"Mommy, I'm Scared": How TV and Movies Frighten Children and What We Can Do to Protect Them (Paperback)

by Joanne Cantor Ph.D. (Author) "Every night, in homes all around the country, parents are being confronted by children in distress..." (more)
Key Phrases: scary programs, fright reactions, child advocacy groups, Friday the Thirteenth, Parental Guidelines, Snow White (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
It's midnight, and your sobbing 8-year-old has crawled into bed with you, shaking from a nightmare generated by seeing a werewolf in a music video. A college sophomore lies awake in her apartment, obsessing about stalkers after watching Beverly Hills 90210. Violence, and the threat of it, is pervasive in television and movies, and Joanne Cantor believes that as a result kids are scared, sleepless, and at risk of becoming violent themselves.

Cantor has worked with the national PTA on projects related to children and television, and with the National Television Violence Study. Her original research and findings about TV and movie violence--and the strong impact it has on children--is presented in this stirring book in a convincing, thorough manner. Cantor is realistic--she knows parents cannot shield children from every influence, and never suggests that parents should avoid TV and movies all together. Instead, she offers tools for limiting children's exposure to scary elements, provides age-related information to help parents predict what will alarm their children, suggests ways to reassure frightened children, and discusses the successes and failings of the movie and TV rating systems. Mommy, I'm Scared is a hard-hitting book that will serve as a wake-up call for many parents--especially those who have come to rely on TV as an inexpensive, electronic baby sitter. --Ericka Lutz

From Library Journal
Nightmares, anxiety, intense fear, and physical pain are typical reactions that children have to scary TV. This very important book considers such childhood fears and how they affect us as teenagers and adults. Cantor, a student at the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Center, comes down hard on TV programs, movie reruns, and TV news as the "uninvited intruders" in our home. What to do? Monitor very carefully, or discard the TV. Cantor offers ways to help children work through their fears, including distracting, desensitizing, and reasoning, and she analyzes movie ratings (Jaws, for example, is PG) and why we love violence so much. An excellent addition to public library shelves.?Linda Beck, Indian Valley P.L., Telford, PA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 255 pages
• Publisher: Harvest Books; 1 edition (September 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0156005921
• ISBN-13: 978-0156005920
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #580,727 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is Must Read material for parents, November 21, 1999

By	Trish Kuper "goodteam" (Oklahoma, USA) - See all my reviews

I was not prepared for what I learned when I read this book. Dr. Cantor is very forthright in telling parents and caregivers the effects of television and movies on children. She reminds us that very young children process the world in a very different way from adults, and we, as adults, have to be very aware of that difference as we choose TV shows and Movies for our kids. She herself was surprised by some of the results of her research, and that honesty was refreshing.

Most interesting to me was the fact that some of these events were singular, ie, happened once, and the now-college aged students remember vividly their fear and their reactions to their exposure to certain shows.

It makes me, as a parent, realize that it is up to ME to serve as the filter through which my children's TV and Movie choices come. If I don't protect them, no one else will.

With the movie and TV ratings guided more by the bottom line than than a concern for our children's emotional welfare, it is even more vital that all parents become aware and actively involved in their kids' viewing habits.

I highly recommend it, but you may not like the conclusions you will probably draw from it. As for us, the tube is off, for now.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Too bad more parents aren't aware of this research, October 31, 2006

By	AvidReader "pinkpetunia" (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

Every parent should own this book, especially parents who THINK they know what "bad" content is. No parent in his or her right mind would allow a preschooler to watch programs featuring murder and mayhem, but sensitive parents realize that the most seemingly innocuous content can produce unexpectedly strong reactions in kids. By way of example, I'm reminded of a friend who was so frightened by a coconut that had a face carved in it (in a G-rated movie) that he refused to visit the grocery store produce section for months! This didn't go over well with his mother, as you can imagine. Cantor's book explains why such a thing occured by reviewing her extensive and rigorous program of research on the types of stimuli that produce fright reactions in children of different ages. It helped me understand why my husband had such strong fright reactions to nuclear war movies as an adolescent in the 80s, and why I was so afraid of clowns in the early 70s. The idea is that perceptual differences exist among kids in different developmental stages, and these differences can put them at risk for significant fright reactions that parents cannot always see coming. Cantor's book also deals with the most effective coping strategies for kids of different ages, thereby empowering parents to help their kids deal with fright reactions that couldn't be prevented (given that parents can't always preview what their kids see and that a G rating is no guarantee of fright-free content). With so many parents allowing their kids to watch the news these days, this book is more important than ever.

5 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars This is what is wrong with families today...., September 24, 2005

By	lori ray "nakin2527c" (Fort Bragg, NC) - See all my reviews

I don't need a book to tell me what my children should not watch. They watch what I put on for them to watch. Half the families in America today put television sets hooked up to cable/sat. in their children's rooms. These are the same parents that get their children internet access in their rooms. Later they want to complain that their children see violence on T.V. and sex on the internet. By the way, these are also the parents that complain about violent video games. Common sense is a beautiful thing and parents need to start using it. If you don't want your children to see "bad" movies, don't let them go to the movies. If you don't want them to see certain things on the interent, don't give them access. Hate video games? Easy, don't buy them, don't allow your children to have a game system at all. My personal favorite, if you are having a hard time keeping your children away from "bad" T.V., take away the T.V. Cancel your cable and rent family friendly dvds. Please stop allowing your children to run you and make their own choices. Learn to tell them "No, you can't always get what you want."