This book addresses possible negative effects of children's viewing of inappropriate media content and how parents can respond. The discussion of children's responses to frightening mass media is based on the findings of controlled research but also includes real-life examples, many presented in a child's or parent's own words. Following an…

Examines the effect of violence advisories and MPAA ratings on parent-child television viewing choices and verbal interactions while making those choices. Parents mainly made negative comments about the advisories and restrictive ratings whereas children, especially older children, were more likely to make positive comments. The presence of an…

Examines the influence of prior information on children's emotional responses to a frightening program. Finds that forewarning of the threat increased anticipatory fear but did not affect emotional responses, and that prior knowledge of the happy outcome reduced anticipatory fear but had an inconsistent effect on fear during the threatening scene.…