were 30 years old. The results show that the ones who had watched a lot of television when they were eight years old had significantly greater chances to be arrested and prosecuted for criminal acts as adults. Some steps have been taken in the right direction, however. The television industry took steps toward implementing a rating system for its programming at a meeting with President Clinton in late February. The policy is to develop a ratings system for television programs that will give parents an indication of content not suitable for children. The rating system may use letter codes (such as PG-7 for programs deemed suitable for children aged 7 and up, PG-10, PG-15, etc.), or the television industry may develop a short description of content which would be broadcast prior to the program. Researchers and scientists can do all the studies they want to but the fact remains that children imitate what they see. Parents are treating their televisions like babysitters. Some kids have no business at all in front of the tube when movies like Terminator 2 come on. If parents would just use good old common sense, a lot of unnecessary controversy would come to an end in my opinion. Some parents just plop their kids in the living room with the TV on because they have “other” things to do and it makes them shut up. A lot of kids today are being raised by Sony and Hitachi rather than Mom and Pop.If they only knew that extensive viewing of television violence by children causes greater aggressiveness. Sometimes, even watching a single violent program can increase aggressiveness. Children who view shows in which violence is very realistic, frequently repeated or unpunished, are more likely to imitate what they see. Some programs glorify the bad guy. The bad guy makes the good guys look stupid and gets what he wants in the process. What ever happened to The A-Team or MacGyver or Chips or Starsky and Hutch? In these shows t...
