The TV teaches children to be mean, says Professor Jennifer Linder, but parents can help.
Linder’s research has linked TV watching to aggression in children.
Concerns about the negative effects of television have typically focused on physical violence, she wrote in The Oregonian, but non-physical aggression can also harm kids.
“Children and teens are impressionable and receive powerful social lessons from watching television,” Linder says.
Concerned parents can attempt to reduce the time their children spend in front of the screen. They can also keep an eye on programming and talk to their kids about what they watch.
For more suggestions on how to protect children from the effects of media, read Linder’s guest column.
