American children spend more time watching television than they do engaging in any other activity besides sleeping. On average, children between 2 and 5 years of age watch about 4 hours of TV each day. Not surprisingly, psychologists, educators, and parents are very concerned about influence TV has on children. One concern regards the violence that pervades much TV entertainment. Children who watch 2 hours of TV daily (which is well below the national average) will see about 8,000 murders …showed first 75 words of 491 total…

…showed last 75 words of 491 total…repeated or unpunished, are more likely to imitate what they see. Another concern about the effects of television viewing on children involves the extent to which it affects their cognitive development, IQs, and academic achievement. In summary, television can present many "bad" models for a child to copy. Children who watch a great deal of television spend less time doing other productive and useful things, and they may learn undesirable behaviors, including acts of violence.