Media literacy skills are vital.  Rather than allow the media to promote unchallenged the quick fix of violent solutions, conflict resolution skills involving patience and negotiation should be taught.

But no rating system or skills training can substitute for parental involvement. In 1996, the American Medical Association published the Physicians Guide to Media Violence with steps parents can take to limit the media's influence on their children:

• Supervise your children's viewing and guide their decisions on which programs are appropriate to watch

• Don't use television, videos, or video games as a babysitter

• Limit television use to 1 or 2 quality hours per day

• Set situation limits (e.g., no television or video games before school or before homework is done)

• Keep television and video player machines out of children's bedrooms

• Turn the television off during mealtimes

• Turn television on only when there is something specific you have decided is worth watching, not "to see if there's something on"

• Early in the evening, check the TV listings and identify programs that may have violent or otherwise inappropriate themes

• Look for programming that's educational

• Don't place the television in the most prominent location in your home

• Watch what your children are watching

• Be an active viewer: talk and make connections with your children while the program is on

• Be especially careful of viewing just before bedtime, as emotion-invoking images may linger and intrude into sleep

• Learn about movies that are playing and the videos available for rental or purchase

• Be explicit with children about your guidelines for appropriate movie viewing and review proposed movie choices in advance

• Set a good example and limit your own television viewing

Source:  Psychiatric Effects of Media Violence, American Psychiatric Association

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Get MediaWise - Watch what your kids watch

• Fact Sheet:  Television's Effect On Reading And Academic Achievement
  
  
• April 2004 - New Study Confirms Fears, MediaWise Reminds Parents That TV Is One of the Few Risks to School Success That Comes with an "On/Off Switch." (Minneapolis) -The National Institute on Media and the Family hailed a new study from Children's Hospital, Seattle as a wake up call for all parents. The study appears in the April issue of Pediatrics and confirms what the National Institute on Media and the Family has long suspected - a link exists between early television exposure in young children and attention disorders, such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Such attention disorders can affect a child's ability to learn in school..

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Additional Resources

July 23, 2006 - Experts' views on kids and TV: too much, too soon - The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no TV at all for children under 2, Pioneer Press.

July 2005 - Association of Television Viewing During Childhood With Poor Educational Achievement, Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

April 2005 - Digital Living Project - Tools you need to help you raise your children in the digital age.  A collabortive project of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Girl Scouts of the USA, and National PTA.

March 2005 - Generation M: Media in the Lives of 8-18 Year-olds, Kaiser Family Foundation.

April 2004 - Navigating the Children's Media Landscape: A Parent's and Caregiver's Guide, National PTA.

Media Smart: Your Family Guide to Using Screen Time Well, An e-newsletter with family-friendly tips on handling media choices, National PTA.

Teaching Your Child Good TV Habits - KidsHealth

Summer 2002 - What Parents Are Saying About TV Today, A Report from Public Agenda for the Family Friendly Programming Forum.

Using Television in the Home: TV Tips for Parents - From PBS.