Television Perpetuates Violence Bullets whizzing, knives spinning, fists flying: it's not an uncommon sight on television today. From cartoons to sitcoms, television shows depict violent acts that go unpunished and result in no painful consequences. This worldview does not reflect reality or teach our children the values, morals, or behaviors we constantly tell them to practice. Many parents don't realize that their children see the most violence while watching the most innocent show. For example, Nickelodeon's "Loony Tunes" actually has 80 acts of violence per hour, and primetime shows clock 60 acts of violence per hour. Children's programs are the least likely to show the negative and harmful consequences of violent acts. Even scarier than the neglect of consequences is that 2/3 of children's programs depict violence as entertaining. With violence conceived as fun, children are less likely to be bothered by violence in general or to see something wrong in it. This desensitizes children, who become more willing to tolerate increasing levels of violence in our society and also become less sensitive to the pain and suffering of others. When the typical American child witnesses 200,000 acts of televised violence by age 18, this desensitization becomes inevitable.(1) Children predisposed to this violent behavior accept violent acts and view them as more "normal." TV shows give children the false belief that they are invincible. In the cartoon "The Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote", the coyote miraculously survived countless acts of violence. In one such incident the coyote attempted to capture the roadrunner by rigging a catapult to launch a huge boulder as the roadrunner ran. Since we...... middle of paper ......targets violent or sexually explicit programs, it backfires because it attracts children to such programs. Parents need to stand up and take control. Watch television with your children and talk about what you see. Limit your child's exposure to inappropriate programs. (5) Television ruthlessly allows a parade of losers, crooks, murderers and rapists to march through our homes and influence our children. Works Cited Murray, John. "Children and violence". Kansas Journal of Law and Public Policy 04.3 (1995): 7-14Solutions to Violence. http://edie.cprost.sfu.ca/gcnet/iss4-21d.htmlTelevision. http://www.local.access.com/hardebeck/killtv4.htmVasta, Ross, Marshall M. Haith, and Scott A. Miller. Child psychology. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1995.Notes1. Murray2. Television3. Broad 47-49.4. Wide 49.5. Solutions