In a recent story broadcast on Good Morning America, it was discussed that "socially aggressive behavior" is prevalent in most of the popular children's programming.
Although outright violent behavior is absent, both verbal and non-verbal bullying type behavior is shown such as gossiping, teasing, or manipulative behavior within friendships. Most times, within the storyline, these behaviors were not rewarded or disciplined.
So, what do you think? Do we need to scrub all of the media our children watch so that they are not influenced by any negative content, or do we allow them to see what is, frankly, reality, to some extent, and in most cases, learn some lessons about social interactions through otherwise kid-friendly and generally approved programming.
In the article related to the broadcast, you can view here at this link; Social Aggression' Plagues Most Kids' Shows, it discusses the fact that if a parent can discuss the content of the show with their child, the behavior can be a good teaching moment. But, what if your kids watch alone?
Do you think kids with RAD, or other trust or attachment disorders might not see that this socially aggressive behavior is wrong, and you, unaware that it is shown in the programming, are unintentionally providing him or her with new behaviors to mimic?
The researchers that conducted the study hope that their findings encourage show producers to show that the aggressive or mean behavior does have consequences and make it less of a humorous tool for the show, and more of a teaching moment for educational cartoons.
What do you think?
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Some rights reserved by Walt Jabsco
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