By Kerri Kreh Reda, M.P.H.
Would you ever invite a provocatively dressed stranger with a weapon into your living room where your children were and allow them to curse, kill or have sex? Of course you wouldn’t and yet this happens every day through our televisions. If we are not paying careful attention to what our children are watching or what others are watching, when our children are nearby, you may be surprised at the content they are seeing.
If viewing is not carefully monitored our children will be exposed to inappropriate topics such as violence, drug use, and sexual acts; young children are not developmentally ready to understand such adult content. This can lead to acting out, confusion and risk taking behaviors; not to mention making the job of parenting much more difficult.
For those of you with daughters there are special considerations when it comes to media exposure. Young girls are sexualized in popular culture. With a focus on appearance and sexuality, these messages can impact a girl’s developing self-image as well as her body image. The more time with television shows and movies that promote these themes, the more our girls are bombarded by unhealthy messages.
Another thing to keep in mind is that children up to 9 years of age may have difficulty distinguishing between reality and fantasy. This makes acts of violence, whether on television or video games, scary and can often result in nightmares and confusion.
It is obvious that technology is not going anywhere. Our goal then has to be how to manage its use so that it is beneficial and not harmful. There are ratings on all television shows, movies, computer games and video games. Following these recommendations can really make the job of parenting much easier. Below you will find links that explain both video games and television show rating systems.
ESRB entertainment software rating board (video games)
http://www.esrb.org/ratings/ratings_guide.jsp
The TV parental guidelines
Kerri Kreh Reda, M.P.H., is a Human Development Specialist with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County’s Family Health and Wellness Program. She can be reached at 631-727-7850 ext. 330 or at kkr5@cornell.edu.