Does a steady diet of violent television teach children about violence, subsequently causing them to behave in a more violent fashion? A few studies do show at least the suggestion of a link between televised violence and imitative and/or aggressive behavior.

For example, The Kaiser Foundation report states that eight out of ten parents have seen their children imitate both positive behaviors (sharing, helping) and negative behaviors (hitting, kicking) they had seen on TV. And by the time the children in the study reached the age of six, almost half of their parents reported seeing imitative behaviors their children had seen on TV.

Now this isn't all that surprising, considering that children learn through observation (remember the Bobo doll) and modeling. Monkey see, monkey do. This form of learning would be predominantly positive if all television programming was of the Mister Rogers variety. Unfortunately, it is not.

Most young children watch an average of two to four hours of television per day. And when you include the time spent playing video games, this can add up to around 35 hours of screen time per week. Kids are watching at younger and younger ages, and television consumes more time than any other socializing influence except the family. The Parents Television Council, a conservative media watchdog agency, estimated in a 2007 study that the average child “sees over 1,000 acts of murder, rape, and assault on TV each year.”

Television is not all bad; and not every child who is exposed to televised violence will be affected negatively. There are many other factors at play, such as genetics and family environment. And there are many researchers who criticize the studies that link television violence to real-life violence and aggression. These critics point to a lack of statistical scientific proof that watching televised violence actually increases a child's propensity for violence.

One theory is that children who are more genetically predisposed to aggressive tendencies actually prefer more violent television shows. Another is that children who watch violent television may come from homes where there is a high level of child abuse or neglect. So the argument becomes which came first, the chicken or the egg?

Are certain children more aggressive to begin with, and is the innate higher level of aggression causing more violent behavior? Or is it the exposure to the TV violence that ups the aggression? At the moment, the evidence is not adequate to claim definitively that exposure to violent television is a significant source of violence.

As a parent, you have likely seen television's direct effect when a news report frightens your child or a scary movie gives her nightmares. Television does have some effect, but it's your job as a parent to minimize the negative effects as much as possible.

It is important to keep abreast of the television rating system and allow only age-appropriate viewing. You can utilize the v-chip system to block out unacceptable or inappropriate content. Television is an invited guest in your home; treat it that way and you can keep it from being a negative and harmful influence.