
', 'for
', 'themselves
', '--
', 'and
', 'others
', '--
', 'without
', 'throwing
', 'a
', 'punch.
', 'Know
', 'your
', "kids'
", 'media.
', 'Check
', 'out
', 'ratings,
', 'and,
', 'when
', 'there
', 'are
', 'none,
', 'find
', 'out
', 'about
', 'content.
', 'For
', 'example,
', 'content
', 'in
', 'a
', '1992
', 'R-rated
', 'movie
', 'is
', 'now
', 'acceptable
', 'for
', 'a
', 'PG-13.
', 'Streaming
', 'online
', 'videos
', "aren't
", 'rated
', 'and
', 'can
', 'showcase
', 'very
', 'brutal
', 'stuff.
', 'Keep
', 'an
', 'eye
', 'on
', 'interactive
', 'media
', 'violence.
', "There's
", 'no
', 'way
', 'to
', 'accurately
', 'measure
', 'whether
', "there's
", 'more
', 'or
', 'less
', 'violence
', 'than
', 'in
', 'the
', 'past,
', 'but
', 'the
', 'pervasiveness
', 'of
', 'it
', 'in
', 'interactive
', 'forms,
', 'such
', 'as
', 'social
', 'media,
', 'online
', 'videos,
', 'and
', 'video
', 'games,
', 'is
', 'relatively
', 'new.
', 'Advice
', 'by
', 'age
', 'Two-
', 'to
', '4-year-old
', 'kids
', 'often
', 'see
', 'cartoon
', 'violence.
', 'But
', 'keep
', 'them
', 'away
', 'from
', 'anything
', 'that
', 'shows
', 'physical
', 'aggression
', 'as
', 'a
', 'means
', 'of
', 'conflict
', 'resolution,
', 'because
', "they'll
", 'imitate
', 'what
', 'they
', 'see.
', 'For
', '5-
', 'to
', '7-year-olds
', ',
', 'cartoon
', 'rough-and-tumble,
', 'slapstick,
', 'and
', 'fantasy
', 'violence
', 'are
', 'OK,
', 'but
', 'violence
', 'that
', 'could
', 'result
', 'in
', 'death
', 'or
', 'serious
', 'injury
', 'is
', 'too
', 'scary.
', 'Eight-
', 'to
', '10-year-olds
', 'can
', 'handle
', 'action-hero
', 'sword
', 'fighting
', 'or
', 'gunplay
', 'so
', 'long
', 'as
', "there's
", 'no
', 'gore.
', 'For
', '11-
', 'to
', '12-year-olds
', ',
', 'historical
', 'action
', '--
', 'battles,
', 'fantasy
', 'clashes,
', 'and
', 'duels
', '--
', 'is
', 'OK.
', 'But
', 'closeups
', 'of
', 'gore
', 'or
', 'graphic
', 'violence
', '(alone
', 'or
', 'combined
', 'with
', 'sexual
', 'situations
', 'or
', 'racial
', 'stereotypes)
', "aren't
", 'recommended.
', 'Kids
', 'age
', '13
', 'to
', '17
', 'can
', 'and
', 'will
', 'see
', "shoot-'em-ups,
", "blow-'em-ups,
", 'high-tech
', 'violence,
', 'accidents
', 'with
', 'disfigurement
', 'or
', 'death,
', 'anger,
', 'and
', 'gang
', 'fighting.
', 'Point
', 'out
', 'that
', 'the
', 'violence
', 'portrayed
', 'hurts
', 'and
', 'causes
', 'suffering,
', 'and
', 'limit
', 'the
', 'time
', "they're
", 'exposed
', 'to
', 'violence,
', 'especially
', 'in
', 'video
', 'games.
', 'Most
', 'M-rated
', 'games
', "aren't
", 'right
', 'for
', 'kids
', 'under
', '17.
', 'The
', 'kid
', 'down
', 'the
', 'street
', 'may
', 'have
', 'the
', 'latest
', 'cop-killer
', 'game,
', 'but
', 'that
', "doesn't
", 'mean
', "it's
", 'good
', 'for
', 'him.
', 'The
', 'ultra-violent
', 'behavior,
', 'often
', 'combined
', 'with
', 'sexual
', 'images,
', 'affects
', 'developing
', 'brains.
', 'Just
', 'because
', 'your
', "child's
", 'friend
', 'is
', 'allowed
', 'to
', 'play
', 'violent
', 'games
', 'or
', 'watch
', 'violent
', 'movies
', "doesn't
", 'mean
', "they're
", 'OK
', 'for
', 'your
', 'child.
']