Violence is a common theme in television programs. Children who spend
four hours daily in front of such material are gradually conditioned to accept
violence; thus, parental guidance must be imposed by parents or guardians.
Robbery, fighting, and killing dominate the theme of many programs on
TV and it is not limited to adult material only. Even children’s anime programs
and video games are filled with violence. It is believed that a regular seeing
and hearing of a certain idea or experience will condition the mind of the
viewer to accept it as normal. Eventually, he will find himself not only
accepting them but also doing them himself. This is surely one of the reasons
why some children hurt or bully their peers and at times cause them to be so
depressed and commit suicide.
The parents and guardians must always be available to give guidance to
the children when they are watching TV. As much as possible, they should choose
the movies and materials their children should be watching. It is also
important for them to explain to their children that the violence they see is
not worth doing. In addition, they should inform their kids that those acts are
punishable by law. Lastly and most importantly, they must limit their children’s
exposure to violence. They should find ways that kids learn to spend time on
physical and worthwhile activities such as sports and science or academic
projects.