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.