Wrestling Wannabes
Move over WWF wrestlers, there’s competition in the backyard. The World Wide Federation heroes may be acting in the ring, but kids are now trying the moves on their own at home and many are getting hurt.
Fifteen year old Chris Donnally broke a wrist and strained an elbow mimicking the pros moves at home in his basement. Chris, like many boys his age, has the wrestling fever. He identifies masculinity with the pseudo sport, stays glued to the tube for matches unless ring side seats are available, and models his words and behavior after the tattooed, muscle massed vaudevillian characters he follows in World Championship Wrestling.
His parents are concerned. Experts are appalled. The major criticism: boys are hurting themselves trying to make the moves in real life that their heroes only fake. “Pile Driving” which involves holding your opponent upside down and then smashing his head into the ground can cause serious, even life-threatening injuries.
Further, parents and experts are concerned about wrestlers foul language, crude gestures, violent outbursts and sexual inferences. Both fear wrestlers model dangerous moves and bad behavior.
What
Parents Should Know
What Parents Can Do:
Monitor what your child watches on television - If you allow your child to watch wrestling, watch with him or her and explain that many of the moves are fake and are should not be tried on friends.
Monitor the Internet – Amateur wrestlers are finding fame on line. Underground backyard wrestling is gaining popularity. Many teens are staging weekly wrestling matches, videotaping them, and then broadcasting the matches over the net.
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“I love wrestling. It makes me feel like a man. Even though I broke my wrist and strained my hamstring, I still get a thrill out of backyard wrestling and follow it on the internet with my friends.” --Chris Donnally, age 15 |
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When Kids Watch What do kids see when they watch the World Wide Federation Wrestling? A report released by Indiana University and Inside Edition after researchers monitored “WWF Raw” found the following:
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A Different Opinion While some experts
and parents are concerned about the influence of wrestle mania on
today’s kids, others say parents have no right to complain if they
allow kids to watch. Tara Gladden in “Intuition: Is Today’s Wrestling
for Kids?” writes: “There are several options parents may wish to
consider. Several which include, changing the channel and/or taping
it to watch after the kids are asleep, or even leaving the kids
with a baby sitter when going to an event . |
Sobering Statistics:
- Kids age 6 to 11 make up 13% of those who watch WCW wrestling.
- 1/3 of WWF’s Monday Night Audience is under age 17.
- The FCC received nearly 500 complaints about the WWF’s advertisements during the Super Bowl.
- Wrestling shows are rated TV-14.
- Kids can view wrestling on pay per view, and cable networks as often as four nights per week.
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Resources
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National
School Safety Center |
For
more information on parenting issues contact us: Connecting with Kids |