NCJ Number
157407
Date Published
1995
Length
248 pages
Annotation
This guide on violence prevention explores social issues that affect and sometimes promote bias and prejudice and provides a foundation for teaching young people peaceful and tolerant values in the home, school, and community.
Abstract
Conditioning for hatred and violence often begins when young children play with guns, dolls, video games, and other toys that encourage aggression, conflict, and war. In addition, television has a significant impact on child development, and studies indicate a strong correlation between violent images children watch on television and aggressive behavior. Television violence may also result in desensitization and fearfulness, decrease the sensation of danger, reinforce cultural stereotypes, and contribute to domestic violence and unrealistic views of conflict. Ways of responding to children's concerns and controlling or managing the level of violence to which they are exposed are discussed. The focus is on media literacy and sexism and racism in children's literature, as well as on promoting a nonviolent school environment and gender fairness in the classroom, involving parents and teachers in violence prevention, encouraging multiculturalism in the community to deal with such social problems as hate crimes and gangs, and working for change. The author covers self-esteem, peer pressure, media images and stereotypes, and critical thinking skills. Sources of additional information on how to instill nonviolent values in children are noted. 170 references