The Violent Trends Of Our Children

Violence among children has become a recent trend in our society today. From the most severe to the most common, it has become a major problem. In America, violence is a part of every child's life. Most of us choose to ignore it until it hits close to home. Others choose to do things to prevent it so it doesn't become as severe. What ever the choice may be, the problem is still at hand.

There are many types of violence that affect our children's lives. Our children are victims and witnesses to all types of violence. They are all affected, but never affected equally. They either witness these violent acts, or are victims of the media, neglect, or physical and sexual abuse.

One of the most common forms of violence is the media. Media violence has to do with television, video games, and music. "By the age of 18 the average child will have seen 26,000 killings on television" Tuchscherer(4). Most of our children's cartoons are more violent than adult programs or sitcoms on television today. Most children are exposed to this type of violence in some form on a daily basis.

Physical violence is also a common form. It may be inflicted on others, as well as themselves. One out of three youths have been in at least one fight in their chidhood years. Physical violence also has to do with domestic. "Data from the late 1970s estimate that at least 3.3 million children were exposed to domestic violence" Straus, M. (88). Couples with children, don't t realize the mental and physical impact they have on their children when domestic violence is present.

Child abuse and neglect is also known as child maltreatment. In the article written by Tuchscherer he basically says that this is a serious issue. It was reported in 2001 that 903,000 cases of child abuse or neglect were reported to child welfare authorities (2). These statistics are probably underestimated for the thousands of children that are physically abused by a parent or someone of the household that are never reported to officials. The sad truth is that there isn't a day that goes by without an innocent child struck or left neglected.

Lastly, there is sexual abuse and assault. "In 2001 it was reported that 7.7 percent of students, grades nine through twelve, reported having been raped at some point in their lives Ingressic (52). It almost wants to make you cry, that the United States is now one of the most violent countries in the world for rape, homicides , and child neglect.

There are a few factors such as gender and age when discussing this topic. When it comes to gender, males and females experience the act of violence differently. This is not saying that one gender is more immune to a certain form of violence than the other, but that there are certain forms of violence that are more common to one gender rather than the other. According to the Newsweek Journal "Growing Up Fast and Frightened,"

For females, rape and sexual abuse is more common than for males.Reports of sexual abuse to child welfare agencies are two to seven times higher in females than in males depending on their age. For males physical and homicide are more common(52).

Surprisingly enough, the stats for male and female were the same when it came to dating violence. The only difference was that the females experienced more physical injury due to the violence more than males.

One of the most important factors in the lives of these children is their age. The type, source, and risk of violence all changes when age is a factor. When it comes to infants and young children, the most common form of violence is in the home. The deaths in infants is outrageously high due to neglect. A shocking statistic of 40.5 % of deaths of babies under the age of one is due to abuse and neglect. The abuse of these innocent ones leads to brain damage and most severely death.

Middle age childhood, consist of children 7 to 12 years of age. Children of this age suffer mostly from the media and physical violence. At this age, they seem to watch the most amount of television. These middle-aged children are more commonly bullied than the older ones. Sadley enough, these children fear the physical abuse that could be inflicted upon them on the way to or from school.

The last category of the age factor is the teenagers. Most people believe that violence is most severe during this time in their lives. They stand corrected. At the same time though, most of the severe violent acts are not brought upon them until this exact point in their lives. During these teenage years, sexual abuse, rape, homicide, suicide, and violent dating are all very common. For example, according to the Journal of Children, " in 2001, 10 percent of teens in grades nine through twelve reported they had been hit, slapped, or physically hurt by a boyfriend or girlfriend"(133). Outside violence becomes more common than in home during this age, due to absences of the home. More importantly the violence still carries on to adulthood.

The cause and effects of violent behavior are very complicated and interrelated. Some of the contributors to violent behavior are racism, poverty, substance abuse, frequent exposure to violence through the media, abusive parenting, and unemployment. The increase in homes, schools, and community has risen since the economy has plummeted and social programs have vanished. Research has shown that children who watch excessive violent films or tv are more likely to be extremely

aggressive. Children who are victims of violent behavior at home, are more likely to carry that behavior outside of the home.

This violent behavior is taking a toll on our children. The younger the child the more of an effect, violence has on them. The media effects children in a number of ways. Excessive exposure to this type of violence can lead to depression, nightmares, and increased aggressive behavior. The effects of domestic violence can lead to antisocial and aggressive behavior, and anxiety. Males that are exposed to this type of behavior as children, are more likely to carry this trend on to adulthood. Sexual abuse and neglect can lead to long term consequences. These include chronic headaches and fatigue, eating disorders, unwanted pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases, and sexual dysfunction. Lets not forget a lifetime of pain and suffering.

There are several steps that need to be taken in order to reduce the violence in our children's lives. Our society need to focus more on funding for prevention, rather than criminal justice strategies. We all need to do something to help the problem before it gets to the consequence stage. The first step is to generate public outrage. Americans seem to be oblivious to our problem with