It’s official. There now have been enough studies that all agree that
what a child watches on TV, DVDs and video games has a direct effect on sleep problems
and behavior problems.
The negative effects are across all age groups – preschool, school-aged
and adolescent. They also do not seem to be related to the total amount of time
a child spends watching a screen. The content of what the child is watching is
what makes the difference. Even if the child watches violent media early in the
day it still had negative effects on both sleep and behavior. When age-appropriate, non-violent,
non-frightening TV programs, DVD’s or video games are substituted for the
inappropriate ones, children who were identified as having problems going to
sleep definitely get better and children identified as being aggressive improve
their behavior.
It
is hard to understand why preschoolers are allowed to watch violent or
frightening TV programs or violent video games. Perhaps the parent doesn’t
believe there is an effect on the child, the parent is watching an evening
program that is violent or the parent is playing a violent video game with the
child watching. Either way, it is now clear that these viewing habits cause an
increase in aggressive behavior in children and also cause sleep problems –
especially difficulty falling asleep.
Generations grew up watching cartoon characters bang each other with
over-sized hammers and they laughed at it. The kind of violence children are
exposed to today is graphic, realistic and frightening. If your child has
problems falling asleep or is having problems with aggressive behavior, take a
good look at what the child is exposed to on screens and monitors. Substituting
Dora for CSI may be boring for you, but it will definitely help your child.
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