Healthier Me: Kids' Exposure to Media Violence

A new study suggests children who are exposed to more virtual violence could display more aggressive behaviors than their peers.

Valley News Team's, Danielle Barber, explains how parents can help to curb what doctors are calling the "media diet."

"Virtual violence is, can be violence that you're not physically experiencing yourself, but you are exposed to by video games, movies or TV shows," said pediatrician, Dr. Brennan Forward.

This violence, whether real or fictional, is what some doctors say could cause a child to become more destructive, especially if exposed at an earlier age.

"Pre-adolescence and early teenage kids is when a lot of the video games are kind of marketed toward that age group, but they may not necessarily know how to control their behaviors," Dr. Forward added.

Dr. Forward recommends parents monitor their child's activity whether it's online, mobile apps or video games.

"If you're sitting down and playing a game with your kid and you think 'Oh my, this is pretty intense,' it's probably not a good idea for a pre-teen to be playing a game like that," he said.

But, games aren't the only cause for concern. Dr. Forward said for kids who are less than six years old, it's important to protect them from all virtual violence including television.

"They don't really know the difference between pretend violence, something you might see on a cartoon, and real," said Dr. Forward. "So, they may act in a certain situation because they saw something on a cartoon do that but they don't know that it could be bad."

Explaining the outcome of violence is one way Dr. Forward said can help to show young kids right from wrong.

"So, if somebody gets hurt or gets injured, also maybe showing their family and how they react so it's not just the act of the violence but the consequences of the violence," he added.

While Dr. Forward said not every child will turn violent or aggressive after being subjected to violent material, he still urges parents to be wary of what their kids are doing.

He also encourages parents to model good behavior at home as kids are more likely to follow by example.