Aggression and violence in children is due to violence in the media. Children, unfortunately, watch television a lot more than they should. Many parents use the television as a quasi-babysitter. This is detrimental to a child’s psyche because when an actor is ignored on the television, that actor usually will try to gain attention or “get back” at the person who ignored or excluded them by using aggressive behaviors. Coyne, Archer, and Eslea (2004) researched the link between the amounts of television that a child watches to later aggression. These researchers stated,
“Children are particularly susceptible to viewing violence on television, as their scripts for aggression are still developing at this age. Aggression in adulthood is predicted not only by the level of aggression in childhood, but also by the amount of violent television viewed in childhood. Thus, it is particularly important to examine the influence of viewing aggression on television during childhood” (Violence in the Media section, para. 4).

Points to Make
• Talk about the power rangers study
• Talk about the average amount of time that a student watches television a day
• Talk about how many times a violent act is portrayed on the television during the time that a child watches TV everyday
• Media and Children's Aggression, Fear, and Alturism
• The Influence of Violent Media on Children
• Effects of Media Violence on Viewers' Aggression in Unconstrained Social Interaction

There should be more restrictions for television programs and the rating system. Children should not be watching violent acts on television when they are young. The rating system is in place for a reason and yet children are still basically unrestricted in what they choose to watch through television programs and movies played on television.