|
By Nina Sherak, HealthAtoZ contributing writer
Children who relinquish the TV remote to Mom or Dad during the evening news hour often wind up watching, too. If they hop on the couch with you, should you be concerned whether in-your-face reporting and graphic images are too much for them?
Do children have the tools to keep photos and commentary about horrific events, such as terrorist attacks on this country, in perspective? Probably not without your assistance, psychologists warn.
"TV has an effect of shrinking the world and bringing it into your own living room," says psychologist Joanne Cantor, a communications professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Cantor is also author of the book "Mommy, I'm Scared": How TV and Movies Frighten Children and What We Can Do to Protect Them.
About 57 percent of the American public thinks television news gives too much attention to stories about violent crime, according to a study on media violence produced by Mediascope, a national, nonprofit research and policy organization. Half of those polled who had children ages 8 to 13 said they have turned the TV off or changed the channel to prevent a child from seeing something on the news.
Become the TV police
Parents should keep a watchful eye on their children's news habits, experts agree. Mom and Dad should be the gatekeepers and help their kids make sense of the events that they hear about, understand how it affects their lives and figure out what they can do.
"Think of TV as a stranger in your home," advises Jerome L. Singer, Ph.D., co-director of the Yale University Family Television Research and Consultation Center in New Haven, Conn. "As parents, we have to decide under what circumstances we want the stranger in our house and what kinds of things we want that stranger to tell our children."
Limit your child's exposure to the news and other television programs about tragic events, suggests the American Psychological Association. If you do choose to have your child see this information on TV, keep it brief, watch it together and talk to your child afterward to clarify the information.
Make TV news meaningful
"The news shows us only a few oversimplified images selected by media," Elias says. "Use TV news as a chance to discuss how to evaluate what they [kids] see in the media and how important it is to know a lot more before making judgments."
Turn the news into an educational tool with these recommendations from the Media Awareness Network:
- Start a discussion. Ask, "What do you think about that story?" "Did you understand what we just watched?" Broaden the discussion from a disturbing news item to a larger conversation that touches on your child's views of the situation.
- Don't wait for the TV news to bring on an issue or event. Discuss current events with your child on a regular basis. Help children think through stories they hear about.
- Be honest and reassuring. Help your child put news stories in the right context. Showing that certain events are isolated or explaining how one event relates to another helps a child make better sense of what he or she hears. If your child asks, "Could our house burn down, too?", answer truthfully but reassure your child that you take all the precautions to reduce such a risk. Explain, for example, the fire safety precautions your family takes, such as keeping fresh batteries in the smoke detectors. Show your child the fire extinguishers and how to get out of the house if it is burning.
- Emphasize positive aspects of a tragic event. Talk about key issues and different ways that the problems could be solved. Whether children hear about a major gas line explosion, an earthquake or a flood, it's important they hear about how well the public, the police, emergency medical and fire departments respond, as well. Even more important, try to emphasize the good stories that come out of every natural disaster - such as how individuals help each other in times of need. Use these stories to prepare your own home for natural disasters, to check up on your emergency supply kits, etc.
- Follow up on a news story by reading newspapers or magazines together. TV news coverage may lack depth, details and analysis. If your child is particularly interested in a topic, use more detailed or analytic articles to highlight information that wasn't discussed in the television coverage.
- Keep a dictionary by the TV. Kids often ask for definitions of words they hear on the news. Answer these inevitable queries by looking them up together.
Control news overload
Protect children from re-exposure to traumatic events by limiting exposure to adult conversations about the events. Be careful about conversations you have about the news when your children are nearby. Even when you think they are not listening, they often are. Many parents find it helpful to tape the news and watch it after their children have gone to bed.
To control news overload, seek news sources that are not too dramatic. Public television programs, newspapers or news magazines designed specifically for children can be less sensational and less upsetting ways of getting information.
Healthy doses of news by age
Yes, children should watch the news, says Maurice J. Elias, Ph.D., professor of clinical, child, family, and school psychology at Rutgers University in New Jersey. "But, ideally, they should watch with another adult, and they should talk about what they are watching."
Elias says kids' media diet should be according to their age. "Kids 8 and under should not watch unlimited coverage. This will either unduly frighten them or desensitize them so that they react as if they are watching a video over and over again. TV news should not be allowed to become an all-consuming obsession," Elias says.
David Walsh, Ph.D. president and founder of the National Institute on Media and the Family, also notes that media depictions of attacks can be as scary as real attacks.
How much news is right for your child? It depends on your child's individual make-up and other events in life. If a child is struggling with difficulties, he or she may become more upset by the news than usual.
Use the following guidelines for news exposure based on recommendations from the American Psychological Association:
- Shield babies and toddlers from media reports as much as possible.
- Don't let a preschooler watch scary news reports on TV. They can't control what is happening, and this will only frighten them. Keep information limited and age-appropriate.
- Limit TV coverage for school-age children. Let them watch small amounts of TV news but only with a parent present. Make sure you talk to the child, and don't assume that they are too young to know what is going on.
- Watch the news with your middle-school child and answer any questions. They may be prone to exaggeration. Jokes or humor can mask fears for this age group. Children this age will be more interested in details. Share what you know but don't overwhelm them.
- Young adults in high school may be glued to TV, eager for news and details. Be willing to engage them in serious discussions about what has happened and about your feelings and theirs. Some teens also may just block out the whole thing and refuse to acknowledge that anything big has happened or that they care. Others may make jokes. This often masks real fears and feelings of being overwhelmed.
For all children:
- Make sure they know that it's OK to ask questions.
- Keep information age-appropriate. Use history as a basis for conversation. Be careful to avoid placing blame on a whole group of people or targeting particular groups.
- Talk about ways your family can help.
- Explain questionable incidents, such as random violence, that occur and discuss alternatives to violent actions as ways to solve problems.
- Comfort your child by hugging often.
This article was reviewed and updated June 2007.
Return to the previous page
|
