Why You Shouldn't Watch TV News with Your Child You're probably
pretty careful not to let your kids watch very violent or
frightening shows on TV. But a recent study found that children
actually find the news far more terrifying than anything they'd
see on a blood-and-guts drama like CSI. The researchers showed
nearly 600 kids ages 8 to 12 disturbing TV content -- things
like war images, people shooting at each other, house fires, and
plane crashes -- then told them what they were watching was
either a fictional "Hollywood show" or an actual news program.
"We found that the children who thought they were seeing real
events had significantly higher fright responses -- they showed
a greater emotional reaction -- than those who believed they
were watching a fictional show," says study coauthor Brad
Bushman, Ph.D., a professor of psychology and communication
studies at the University of Michigan. And the effects, he adds,
were lasting. The kids worried about the images they had seen --
that it might happen to the