Television has been around for over a half century. The first view of TV in the United States took place at a World's Fair in 1939, but standard television broadcasting did not begin until the late 1940s. Worry about the influence of television on children began when TV was in its early years. Early on in the 1950s, educators and parents began to ask legislators to "do something" about the amount of violence on TV. This concern still exists today. Parents have reservations about the quality of television programs intended for children, the amount of advertising aimed at young viewers, and the manner in which television depicts men, women and ethnic minorities. There are also apprehensions about the effects of the amount of time that children spend watching television in general.

The quality of children's programming has changed over the years. Violence on television is increasingly gaining acceptance from...