Sources of Violence and the effect is has on our children

Sources of Violence and The Effect It Has On Our Children

There is far too much violence in our world today. Violence is surfacing in our children as young as 8 or 9, with children killing other children for no reason. This brings up the question of why our children are exhibiting violent behavior and committing terrible acts of violence. Our world has become a breeding ground for violence and our children are at risk. Everywhere our children look they are seeing horrific acts of brutality. Take this scenario for example: You are sitting at home, having dinner with the family around the television set. It is around 6:00 p.m. and you all are watching the local news. News clips of murder, kidnapping, terrorism, sexual assault, and arson are whipping by the screen. Your children are almost mesmerized by the reports of this violence. Or, your child is walking home from school and witnesses two kids fighting on the playground. These are only two sources of violence that our children have in their lives, but there are several types. They can range from domestic violence in the home to violence in video games. Most people do not realize that all of these different forms of violence affect our children on countless levels. They become desensitized and are in some cases acting out what they are or have been exposed to. It is almost like they have become accustomed to the fact that violence is in most aspects of their lives, like it is the way it is supposed to be. There is good news though; we can prevent this atrocity from happening to our children. It begins by knowing what forms it takes, how our children gain access, and what we can do to prevent further exposure.

One of the most profound forms of violence that our children are exposed to is from the media. The media is continually showing movies with explicit violent scenes, newscasts riddled with death, and television shows that seem to have no boundaries. According to Nielson Media Research the average child spends 28 hours per week watching television, which is twice as much as they are in school. They also state that children will be exposed to 200,000 acts of violence on television before they are 18. This study was conducted on children’s cartoons, not on regular programming . These numbers are staggering. Because our children spend so much time watching television, they are more likely to have incre...

... middle of paper ...

...m with good role models, love, and show them positive behavior by our actions. We also need to teach them to stand up against violence, but in a peaceful way. If society can get a handle on this epidemic that our children are facing, our world and our children will be much better off. The less violence we have, the more peaceful world we will live in.

BIBILOGRAPHY

1 (n.d.). Facts about media violence and effects on the american family. retrieved Jun 22, 2004, from

http://www.babybag.com/articles/amaviol.htm.

2 (n.d.). Video games and children. retrieved Jun 22, 2004, from http://www.ericfacility.net/ericdigests/ed365477.html.

3 (n.d.). Mental health and growing up. retrieved Jun 22, 2004, from Domestic violence - Its Effects on Children Web site: http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/info/mhgu/newmhgu18.htm.

4 (n.d.). The education station. retrieved Jun 22, 2004, from School Violence Statistics Web site: http://www.securityworld.com/community/statistics/schoolviolence.html.

5 (n.d.). Mediascope. retrieved Jun 22, 2004, from Youth and Music Violence Web site: http://www.mediascope.org/pubs/ibriefs/yvm.htm.

6 http://childrenandviolence.freeservers.com/html/othermedia.html