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<title> PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITY TOWARDS VIOLENCE ON TELEVISION </title>
The article 'Locking out violence' is mainly about how to lock out gratuitous violence from television in the USA. One idea of how to do this is the V chip. The V chip is a technological chip which identifies the level of violence in a film, and makes it possible for parents to choose a level of 1 to 4. The chip will then delete any film more violent than the level set by the parents. 

In this essay I will reflect on parental responsibility towards violence on television in Sweden and discuss this.

What broadcasts today on television makes it complicated for parents to choose what is suitable for his or her child compared to twenty years ago. In the 1970s children's programme choice was limited and what was broadcast was of a more pedagogic and educational nature, not violent, for instance Fem myror r fler n fyra elefanter. There are pedagogical children's programmes today too, for example Hjrnkontoret, but since there are so many other programmes to choose from it is harder for a parent to notice what is good for the child or not. 

Also the animated films of today differ from the cartoons of the 70s. Back then there were only cartoons like Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse, which are also shown today, but now there are other animated films too, for instance Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles, which is more realistic violence than Donald Duck. In the older cartoons the violence is so unrealistic and extreme, that it is logic to a c hild to realise that this kind of violence cannot exist in real life. For example flying birds, stars, going flat after a hit, look like an accordion etc. The new kind of animated films are a lot more violent and they also contain virtual violence, such as guns, kicks and a tougher language. Both parents and children might think that it is just animated films, but it is the content that counts. Parents have to be watchful of what kind of cartoons they let their children watch.

Animated films for an older audience are coming more and more in our society. For example almost every new film from Disney, like The Lion King I and The Lion King ž II, are only allowed from the age 11. The Simpsons is another animated TV-series with an older target audience.

What I remember as the most violent and frightening on television were the news. The news show reality without any mentionable cencorship. There are, however, news for children too. In the 70s there were Barnjournalen with Bengt Fahlstrm and now there is Lilla Aktuellt. These programmes are educational, pedagogical and appropriate for children to watch. They also explain how things work and why people are fighting in some parts of the world etc. Lilla Aktuellt is produced for children and the language is adapted to children. 

We can all agree that parents are responsible for their children's televiewing, but we cannot agree on where to draw 'the line and put a limit to what they are allowed to watch and at what age. In general it is common for children to have a certain curfew when they are supposed to go to bed and this is usually before the more violent programmes on television are showed. If the children are awake, it is also good for the parents to join them in their watching and explain to them what is happening and why things are like they are. The most important thing for parents to know is that they are not supposed to use the television as a baby-sitter. 

To lock out violence from the television is rather difficult and it is also up to each parent to decide what is allowed and not. Today it is possible to limit the violence on the computers, and maybe it is a good idea to be able to do this on television too. The proposed V chip in the USA is a good idea for families with children, but as I said before, it is up to each family to decide where to draw the line.
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