year-old, says her child started having nightmares after he was exposed to scenes of children dying in Gaza on TV. “The deaths of innocent children as a result of Israel's air strikes not only hurt Palestinians, it is also affecting adults who feel that they are helpless for not being able to do anything for their brothers and sisters in Gaza. Children are also badly affected, since they feel sorry for the other children in Gaza,” said Yamani. Layth, Maryam's youngest son was shocked after he watched a Palestinian child, identified as Sojoud Al-Badrasawi, who was killed in an Israeli air strike that targeted a neighborhood east of Gaza city. “My child stopped eating for one day until I spoke with a psychologist who told me that the best way to deal with my child's situation is to explain to him what is happening and shield him from graphic images on TV,” she said. “It is the right of every Muslim to see what is happening in Gaza and how inhuman the Israelis are, but children cannot understand the situation --especially if they are young, like my son,” she added. With most TV channels focusing on the heartrending images of death and damage in Gaza, a huge wave of sadness and anger has enveloped people the world over -- more so in the Arab and Muslim world. Children are the most sensitive and impressionable members of society, and are negatively affected by the horrific scenes depicting dying and injured Palestinian children in the Israeli attacks on Gaza. Nashwa Moammar, 42, a mother of 8-year-old twins said, “I don't like my children to sit and watch the war on TV because it's full of violence. The look on my children's faces after they see other children the same age being killed and injured isn't a pleasant sight. I feel viewing these images will be harmful to them and they might get morbidly afraid.” “Putting codes on all news channels and blanking them all is impossible, since there are more than a hundred news channels,” she said. Violence on television affects children negatively according to psychologists. Children may become less sensitive to the pain and suffering of others, while others could become fearful of the world around them. Some children may be more likely to behave in aggressive ways toward others. Usually, parental supervision of youngsters watching TV is often minimal or nonexistent. Many children do not have any parental rules limiting their time in front of the television or the kinds of programs they may watch. “It is totally wrong to let children sit in front of the TV and let them watch scenes of violence -- including the ongoing war in Gaza,” said Azza Abu-Bakur, a sociologist at King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah. “It could affect them in a very bad way.” “Parents should be aware of what their children watch and should explain to them what is happening in the world. They should not let children see graphic images on TV because all this killing and violence may harm them psychologically,” she added. Bander Al-Jeffrey, a father of a one-year-old daughter said, “I don't allow my child to watch these kind of scenes on TV because she is too young to be exposed to this kind of violence.” He also noted that he wants her to have a better picture of the world as she grows up, because he was exposed to similar scenes when he was a child and recalls being extremely frightened then. Fazluddin Dawood, a father of two children said, “I never want my children to hate the outside world; my wife and I usually control what they watch.” Even while watching regular films, when it comes to certain violent scenes we tend to shut off the TV “We as grown ups feel terrible when we see dead children; how will the young children feel?” he added. Dania Kutubi, a psychiatrist at a private elementary school in Yanbu said, “TV news has increased over the last six years and there are many more graphic images being screened today than before. Children could be frightened from the harsh violence they see on TV, especially from news about the war. It might affect them mentally and cause them to behave with extreme aggression and hate other people as well.”
