Not Much hope..

[JohnC6]

As I've mentioned in WAMT we returned from holiday on Tuesday and at the window seat, on the plane, infront of me was a six year old boy and next to him was his dad. Because I had a window seat behind the boy I was able to see what he had on his tablet as he leaned it against the left side (window side) armrest.

He drew what looked like a pair of scissors and suddenly two small figures appeared on top of an electricity pylon. The small figure on one end had a club and swung it from behind it/his shoulder and struck the other small 'person' on the side of the head a few times after which said victim was knocked off the pylon and went tumbling down to the ground. The kid was 'congratulated' and given 100 points. He then went back to drawing a pair of scissors and that lead to him getting back on top of the pylon again but this time with a pitchfork not a club. He jabbed the other small figure several times . Then an open 'pirates' chest appeared with the words..."More weapons" written on the inside of the lid and the kid chose a metal bar or similar and attacked the other figure with it until it was knocked off the pylon and again fell to the ground..I presume ,dead. The little figure waved the metal bar in victory. That seemed the end of that 'game'. Then a large canon appeared and the kid fired it at 'things' drifting in the sky above it.He was quite good at this and destroyed many of them. Then the trolley lady came round and dad got the kid a can of coke, a bag of chips, a miniature box of cheese and onion pringles and a chicken sandwich which annoyed me because he had the last one. I was going to have a chicken sandwich...lol.. I can't eat cheese,the only alternative, so I had nothing.

After the kid had eaten/drunk all this it was back to the tablet and the scissors. Up came a red bus..a double-decker bus like those in London. This time one small figure,who the kid, again, controlled had a club like the Flintstones had . He set about striking the other small figure until it/he/she was knocked off the top of the bus at which point the kid was awarded 200 points. Time was passing and dad got tired watching a film on his iPad and decided to sleep, resting his head on a neck support he had. The kid wasn't having any of that so he slapped dad on the face...not too hard but a slap nevertheless at which point Dad pushed the kid's arm/hand away but the kid immediately slapped dad again whereupon an arm tussle followed along with a few stern words.The kid then got back to his tablet and got up a map of the world. This had gone on for the whole of the just over four hour flight. He must have been awake since 8.00am because guests have to vacate rooms about 12 noon. It was dark as we descended into Birmingham airport and the kid was taken with the lights of the large towns and then Birmingham below us and for whatever reason decided to slap the window and then run his fingers around the seal. Just before this the trolley stewardess came round with 'last drinks/duty-free and dad got the kid another coke to keep for after we landed.

I can't see any good coming out of these violent games for kids as young as he was. It must become 'the norm' for them.

Effect of Violent Cartoons on Children's Behavior and Mental State

Understanding the impact of violent cartoons on children's behavior and mental state to provide appropriate parental guidance and prevent antisocial behavior.

www.medindia.net

A copy/paste from the article:

What is the Impact of Violent Cartoons?​

One study suggests that an average child is exposed to 2 lakh violent behaviors on TV by the age of 18. Many of these could be from unrealistic cartoons that appear harmless. Several popular cartoon shows portray violence in a comical or acceptable manner. Let us understand how violent cartoons can affect children:

• Cartoons normalize violence and make it seem common and acceptable
• Repetitive, unpunished, and realistic violence is likely to be mimicked by children
• Violent cartoons can lead to disobedient, nervous, and aggressive tendencies
• Cartoons can desensitize children to others sorrow, pain, and violence occurring around them
• Children may begin to view the cartoon characters as real life role models and the aggression shown can be internalized
• 78% of children felt scared to go to dark or lonely places after watching horror cartoon shows
• 71% of children think that killing or destroying enemies is the right thing to do
• Violent cartoons can lead to antisocial behavior
• Boys are more likely to imitate violent cartoons than girls

 

[Raincloud]

And then, you downloaded that game for yourself! Lol.....

Seriously though, i agree with what you are saying...

 

[Graham W]

Just for context...from 70 years ago.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcwkwxkmsCw

 

[swanseamale47]

Just for context...from 70 years ago.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcwkwxkmsCw

I loved these, and my all time favorite was Roadrunner. Yet I've never bought from Acme, or strapped myself to a giant catapult... Yet...

 

[Graham W]

I loved these, and my all time favorite was Roadrunner. Yet I've never bought from Acme, or strapped myself to a giant catapult... Yet...

I constantly find myself flattened by a 1 Ton weight!

 

[cambsno]

Yes, I loved tom and jerry, road runner etc... but not beaten anyone up yet with a frying pan.

Don't really get the criticism of kid having his food and drink - thats his dads responsibility not yours and its obviously a holiday so all normal rules are off.

 

[AndrewFlannigan]

Just for context...from 70 years ago.

Humour has always had a violent tinge to it and young children are more often fractious than not, when confined for long periods and one hour is a long time for small people.

For information: it seems that medindia is a commercial website, albeit with links to non-commercial organisations...

Medindia - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[JohnC6]

Just for context...from 70 years ago.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcwkwxkmsCw

Fair point and I watched some of it..it's 15 minutes long and was a bit noisy..lol. However, there was an underlying theme. Bad guy..the cat and good guy..the mouse. The cat was portrayed as a bully,too and Mr Bad guy. ..the villain. Having said that, Jerry clearly enjoys tormenting Tom. My view is that today's violent games..not cartoons...an important difference...are about gratuitous violence. These games,or ,at least the one the boy was watching, centred around the violence. and he was rewarded with points for what seemed to me killing the other character. I can well imagine children back in the 70's watching Tom and Jerry and laughing as Jerry,the mouse outwitted Tom the cat and Tom chased Jerry round the room trying to hit him with a saucepan and..crucially..missing.

Another aspect is that Tom & Jerry was on TV once a week but children can play these tablet games for as long as they can stay awake which also must have the effect of them experiencing disturbed sleep leading to a lack of attention in school.

But..yes, I take your point.

 

[cambsno]

Fair point and I watched some of it..it's 15 minutes long and was a bit noisy..lol. However, there was an underlying theme. Bad guy..the cat and good guy..the mouse. The cat was portrayed as a bully,too and Mr Bad guy. ..the villain. Having said that, Jerry clearly enjoys tormenting Tom. My view is that today's violent games..not cartoons...an important difference...are about gratuitous violence. These games,or ,at least the one the boy was watching, centred around the violence. and he was rewarded with points for what seemed to me killing the other character. I can well imagine children back in the 70's watching Tom and Jerry and laughing as Jerry,the mouse outwitted Tom the cat and Tom chased Jerry round the room trying to hit him with a saucepan and..crucially..missing.

Another aspect is that Tom & Jerry was on TV once a week but children can play these tablet games for as long as they can stay awake which also must have the effect of them experiencing disturbed sleep leading to a lack of attention in school.

But..yes, I take your point.

It's called a game - entertainment!! Just because you don't like it doesn't mean it's wrong. I can't see the point in fishing but would never criticise those that enjoy it.

Yes, using a phone for games, Facebook or anything else can affect sleep patterns but on a plane, I don't see the harm, nor really much different to watching a film.

 

[Graham W]

Fair point and I watched some of it..it's 15 minutes long and was a bit noisy..lol. However, there was an underlying theme. Bad guy..the cat and good guy..the mouse. The cat was portrayed as a bully,too and Mr Bad guy. ..the villain. Having said that, Jerry clearly enjoys tormenting Tom. My view is that today's violent games..not cartoons...an important difference...are about gratuitous violence. These games,or ,at least the one the boy was watching, centred around the violence. and he was rewarded with points for what seemed to me killing the other character. I can well imagine children back in the 70's watching Tom and Jerry and laughing as Jerry,the mouse outwitted Tom the cat and Tom chased Jerry round the room trying to hit him with a saucepan and..crucially..missing.

Another aspect is that Tom & Jerry was on TV once a week but children can play these tablet games for as long as they can stay awake which also must have the effect of them experiencing disturbed sleep leading to a lack of attention in school.

But..yes, I take your point.

And thanks for taking my post "In context". The violence portrayed in todays video games seems to be pitched at teens rather than toddlers. The violence is realistic and extreme but without consequence other than getting to the next stage of the game...It seems some players have an inability to differentiate between fiction and reality.

 

[JohnC6]

Yes, I loved tom and jerry, road runner etc... but not beaten anyone up yet with a frying pan.

Don't really get the criticism of kid having his food and drink - thats his dads responsibility not yours and its obviously a holiday so all normal rules are off.

It was junk food apart from the chicken sandwich, and Coca-Cola is awful for adults let alone children. I don't imagine for one minute that was a 'holiday' treat. I saw dad..you didn't.The boy was given ,not one..as a treat, which was your point, but two,

Re "it's his dad's responsibility not mine."I was going to ask if you don't have opinions on what other people do but I see on here that you have all manner of opinions, many of which are about subjects that you don't have responsibility for and are none of your business. I assume,then, that you don't think nutritionists, specifically those dealing with food/drink for children, ,shouldn't be giving advice ?

You don't need me to tell you all the shortcomings of Coca-Cola which is why experts in this field suggest to parents they don't give their children Coca-Cola but here are, imo, two top reasons.A single can of Coca-Cola contains around 39 grams of sugar, which is equivalent to nearly 10 teaspoons and gives a 'sugar rush' I think this is the more important one,though.

It contains a high level of caffeine which is a stimulant leading to increased heart rate, anxiety and difficulty sleeping As I said, the lad didn't stop for the full flight.His dad,on the other hand tried to get a nap. There's the high level of caffeine,too particularly for children and it can lead to increased heart rate, anxiety, and difficulty sleeping not to mention the addictive nature of it.

Here's another example of me having an opinion and not minding my own business. On one of of my overnight stays in a motel/hotel on my trips to the US I was having breakfast one morning when a family came into the dining room. Dad infront,the two children..about 5/6 years old followed by mum. Mum and dad were obese and the children fat..maybe obese,too. When they walked they 'wobbled' from side to side. just like a duck walks. For breakfast the children were given brightly-coloured cereal 'pops' of somekind and a large muffin and Coca Cola. A couple of my travel colleagues had plenty to say about that,too,one being a nutritionist and a discussin followed about the American diet. None of our grouop suggested we shoukdn't have an opinion or that it's the responsibility of the parents not anyone else .The parents needed educating about it.

 

[AndrewFlannigan]

You don't need me to tell you all the shortcomings of Coca-Cola ...

Don't like Coca-Cola.

On the other hand I do like Pepsi-Cola of the non-sugar, decaffinated kind. It's basically flavoured water and, so far as I can tell just suits my taste. However, I'm sure it will be possible to accuse one or more of the chemicals in it of endangering health. Then someone will come along and demand it be banned.



C'est la vie, in the land of the politically (in)correct...

 

[mj4456]

I never see much on a flight, the drone of the engines has me asleep soon after take off, especially on an early outbound journey.

 

[cambsno]

It was junk food apart from the chicken sandwich, and Coca-Cola is awful for adults let alone children. I don't imagine for one minute that was a 'holiday' treat. I saw dad..you didn't.The boy was given ,not one..as a treat, which was your point, but two,

Re "it's his dad's responsibility not mine."I was going to ask if you don't have opinions on what other people do but I see on here that you have all manner of opinions, many of which are about subjects that you don't have responsibility for and are none of your business. I assume,then, that you don't think nutritionists, specifically those dealing with food/drink for children, ,shouldn't be giving advice ?

You don't need me to tell you all the shortcomings of Coca-Cola which is why experts in this field suggest to parents they don't give their children Coca-Cola but here are, imo, two top reasons.A single can of Coca-Cola contains around 39 grams of sugar, which is equivalent to nearly 10 teaspoons and gives a 'sugar rush' I think this is the more important one,though.

It contains a high level of caffeine which is a stimulant leading to increased heart rate, anxiety and difficulty sleeping As I said, the lad didn't stop for the full flight.His dad,on the other hand tried to get a nap. There's the high level of caffeine,too particularly for children and it can lead to increased heart rate, anxiety, and difficulty sleeping not to mention the addictive nature of it.

Here's another example of me having an opinion and not minding my own business. On one of of my overnight stays in a motel/hotel on my trips to the US I was having breakfast one morning when a family came into the dining room. Dad infront,the two children..about 5/6 years old followed by mum. Mum and dad were obese and the children fat..maybe obese,too. When they walked they 'wobbled' from side to side. just like a duck walks. For breakfast the children were given brightly-coloured cereal 'pops' of somekind and a large muffin and Coca Cola. A couple of my travel colleagues had plenty to say about that,too,one being a nutritionist and a discussin followed about the American diet. None of our grouop suggested we shoukdn't have an opinion or that it's the responsibility of the parents not anyone else .The parents needed educating about it.

Junk food in moderation is fine. The only problem is if it's something you eat all the time. A few cans of coke or sweets etc... does little harm and life is about enjoyment.

My kids probably have plenty of junk food - crisps, sweets, occasional trips to McD etc... they are both in great physical shape, no fillings and very happy.

I get the point if you see an obese child, IMO that is neglect/abuse - so the US comment makes sense, but 90% of the population will have junk food at some point and as I said, on occasion its fine. There is a good fitness coach I follow, and he echos that - if you fancy a Big Mac meal every now and again it will do no harm

 

[JohnC6]

Junk food in moderation is fine. The only problem is if it's something you eat all the time. A few cans of coke or sweets etc... does little harm and life is about enjoyment.

My kids probably have plenty of junk food - crisps, sweets, occasional trips to McD etc... they are both in great physical shape, no fillings and very happy.

I get the point if you see an obese child, IMO that is neglect/abuse - so the US comment makes sense, but 90% of the population will have junk food at some point and as I said, on occasion its fine. There is a good fitness coach I follow, and he echos that - if you fancy a Big Mac meal every now and again it will do no harm

That's all fair comment,Simon but what irked me was your contention that because I wasn't the kid's dad I wasn't entitled to have an opinion about what I saw his dad giving him even if it was just a one-off which I din't think was the case taking other factors into consideration which, as I say, you wouldn't have been aware of.