• Pro Wrestling: Lewd, Crude, and on your Tube
• Does Media Violence Really Affect Children?
• Did You Know?
• Become a "MediaWise" Family
• National Institute's Teen Parent Pilot Program Produces Dramatic Results
• Welcome, Linda Bowen!

As the kindergarten teacher looked up from her desk, she was stunned to see a five-year-old boy making a sexually obscene gesture to a girl in the next row. The experienced teacher quickly intervened and drew the boy into the hallway for a private "teaching moment."

"But they do it on wrestling all the time," the boy pleaded.

The teacher looked him right in the eye. "That may be true, but we will not act like that in this school. I'm sure you don't know what it means, but what you did was very rude."

"Oh, I know what it means," was the response. Before she could finish the sentence, the five-year-old interrupted her with an anatomically graphic description of exactly what the gesture meant.

This was not an uninformed, easy-to-shock teacher who told me this story during a break in a teacher workshop I was conducting. She was a veteran who has been around kids for years. "How can parents let their kids watch that stuff?" she asked.

Professional wrestling is wildly popular. It dominates the cable TV ratings on a regular basis. More than six million households tune into "Raw is War" and over five million watch "Smackdown."

It’s not surprising that more than a third of the wrestling audience is under 14 years of age since it is heavily marketed to kids.

Action figures and clothing for children as young as 18-24 months are staples of the marketing machine. Wrestling t-shirts are common attire in schools where they haven't been banned.

If you think that all this is harmless and that the worst of pro wrestling is oversized behemoths tossing one another around the ring, you haven't seen it lately. Sexual violence, simulated sex acts, foul language, and over-the-top crudeness are routine.

While the recent tragic deaths resulting from kids imitating pro wrestling moves make the headlines, the concerns don't stop there. The widespread impact is on the norms and attitudes that children and youth pick up from this "entertainment."

Teachers and schools can only do so much. They should ban wrestling clothing and make it clear that wrestling moves and obscene gestures are out of bounds.

But the real responsibility is up to us parents.

A simple "No" should be our response to the shows, the clothing, the action figures, and the games. Just because pro wrestling is obviously fake doesn't keep the rude and crude behavior from moving like a virus through the millions of kids who watch it.

A year-long 98/99 study of World Wrestling Federation's "Raw is War" by Indiana University revealed:

• Grabbing one's crotch - 1,658 incidents
• Giving the "finger" - 157 incidents
• Simulated sex - 128 incidents
• Simulated drug use - 42 incidents
• Urination/talking about/simulation - 21 incidents
• Prostitution as a character role - 20 incidents

The National Association for the Education of Young Children focuses on three effects of media violence:

• Children may become less sensitive to the pain and suffering of others.
• Children may be more likely to behave in aggressive or harmful ways towards others.
• Children may become more fearful of the world around them.

The attorney for a 13-year-old boy accused of killing a six-year-old playmate by slamming her into a table has subpoenaed Hulk Hogan and another wrestler to testify at his client's upcoming murder trial. The boy was mimicking wrestling moves he had seen on TV.
    - Associated Press, Miami 3/21/00

"Raw is War" (World Wrestling Federation) cable show is watched weekly by five million households, making it the highest rated cable television show.
    - Newsweek, February 7, 2000

It is estimated that 15% of the audience for wrestling shows - more than 1 million viewers - is 11 years or younger.
    - U.S. News and World Report, 1999

More tips are available here

1. Practice "appointment TV."
   Go through the TV guide on Sunday and decide as a family what shows to watch that week. When you sit down to watch the program watch only that program, do not channel surf.
   (The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children watch television no more than 1 to 2 hours per day.)
2. Create a coupon system.
   Make coupons for your children that they can redeem for a special activity in exchange for one hour of electronic media.
3. Keep the TV out of the bedroom!
   (National Institute research shows that children who do not have a TV in their bedroom do better in school.)

One of the national MediaWise Certification Program pilot sites included teen parents in the Minneapolis school district. In just one month, we've seen astonishing results:

• The amount of time that the parents spend reading to their children each day increased 600 percent.
• More than half of the parents changed what TV or videos their children are allowed to see by paying attention to the ratings.
• 72 percent said they do now allow their children to watch mature programs since participating in the program.
• 55 percent say their children watch less TV.

The Institute welcomes another new member to its nine-person Board of Directors. Linda K. Bowen is the Executive Director of the National Funding Collaborative on Violence Prevention (NFCVP). She has more than 16 years of experience in program administration and development, policy analysis, and research in areas such as legislation, family advocacy, and programs for children and families. To learn more about the NFCVP, visit its web site at: www.nfcvp.org.

Editor: LaDonna Seely Coudron
Writing and Design: Kathleen Pyne Orme, St. Paul

Permission is granted to copy any or all parts of this newsletter as long as the National Institute on Media and the Family is credited and its phone number is listed.