I'm concerned about the violent content of some children's cartoon shows and the toys and other products connected with them. My husband thinks they're harmless. What's your point of view?
I share your misgivings. There's a trend toward a brand of violence in some of today's cartoons and toys that I see as a dangerous departure from the more traditional combat-type games in which boys have always engaged.
For one thing, the characters tend to be adults involved in adult activities, some of which are highly questionable. I don't think they are appropriate role models for impressionable young children. The settings are mythical or futuristic, and the action often revolves around superstition, sorcery and magic. For these reasons they concern me for spiritual as well as psychological reasons.
The electronic media have incredible power to "sell" these dubious heroes and their exploits to our children. Studies have measured actual psychological changes that occur when children are watching a violent television program or movie: The pulse rate quickens, the eyes dilate, the hands sweat, the mouth goes dry and breathing accelerates. It should be obvious that this kind of "entertainment" has a dramatic emotional effect especially if it's repeated often enough. And the toys that are marketed as "spin-offs" from such programs serve only to reinforce or extend those negative effects. What's more, there's no balancing positive, healthy or educational component to these products.
That's why our organization, Focus on the Family, and others have made major investments in high-quality videos and other materials for children. We must provide alternatives for families that want their youths to have wholesome entertainment but are determined to protect them from the popular culture. We will continue to do what we can to meet that need.
I don't believe children are as easily influenced by the media and entertainment industry as you say. What they see does not necessarily determine how they behave.
Well, look at it this way. Back in the early '80s, the most popular movie was the science-fiction film "E.T." It included a brief scene where the little creature from outer space was given a few pieces of the candy, Reese's Pieces. The brand was not named, but children recognized it during its few seconds on the screen. In the months that followed, the sale of Reese's Pieces went through the ceiling. Isn't that a clear example of a movie's influence on children's thinking?
Why do advertisers spend billions of dollars to put their products before the people if what we see and hear does not influence our behavior? Why do schools and colleges purchase textbooks for children and young adults if what they read does not translate into influence of one form or another?
Of course children are vulnerable to what they witness we all are. How much greater effect is made by dramatic, sexually oriented, no-holds-barred musical and theatrical presentations that are aimed at the hearts and souls of our children? Who are we kidding when we say they are not harmed by the worst of it?
My family and I have been in France for four years, but I'm told I still have a strong accent. My 9-year-old daughter, however, speaks perfect French. How come children can learn a language so much easier than adults?
It is true that children can learn to speak perfect Russian, Chinese, Spanish or any other language used throughout the world, yet most people 15 or 20 years older will have a much harder time trying to make those same sounds.
Researchers now know why this is true. It's explained by a process known as "phoneme contraction." The larynx of a young child assumes a shape necessary to make any sounds that he or she is learning to use at that time. It then solidifies or hardens in those positions, making it impossible or very difficult to make other sounds later in life. In other words, there's a window of opportunity when anything is possible linguistically, but it closes very quickly.
Keep working on your French, even though you'll probably never get rid of your accent.
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