Early exposure to violent TV promotes aggression in boys: study

0 Comments | AFP, November, 2007

WASHINGTON (AFP) — Boys who watch seemingly harmless cartoons or contact sports on TV between the ages of two and five are more likely to be aggressive and disobedient later, a study published Monday showed.

"We found the more violent TV children see as preschoolers, the more likely they are to have anti-social behaviors -- acting aggressively, disobeying, getting in trouble -- at school age," said Dimitri Christakis, a lead author of the study, published in the scientific journal, Pediatrics.

"Cartoons are the main culprit," he told AFP.

"Most parents consider cartoons not threatening to their children because, after all, they're not real and they're just funny. But the truth is that preschool children don't distinguish between fantasy and reality the way...