Childrens' Movies Setting a Bad Example

If you have children than you're used to watching children's movies. But some of those movies might be sending them the wrong message.

It looks like kids might be getting the wrong idea about unsafe behaviors from these movies.

The American Academy of Pediatrics just released a study looking at children's movies and how well those in the movies used safe behaviors like wearing seat belts and bicycle helmets. It turns out these movies aren't doing as well as you'd think.

They looked at G and PG rated movies and found that only around twenty five percent of bicyclists in those movies wore helmets and thirty five percent of pedestrians used crosswalks. But perhaps more concerning, seat belts were worn in only around one half of the scenes involving a vehicle.

The concern here is that children tend to copy what they see on TV and in the movies. And in these children's movies, the characters never had bad outcomes from their bad practices. So if kids see someone having fun and doing well without a bicycle helmet or a seat belt, their more likely to forget to use them as well. But for real life children the results can be devastating.

That doesn't mean to stop watching these types of movies. Instead use it as a great learning tool. Bring up the fact that someone isn't wearing a helmet or seat belt and explain why that's a very bad idea, even though it's a good movie.