What is my kid watching?

Have you sat down with a child to watch some television? Well, if you haven't let me tell you - you're in for surprise! There many streaming services that offer a 'kids' or 'family-friendly' category or profile specific for such audience. I opened up Netflix and went over to the 'Kids' section. I saw a little bit of everything. I saw The Magic Schoolbus to Fuller House, so I'd say they have a variety of options to select from.  But can tv exposure lead children to behave a certain way? We'll see.

After skimming through the options, I started watching Spiderman: Across the Spiderverse. If you haven't seen it already - you should! However, I digress from my point. Across the Spiderverse is not crazy violent but there is some typical superhero action. It is actually rated PG meaning the film, according to Netflix, has "sequences of animated action violence, some language and thematic elements." About 30 minutes into the movie, you see Miles Morales and Gwen's recap of what they've been through. Nothing crazy but fight against the bad guys, Vulture for example, and him lost his uncle to violence and she's lost her Peter to violence as well. You also see some guns and child-parent arguments. As you watch the movie or any superhero media, you don't necessarily see it as bad because they usually use it for good and rewarded.

If we take this a little further, what does social learning theory say about children watching violence being rewarded?  Social learning theory refers to children modeling their behavior according to the reaction they receive from others. Do you see where I'm going with this? Kinda? Okay...

If little ones see Spiderman(s) (for this scenario) kicking butt and using other violence for the better good and to save others; they will be intrigued. Little kids wanna be and look cool so in their creative imaginations, they will see as violence and anything relating to it as totally okay. 

I understand that some may not agree with kids behaving negatively due to what they watch and rather argue that children still decide what and how they act. This train of thought fall under choice theory, suggesting that youths are rational decision makers who choose to engage in antisocial activity because they believe their actions will be beneficial.

According to the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP), their website states, "children are spending about 4 hours of tv per day". Therefore, it is very likely they will imitate what they watch on tv. So if a kid is watching a superhero movie, that's about 2.5 hours, and episodes of their favorite show; they will reenact what they see. Now, to them it may just be playing superheroes but in reality they are making the subconscious connection that violence is okay.

While we know that tv violence is not the only contributing factor to a child's behavior, it is heavily influenced. Let's face it, almost all of kid shows contain some type of violence and parents may need to reevaluate to see how much is too much for their kids - if they want to. The AACAP gives examples of what they can do to limit the amount of violence their kids watch:

• pay attention to the programs their children are watching and watch some with them
• set limits on the amount of time they spend with the television; consider removing the TV set from the child's bedroom
• point out that although the actor has not actually been hurt or killed, such violence in real life results in pain or death
• refuse to let the children see shows known to be violent, and change the channel or turn off the TV set when offensive material comes on, with an explanation of what is wrong with the program
• disapprove of the violent episodes in front of the children, stressing the belief that such behavior is not the best way to handle a problem
• help with peer pressure among friends and classmates by contacting other parents and agreeing to enforce similar rules about the length of time and type of program the children may watch

Do you know who decides tv guidelines? It's usually the Monitoring Board, Motion Picture Association film rating system (MPA), tv networks, producers and others in that crowd. But what would it look like if we were the setting up guidelines for 8-12 year olds? And 13-17 year olds? Would they be the same for both age groups? 

Let's use the current tv ratings, yes? So, we have the MPA who take care of labeling what media is rated and what each rating means. As of January 2024, we have five rating categories:

1. G: General audience, meaning all ages are admitted
2. PG: Parental guidance suggested: advising that some material may not be age appropriate for some children
3. PG-13: Parents strongly cautioned: informing that some material may be inappropriate for children under 13
4. R: Restricted: anyone under the age of 17 must be accompanied by an adult
5. NC-17: Advising that no one 17 and under be admitted

I would say that children ages 8-12 should be okay to watch media rated at G and PG Those 13-17 years of age, would be okay to watch G, PG, PG-13, and then, only if their parents/guardians are okay with them watching heavier content - rated R for 17 year olds. Obviously, what a child grows up watching is very individual and tailored to their family dynamic. I do think that the more exposure we get to violence or such behavior, we become desensitized to such things. Nonetheless, I do believe that parents are the ones who should have final word as to what their child can watch. 

I'm curios to see what you may think about this. Fill out the form below:

Media Influence on Delinquency

References

CLASSIFICATION AND RATING ADMINISTRATION

CLASSIFICATION AND RATING ADMINISTRATION

CLASSIFICATION AND RATING ADMINISTRATION

https://www.aacap.org/