Most cartoons are rated G, with the G rating only meaning that the content does not contain sex, violence or explicit language. But Have you ever been watching a cartoon and there is a "scary" scene? think about some of the sceens in Toy Story, the witch in Snow White, the hyena scene in Lion King. Some of these movies which are widely viewed by children as young as age 2, 3,4 and 5 are usually intended for children over the age of 6.
Children can pick up on the emotion from the movie though the scene or the music. You may notice your child will get scared while watching rated G Disney movie. Even babies who are held while watching a movie, either rated G or R can pick up on the emotions from their mother while she is holding them during the movie. The baby may not be able to understand the content, but picks up on the mothers emotional reaction. The lasting impact of "scary" movie scenes is not yet understood. Usually if a child views a scary scene over and over again, they will remember it. But hopefully if they only view it once, they should not remember it. Although I think that is an individual reaction.
If you think your child has bad memories from a movie you can ask them to draw the movie and how they feel when they watch it. You can also pretend play parts of the movie, this should give you feedback on how your child feels during or towards the movie.
Lisa Guernsey's book, Screen Time: How Electronic Media-From Baby Video's to Educational Software -Affects Your Young Child details a study performed in 1971. This study divided preschoolers into two groups. Both groups exhibited similar play styles before the study. One group was exposed to violent cartoon programming and the other was the control group which watched non-violent cartoons. "After several weeks of exposure, the kids watching violent programs were kicking, chocking or hitting their classmates more often than were children from the control group".
"So far, I can only conclude that parents will do best to consider the needs and personalities of their own children. Some kids are especially sensitive" (Guernsey). Again, it is up to the parent to control what their child watches. Even some rated G cartoon movies require some fast forwarding through some scenes.
"The following review sites can help parents sort out which children's movies are appropriate for very young children and avoid the ones that might be upsetting them". (Guernsey, Appendix I).
Parents Choice
www.parentschoice.com
"A well designed site that spotlights media that is appropriate and engaging for children. Using the product finder you can so a search on, say, home videos for 2 year olds"
Family Entertainment Finder from ParentCenter.com
Parentcenter.babycenter.com/-reiews/
"This site makes clear from the outset whether a movie, DVD, or show will be appropriate for a child under age 4. You'll see "4+" or "3+" next to the symbols at the top of the review"
The Movie Mom
movies.yahoo.com/my/moviemom/
"Nell Minow, the "Movie Mom" can also be heard on radio stations around the county every week"
Parents Television Council
www.parentstv.org/ptc/publications/moviereviews/main.asp
"Although it is knows primarily for its analyses of violence and sex in television programming, the PTC also offers movie reviews with age guidelines and descriptions of the parts of the movie that might upset very young viewers"
As a mother, I've noticed that many G rated movies have very scary scenes/characters. My daughter is one of those extremely sensitive children who does not handle those movies well, even with my husband and/or I sitting with her and reassuring her. I like that you offered some websites as resources for parents of young children.
ReplyDeleteI think that many children are unlike my daughter and are immune to, or not bothered by these scary things, and their parents fall into that category as well. Recently, while visiting a friend, she put on Transformers 2 for her to watch. I told her she would be scared, but urged me to "try it." Of course, as I knew would happen, my daughter watched for about 2 minutes before she came over and asked for it to be changed.
I agree with natinlc: including the websites/links was a nice touch to this blog entry.
ReplyDeleteStudies, like the 1971 study you discussed, always make me wonder about the ethical implications of using children in such ways. More importantly, I have to question the intelligence of parents who were willing to let their children be a part of such studies. I simply can't imagine saying yes to someone who says, "I'm conducting a research study about the effects, permanent or temporary, that violent cartoons have on preschoolers. May I use your beloved child as a test subject?"
Cartoons and movies that are in cartoon form are not always for young children. When my three were of the ages of 4/5 and under, I went to the falling website: http://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-lists
ReplyDeleteto get the scoop on the latest movies out there marketed towards children. It was/is a great site to get reviews and insights as to what actually was the appropriate viewing age for each movie. As parents it's really important to keep an eye on what your child watches on tv and at the movies. Now that my three are older, we've moved into the lessons that just because it looks like a cartoon does NOT mean it is meant for kids (King of the Hill, South Park, Simpsons to name a few)
As a preschool teacher I can relate to the the the study you included above about violent shows increasing hitting in the classroom. I clearly remember when Power Rangers first hit the TV years ago in the 90's. It was evident that our preschoolers, especially boys were watching it as it did change their behavior towards others - more hitting, kicking and not realizing they were actually hurting their friends when they were playing Power Rangers.
Thanks for the additional sites, and I'll use them to pass along to my parents of my new preschool class next fall.