Talking to kids about media violence
Tip Sheet
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- With younger kids, it’s most important to help them avoid seeing violent content without meaning to. Check out our tip sheet Using Parental Controls to learn how to do this. As kids get older, teach them how to set content filters themselves.
- Parents’ co-viewing with kids – whether that’s actually watching or playing media together, or talking to them about the media they enjoy – is another effective way of critically engaging with violent media. As Dr. John Muller put it, “Co-viewing these movies as a family can be an effective antidote to increased violence…[but] in passively co-viewing violent media, there is an implicit message that parents approve of what their children are seeing, and previous studies show a corresponding increase in aggressive behavior. By taking an active role in their children’s media consumption by co-viewing and actively mediating, parents help their children develop critical thinking and internally regulated values.” Don’t be afraid to press “pause” (or ask your kids to put away their phones or pause the game) when you see violent content in media. The following “discussion starters” are designed to help kids develop the critical thinking skills they need:
- Who is portrayed as victims of violence and who is shown as perpetrators?
- How often do scriptwriters have characters resort to violence because it’s easier than having them solve problems in other ways?
- How often is violence portrayed as an important part of “being a man”? (Boys with stereotyped views about gender are more likely to be violent towards both girls and other boys.)
- Is it possible to play a video game without using violence? If so, how easy and accessible are the non-violent actions compared to the violent ones?
- Violence used to be the territory of the “bad guy,” but there has been a major shift in the last few decades to violence by heroes. How does that change how we see violence?
- How often are female or racialized secondary characters made to be victims of violence in entertainment media, order to motivate or “raise the stakes” for White and/or male characters?
- How are White and racialized people portrayed differently in news when they are victims of, or accused of perpetrating, violent crime? When is the race (or other demographic characteristics) of a suspect named, and when isn’t it? Who is represented by a grad photo when they’re killed, and who by a mug shot?
- Can emotional violence be as harmful as physical violence? Which characters most often say mean