While parents and environment still plays the biggest role in educating and upbringing children, violent TV shows can actually affect kids' minds.
A new experiment led by Linda Pagani suggests that watching violent TV during the early years can lead to increased later risks of psychological and academic issues before middle school.
Let's find out more.
The study on how TV violence affect kids' minds
The experiment examined various violent screen content exposure reported by parents when their children were between ages 3.5 and 4.5 and then conducted a follow-up when the kids turned 12.
The follow-up reports indicated that kids exposed to this content on TV were more likely to have higher risks of emotional distress and decreases in classroom engagement, studying, and even motivation by the end of sixth grade.
The study analyzed data from nearly 2,000 kids as part of the research.
Pagani's team aimed to eliminate various pre-existing conditions that could give alternative explanations for the test results.
Why is it important?
Early childhood exposure to adult content can lead to mislearning various essential social skills, making it difficult for kids to fit in at school and leading to overreacting in ambiguous social situations.
The specialists emphasized the importance of exposing kids to appropriate social situations to develop necessary social skills for personal and economic success years later.
