The article “The influence of Television” inundates people with unbelievable statistics. The American Medical Association is corroborating to prove that violence stems from television. Statistics show that “79% of Americans agree that TV violence leads to real violence.” While this is a true statistic, it sends a garbled message to Americans. Yes, violence may be stemmed from TV violence, but only if parents let it. Instead of letting their kids look at the real world, overzealous parents decide to shelter them. Obviously no kid under 18 should be watching overboard sex scenes, but showing violence isn’t horrible as long as kids know the difference between right and wrong. Parents aren’t doing their kids a favor by trapping them in an unrealistically sanguine environment where the words “stupid” and “idiot” are not allowed. These kids will still turn out to be rebellious teens, proving viewing limitations a fruitless operation.
Adolescents and teenagers should be free to watch whatever they want just shy of pornography. Teens should be old enough to distinguish the difference what’s acceptable and what isn’t. Romance flicks where the lovers have sex (and hardly show anything except bare shoulders) can be poignantly appealing, crucial to the storyline, and it isn’t disturbing teens. If a teenager doesn’t know what sex is, that’s another issue.

If kids and teens know the difference between right and wrong, there should be no problem. Instead of sheltering your child, make the consequences for violence and sex before marriage known. When they see gun fights on television they should be able to realize that violence is not the answer, and only on TV is violence acceptable; not in the real world.
While Americans are in comprehensive agreement that six hours and 47 minutes of TV a day lead to inactivity and overeating, it should be realized that while limiting your child’s viewing time can be constructive to his/her environment, coercing children into watching phlegmatic programs below their interest level isn’t helping.