Have you ever noticed your two year old trying to imitate what is being shown on the television? Toddlers have this habit even if the content of what is being shown cannot be understood by them at such a young age. Have you ever tried to think seriously over this issue? It may seem very normal but it is in fact something to be really serious about. If the content which is shown is aggressive in nature then what if your kid imitates it as well? Have you thought about the consequences?
 

The creativity of a child may also get restricted with an overdose of television. On top of it, television is something which is addictive and children cannot part with it easily. Poor academic performance and obesity problems have also said to have been linked with watching too much of television.  It has been shown by a research that in an Indian household the television is turned on for almost seven hours in a single day. As a result kids watch television for around 24 hours in a week which is equivalent to one full day.
 

TV as well as video games has a high record of showing violence which adversely affects the mindset of your toddlers.  The attitude and behaviour of children tends to get more aggressive as a result of watching violence on television. Your kid may get influenced by emotional as well as the physical violence that is being shown in movies.
 

Children may also learn disrespect towards elders and women besides learning verbal abuse from the movies shown in television. Watching violent movies makes your child insensitive to the violence taking place in the real world.  Even the cartoons on TV contain plenty of violent images that include pushing, shouting and hitting.
 

Have you ever given a thought about the reason behind your toddler getting influenced so easily by the violence shown in movies now days? One of the main reasons behind this is the fact that little children cannot distinguish between reality and the world of fantasy. They completely believe what they see on the screen. It is believed by many children that characters shown on TV actually exist.
 

Children observe things around them and then imitate it. As a result if they watch violent movies it is highly likely that aggressive and rude behaviour would be displayed by them. It becomes a part of their habit to repeat on screen actions. To take an example after Hanuman was released children from all over India demanded the mace and masks so as to re-enact scenes of the movie.
 

Children are also greatly influenced by superheroes on screen. For example whenever an actor in a movie is hitting the villains your kids try to closely identify with them and their characteristics without obviously knowing the consequences.
 

How can you as parents deal with this problem?

• You should allow your kid to watch television for a limited period of time like an hour in a single day. Select such cartoon programmes for him that is suitable for his age. Certain educational videos, camera work along with slower images might work in the future.
• Programmes which are pre-selected should be seen together instead of watching whatever is coming on the television. You can show him a DVD if there is no programme worth watching coming on the TV.
• Try not to use your TV as the kid’s babysitter even if you got to complete a very important task.  You can call in a friend of your kid to play with him.
• You should try and find out new ways by which you can keep your toddler engaged the whole time. Such activities that stimulate the creative impulses of your toddler should be included in the daily routine. If a cousin who is elder to our kid wishes to view a show ideal for his age then take your toddler to another room and read to him. You can also take your kid out to places like museum, parks or zoos.
• Any toddler imitates his parents the most. Thus you should gain a firm control over your TV watching habits as your kid would be highly influenced by what kind of shows or movies you watch on the TV.

At such a tender age children cannot really absorb the consequences of committing a violent act and therefore may start to believe that it is completely justified to commit violent acts. But we need to make our kids understand the fact that violence of any kind is always followed by some kind of punishment. You would not be allowed to roam free after committing some act of violence.