Go outside and play

Okay, this is me, around age 5 or 6--about the same age as the kids in a new study in the Kansas City Star, which basically found that TV is more violent than ever.

■ Nearly eight incidents of violence per hour. Even when Wile E. Coyote-era “cartoony” violence is extracted, the average dropped to only 6.30 incidents per hour. “To put this figure in perspective,” the report stated, “consider that in 2002 the six broadcast networks combined averaged only 4.71 instances of violence per hour” during prime time.
■ Nearly two cases of “verbal aggression,” like insults and abusive name-calling, every hour.
■ At least one “disruptive, disrespectful or otherwise problematic attitudes and behaviors” per hour.
■ Sexual content appeared, on average, 0.62 times per hour, usually in the form of provocative pictures of female characters.

My concern is that kids may see far more violent incidents on TV than they can even remember to ask you about. I'm not anti-TV. I'm just pro "go outside and play." I'd rather worry about a child climbing a tree and falling down, than worry about what he's watching on television.