Media Violence & Children at the Childcare Center & School

While parents remain the primary influence for limiting children's access to violent media, teachers can work with families to encourage them to take steps to help limit children's exposure to media violence. They can suggest that parents:

• Monitor what children watch.
• Teach children how to analyze the media and become educated media consumers.
• Show by their own behavior how to be good media consumers.
• Share their rules about exposure to media with other adults in the family or neighborhood.
  

Teachers can talk with children, even preschoolers, about violence in the media. They can be helped to understand that:

• Violence in the media is make-believe, not real.
• Real-life violence hurts people.
• Guns, bullets, knives, and other weapons on TV are fake; real weapons hurt or kill people.
• If a show is scary or confusing, talk to an adult about it.
• Violent toys may seem exciting in "pretend" games, but real-life violence is not fun.
  

Teachers can also encourage and model ways to play and pretend that do not involve violence.