By Alex Esarey

This blog is a summary of the book The War Play Dilemma by Dianne Levin and Nancy Carlsson-Paige. A teacher, Alex Esarey who used to work at SLC read the book and wrote this summary for SLC staff and parents. The book is a vital resource for adults who are concerned about the influence of violence as seen via the media (television, movies, video games, and media-linked toys).

It’s obvious to anyone who spends time with youth that they are fascinated by “war play”, be it ninjas or something similar. And no wonder: the amount of violence has been increasing steadily since we were children. For example, each Power Rangers episode averaged about 100 acts of violence, twice as many as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It is estimated that by the end of elementary school, the average child will have seen 8,000 murders and 100,000 other acts of violence seen on the TV screen (as of 1999- I can only imagine that these numbers have since increased!)

But does violent TV really equate into anything? After all, many of us loved watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles when we were children and we are completely well-adjusted adults. However, the American Academy of Paediatrics, the American Medical Association, and the American Psychological Association warns that after reviewing hundreds of studies, they have found that there is a definite connection between media violence and aggressive behaviour in youth, and that children who are exposed to violent media become desensitized to violence in real life. In other words: children exposed to violent media at a young age are more likely to engage in violent and aggressive behaviour later in their life.

However, here is the catch: not all war play is bad. The book goes into greater detail, but here is the gist: there are two types of war play.

1. War play as play. This kind of war play is healthy for children. Each play session is different and unique. (For example, one day it might be dragons vs. witches; the next day mermaids vs. monsters.) It allows children to work through important developmental issues such as separation, feelings of control/power, impulse control, and a sense of mastery over violent content (such as working through seeing something violent on the news channel).
2. War play as imitation. This type of play is when the same “script” is used again and again; there is no creativity involved, and there is no resolution, evolution, or conclusion to the story (leaving the child feeling empowered). More often than not, they are literally repeating what they have seen on TV. Media-based toys encourage this sort of play. It creates violence into something fun, exciting, and innocent. The children do not seem to explore that violence, its effects on others, or alternatives to the violence. They do not learn any deeper lessons from their play, but simply reconfirm the images of glorification of violence as seen on TV.

 

Unfortunately, war play as play is seen less and less; play is becoming more violent and militaristic than it has in the past. Why? Rather than using their creativity, they are simply imitating what they see on TV. So how do we find a healthy medium? How do we allow our children to process their developmental issues while keeping them innocent?

There are five different ways to approach war play: 1) ban all war play, 2) take a laissez-faire approach, 3) allow war play, with limits, 4) actively facilitate war play, and 5) limit war play but provide alternative ways to work on the issues.

The authors of The War Play Dilemma suggest option four and option five. I would recommend reading the book for specifics, but here is some general information about those tactics:

• Tactic four: actively facilitate war play: this approach allows the child to work through developmental issues, as well as engage in creative thinking. However, it demands a high level of attention and participation in play. As the adult, it is your role to suggest new roles, offer new materials, and assume a role in their play. Most importantly, it is the role of the adult to ensure the play has the political and moral ideas that are desired. For example, you will play about topics such as enemies and friends, good and bad, war and peace- all this is within the realm of influence. This option is an excellent one, but requires a high level of involvement from adults. As such, at school (due to child to adult ratio) I use the next model, tactic five.
• Tactic five: limit war play, but provide alternative ways to work on the issues: this method allows children to explore war play themes through alternative methods, such as art, drawing, building, conversations, and using children’s books. For example, instead of becoming Spider Man, tactic five would encourage the children build a house for Spider Man. When we implement Option 5, we tell children we are banning war play because children are getting hurt, or that it’s too scary. At the same time, we can suggest what they can do, such as having a special time when they can make pictures about the themes they like. This tells the children we are interested in their interests and willing to talk about what interests them.

Here are some guidelines for resolving the war play dilemma:

1. Limit children’s exposure to violence, including violent media and products linked to it.
   1. Learn about the TV shows they are watching.
      1. Great alternatives to violent media include: Dora the Explorer, The Bearnstain Bears (I would recommend the 2003 TV show, not the 1980’s version; the 2003 version contains fewer “potty words”), The Magic School Bus, Sesame Street, Wishbone, Bubble Guppies, The Backyardigains, and Go, Diego, Go! (Note: I have not personally seen the last three on this list; so I cannot personally vouch for them).
   2. Work out routines as to when media are and are not consumed. Having definite times of the day when children watch TV can help avoid constant nags.
   3. When children do see violence, help them deal with what they have seen.
2. Help children learn to engage in creative and meaningful dramatic play of all kinds.
   1. Actively introduce new content into their lives, such as new characters.
3. When children engage in war play, learn as much as you can about the nature of their play and the issues they are working on.
   1. Where do children get the ideas for the scripts; from direct experience, their imagination, or from TV?
   2. What is the degree to which children are imitating and repeating a particular script over and over?
   3. What are possible developmental issues they are working through?
4. In children’s war play, address the issues raised by both the developmental and socio-political sides of the war play dilemma
   1. Know the “scene” in the popular culture that is influencing war play. Watch your children’s shows; see what they are really all about.
   2. Foster early political ideas in ways that build the concepts revealed in the play in less militaristic, more humanistic directions. For example: “where does the bad guy go when he’s not fighting?”
   3. Try to avoid placing adult value judgements on their play.
   4. Use open ended questions and comments related to the violence to help children find new problems to solve and to get beyond the narrow focus of violence.
5. Work to counteract the lessons about violence and stereotyping that children may be learning.
   1. Try to humanize the enemy.
   2. Help sort out hat is pretend and what is real.
6. Talk to our government! Many other countries have already struck a better balance between our children’s and corporate interests. Sweden and Norway have restrictions on the sale of war toys, Malta prohibits their importation, Greece bans TV ads directed to children, and Australia places restrictions on war toy imports. It’s time for America to step up to the plate!

In conclusion, I believe that violent media can be very damaging to children. Unfortunately, it is all around us; it’s at Target and on the TV. It’s our job as adults to know what to do with this, the War Play Dilemma. Here is an additional article, Beyond Banning War and Superhero Play, that is a great read.

If you have any questions or would like to talk about this topic further, please do not hesitate to reach out!

“Do not tell them how to do it. Show them how to do it and do not say a word. If you tell them, they will watch your lips move. If you show them, they will do it themselves.” Maria Montesorri