It has spread to our seemingly safe, cozy neighborhoods. We can start by raising our children to be non-violent. Through appropriate modeling, teaching our children to resolve conflicts with words rather than actions, and by reducing the amount of violence they witness.
Children first learn by watching and imitating.
When they see their favorite superhero on TV giving a karate kick, they are quick to try it on their friends during playtime. With the average child watching more than three hours of television a day, opportunities for them to be watching and imitating these kinds of violent, negative behaviors abound. The Surgeon General, after reviewing over 100 studies, determined that children do show more aggressive behavior after being exposed to violence on television. In addition, they become less sensitive to violence, and that violence is perceived as not only normal, but also desirable. We cannot expect our children to monitor their own TV watching.