How do you monitor the television that your kids watch?

What one parent considers “indecent” doesn’t faze another in the least. But we should all be able to agree that no kid needs a steady diet of blood and gore.

I'm not exaggerating the problem here. The Parents Television Council recently released a study, Dying to Entertain, which found that violence on prime time broadcast television has increased 75 percent since 1998. In contrast, a Kaiser Family Foundation study found that fewer than five percent of television programs had an anti-violence theme or showed the consequences of committing violent acts.

Here are some more facts:

• Over 1,000 studies have been conducted on children, television and violence. According to the majority of the findings, including a recent U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee report, kids who watch violent programs are more likely to exhibit violent behavior.
• Exposure to media violence may even alter brain function, according to a June 2005 study by the Indiana University School of Medicine.
• Childhood viewing of violent TV has been linked to later aggression in adults, as reported by the American Psychological Association.
  

How do you monitor the television that your chidren watch?  

Adapted from "Violence and Indecency" at the Smart Television Alliance.