Violence in Brazilian Society Part III

Violence of TV and toys for the child

No child is born violent. There is a consensus that the condition of being violent is acquired in the course of development. Many families, due to the infra-human condition to which they are subjected, are forced to constantly live with violent situations. Added to this are toys, in the form of miniaturized weapons, which are easily placed for children to access. TV collaborates with violent and promiscuous images. What will become of future generations?

Violent films shown on television have an influence on children. The current world means that the child is exposed, in a very intense way, to violent impulses. Several psychologists, mainly Americans, have concluded that violence generates habituation in children. The child gets used to violence. In this habit, in order to be motivated, she ends up needing more violent stimuli than necessary. In experiments carried out in the USA, a group of psychologists took a group of children who watched little TV and who spent all day under the stimulation of violent films. They placed electrocenfalograms and sensor devices to measure the pulse of the children. They found, after some time, that children who were used to violence, when they saw an aggressive scene, did not have a pulse acceleration.

From the above experience, it is noted that, for children accustomed to violence, an even more violent impulse is needed for them to react. This shows that violence breeds violence: that violence makes the person in need of more violence. It is harmful to allow a 5-year-old child to be subjected to promiscuous and violent TV programs. This violent overexposure, for the child, is not beneficial. I understand that the mass media end up stimulating the violent way of living, from the moment they spread so much violence. We unwittingly end up being involved, getting used to it, thinking it is normal. Something that did not happen with our ancestors, when there was not the apparatus of violence that we have before our eyes today. They came to us, very slowly, and not as intensely as they do today.

It is not educational to present a violent world to a child. For we must prepare the child to face the world with all other violent aspects.

But it depends on the child’s level of development. What is happening, and what is harmful and what marks today’s children, is that, in very early stages of development, they are subjected to very violent stimuli from the environment. I know five-year-old children who watch television on Saturdays until four in the morning. They watch extremely violent and promiscuous programs. This cannot be good for the child. There must be an adaptation. We need to realize that all of us adults must fight against violence. I am realizing that if we do not do this, real self-destruction will occur.

One issue of great concern is that of punishment. Hitting, spanking, several psychiatrists see the spanking issue in two ways, both stemming from the family structure. There are families that are too big for the child. They do not help the child to know how to handle his aggressive impulses, or even his sexual impulses. And there are other families who are extremely rigid and who, also because of their rigidity, do not allow the child to also know how to manage their impulses. One of the basic needs of children is discipline, in a good sense, and this consists of knowing how to give limits to children. If we have so much aggression towards young people today, it is because, possibly, the parents did not know how to set limits and, with that, the children become very aggressive, omnipotent. They lose their sense of limits. They think they can even handle with the lives of others. I think that this is due to aggressive behaviors assimilated by the child. There was a lack of firm attitudes on the part of the parents. Sometimes, parents also lose control and end up hitting their children in an even violent way. When this occurs, they have to remain consistent, without then pampering the child.

If they caress the child after a beating, he will learn to disobey, to benefit from the later affection. There is nothing wrong with a parent losing patience and occasionally slapping their child. What he must do is to maintain this attitude firmly.

This firm attitude has to be shared by the father and the mother, avoiding that one knocks and the other strokes. Why there must be a coherence of attitudes between parents. Because if not, there will be a phenomenon called dissociation, in which one parent is either executioner or bad and bad, and another good and excellent. This can only create uneasiness for the child.

The issue of violent toys is controversial. On the one hand, we have the consumerist society that offers weapons of all sizes, and in all forms. From a simple knife, to the most sophisticated rocket. Everything in miniature. I am in an intermediate position. I think the ideal would be what happened to me: “I had my aggressive toys, I had my bodoques, my swords, but we did not make this toy something like the main goal. We played football and did other things and exercised to the fullest by developing all motor skills.

I think there is a need to review the load of aggressive instruments that we place within the reach of these minors. Hyperarmament is harmful. ”

Some aggressive toys are, however, necessary for the child, as he needs to vent his aggressiveness. But it must be done properly. Balance is advisable. Child cannot spend all day with electronic toys. It is a danger.

Conclusion

The conclusion we can draw is that the violence is increasing.

We think that some causes of violence are:

• exclusion;
• the drugs;
• the lack of meeting basic needs, such as health, education and leisure.

The non-sale of weapons can diminish the statistics of the same.

In addition, we think that one thing we can do is raise our children correctly, trying to educate them to never be violent.

We have to fight together against violence in Brazilian society. If not, what about tomorrow?