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Rylee Bresnahan

Mrs. Granville

Period 2

11 November 2016

Violence at a Young Age Can Lead Them to More Violence

Violence and Aggression are not new to mankind. In the earliest days of human

experience, they were obviously necessary; without them we wouldn't be here today. (Kurland

XXI) Violence has been around for ages, and without it we wouldn't have became the people we

are. Violence can be good, just as it could be bad. It just depends on the situation the violence is

at. Like military men, using violence to defend themselves during war or attacks. Police fighting

against criminals. But now, violence has been taking a different rout. Children are now becoming

a main source of violent acts. Children are becoming more violent everyday. Violence in our

children is starting to be a concern with many of them often experiencing being bullied,

experiencing domestic violence, media violence, and being a witness to violence.

Nationwide, children are bullied everyday. It's a problem that's been happening for years.

We have found ways to decrease the problem of bullying, but it still finds a way to still being a

number 1 school problem. It's a type of harassment that can either be verbal or physical. Bullying

in elementary schools cause big issues when it comes to forming more dangerous violence as

you get older. Since the Columbine shooting, more victims of bullying want to get their revenge

just like the 2 teen shooters on April 20, 1999. 87% of kids admit to wanting to use lethal

violence as their main reason for seeking revenge (Newman). Now, young adults are following

a chain reaction and are wanting to do the same thing against their perceived bullies.
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(Newman) Teens who have been bullied since elementary want their bullies to feel the pain for

all the years they have been through it. ...Kalman insist that school shooters do not commit

mass killings because they want to bully people, but because they feel like the victim (Kalman

64). Kids don't want to become the bully, but because they are the victim, they want to stick up

for themselves so they don't get hurt anymore. For some of theses young adults, violence is used

as a defense mechanism against bullies (Newman). This could mean bringing in weapons to

schools or getting into physical fights to thwart school bullies (Newman). This leads to people

questioning whether these victims are really the victims in the end or just the bully.

Family is where the heart is. It's true. Family is a safe place to be when they are in need

of help or advice. Children are loved and taught in the ways of how to be who he/she are today,

but for some kids it's the complete opposite. In the past, hitting was an acceptable form of child

punishment. Now, because of the research that points to hitting, it is recognized that hitting

children can be detrimental to their physical and mental health and increases their risk of violent

behavior. The roots in people's lives frequently lie in their earliest experience (Kurland XXI).

Everything these young kids are learning at home, is used everyday. If a parent tells a kid the

color orange is blue, then that child will think and believe that. Saying this, kids at home being

abused will think it is normal. They will start to think that this is how they are supposed to be

treated. Each child, develops a different way on how they would respond to domestic violence.

Even if they know that it should not be happening to them the child will still stay for the fact that

it's the only family that they have and they love them. The parent can even try to control them

into making them stay by putting fear in their mind. Then the child will start to think this is how

everyone is and the relationship of the family will continue. As a child, that abuse will carry on
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with them throughout their life bringing them into a violent life as well and continue the process

called a cycle of violence. Meaning, that until the cycle of violence in the family is broken, then

domestic violence becomes a norm for generations of families. Most experts believe that

children who are raised in abusive homes learn that violence is an effective way to resolve

conflicts and problems (Effects Of Domestic Violence On Children). As an example, the

mother is getting abused by the father on an everyday bases. That child will grow up with a role

model of intimate relationships and use violence and intimidation to get what they want when

they want (Effects Of Domestic Violence On Children). They will use physical violence to

show they are in control. The United States has one of the highest rates of interpersonal

violence among all nations of the world. (Kurland 40) For example, it's when a person uses

power and control over another person such as bullying, domestic violence, and abuse. Breaking

the cycle is the key to success for domestic violence in later generations.

The media is huge. You can learn so much when it comes to television. How to build

friendship, how the earth rotates, or how animals live in the wild. It's endless on what you can

learn. Movies, videogames, and music are just as big as well. One question people ask is how

are theses kids learning how to become criminals and monsters? Well even though he/she can

learn a lot from media, sometimes theses messages are extreme and violent. This is called media

violence. Americans watch so much television and of it is physical violence (Kunkel 61).

Video Games are teaching kids how to rob a bank or how to shoot random people on the street.

Music is teaching kids bad language and terrible lyrics. Scary movies show different ways of

murdering people. Media is everywhere you go and you can't get away from it. You turn on the

tv, it's there. You watch a movie, it's also there. As exposure occurs over time, year in and year
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out, a child who is a heavy viewer of media violence is significantly more likely to be more

aggressive (Kunkel 60). Kids watching any type of media violence can learn and start to behave

the way they see it on TV. It makes you feel that you should be more physical in a problem than

just talking it out. Video games are known for being extremely violent. Teenagers, play video

games more than any other age group. A source says that the shooters at the Columbine High

School were centered around video games. (Kalman) This proves that teenagers get into the

game and want it to be a reality. They want to shoot people or rob banks because that's what they

love doing on the video game. Research says that young offenders have arisen as a result of the

theory that they are the vulnerable audience (Boswell 15). If television can teach a kid a life

lesson, then it can also teach them how to kill as well. Young adults brains are so easily

accessible that you can make them change how they act to how they feel and think. Monitoring

what children watch and what they play mite be a strategy to keep vulnerable children from

developing inappropriate coping skills.

A child being exposed to violence is a crucial thing. More children are exposed to

violence than adults are. It could prevent them with lasting mental health and have aggression

problems. Many children take the violence in different ways. They might be fearful and have

nightmares. Others change for the worst and use anger and aggression. By the time they turn 18,

young people will witness 40,000 killings and 200,000 violent incidents (Peterson 11).

Although it might be a little exaggerated, the belief that a child sees so much violence a day is

dangerous. Children learn from repetition. If they see this violence on the streets or in their own

home on a daily bases, then they will start to react the same way. Many victims become

perpetrators of crime in response to their own experience or witness(Peterson 12). When

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children repeat the violence they've witnessed, they will continue through the cycle of violence

in the future. You would think that because they are so young, they won't remember any of the

violence they have seen as a child. But, Exposure to children could affect the way they develop.

They can develop in the way that violence is the only way to solve problems and to get what they

want. Theses children need to find a better way to cope with all the violence they could be

seeing. The only way to help them with better relationship and understanding with the child and

attention.

Violence in children is a great concern. Tantrums are normal for children, as it's a helpful

way for them to deal with emotions. What needs to be done is , adults need to be more aware of

when a child goes through outburst of anger or aggression. Children are becoming more and

more violent as generations keep going. Being able to pick up signs is a great way to keep

potential violent children at ease. The amount of children becoming juvenile delinquents is

horrendous. There is no such thing as a child being born violent or a bad seed. A child

becomes this way due to the use of being bullied, being apart of domestic violence, media

violence and over exposure to violence. Keep your children loved at home, look at rating on

movies and tv shows to make sure it's age appropriate, and make sure your community is safe.

Think of the children before they become endangered.

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Works Cited

Boswell, Gwyneth. Violent Children And Adolescents: Asking The Question Why. John Wiley

and Sons, Inc, 2000. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost) Accessed 26 Oct. 2016.

Conniff, Ruth. Media Violence Leads to Callousness. Media Violence, Edited by Noel Merino,

Greenhaven Press, 2011, pp. 29-33.

Effects of Domestic Violence on Children. Domestic Violence Roundtable,

Subary-Wayland-Lincoln-Domestic Violence Roundtable, 2008,

www.domesticviolenceroundtable.org/effect-on-children.html. Accessed 27 Oct. 2016.

Kalman, Izzy, Bullying Contributes to School Shootings. Juvenile Crimes, edited by Louise I.

Gerdes. Greenhaven Press,2012. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in Context,

GALE%7CEJ30101494. Accessed 28 Oct. 2016.

Kaplan, Arline. Violence In The Media: What Effects On Behavior? Psychiatric Times, UBM,

1996,
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www.psychiatrictimes.com/child-adolescent-psychiatry/violence-media-what-effects-beh

avior, Accessed 5 Oct. 2016.

Kunkel, Dale. Television Violence Increases Aggression in Children. Media Violence, Edited

by Noel Merino, Greenhaven Press, 2011, pp. 60-66

Kurland, Morton L. Coping with Family Violence. The Rosen Group Inc, 1986, pp. 40.

Moeller, Thomas G. Youth Aggression and Violence: A Psychological Approach. Routledge,

2001, Ebook Collection (EBSCOhost), Access 25 Oct. 2016.

Newman, Katherine. Rampage: The Social Roots Of School Shootings. Basic Books, 2004,

Ebook Collection (EBSCOhost), Accessed 27 Oct. 2016.

Peterson, Bart. Media Violence Has A Harmful Effect on Young People. Media Violence,

Edited by Noel Merino, Greenhaven Press, 2011, pp. 11-22.