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Unintentional injuries are the major cause of death and disability among
American children. Recent study findings suggest that unsafe behaviors
by TV characters may influence children to take risks that can result
in injuries. Television is one of the biggest threats to kids. Children
are bombarded by unsafe messages, which overwhelm safe messages given
by parents and teachers. Many television programs show pedestrians who
cross the street in the middle of the block, young children who swim without
adult supervision, and bicyclists who do not use helmets or other protective
clothing. TV that depicts too many unsafe activities without consequences
may affect how children view such risks, the researchers report.
Previous research shows that children who view
4 hours of television daily are 4.3 times more likely to be hospitalized
for injury than are children who watch no television. By age 18 years,
the average child has spent the equivalent of more than 2 years of his
or her life watching television. The frequent occurrence of unsafe messages
in many television shows potentially outweigh the benefits of safety education
campaigns and may, in part, explain the persistence of unsafe behaviors
and injury among American's youth.
Archives of Pediatrics
and Adolescent Medicine April 2000;154:366-369.
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