HELPLINE TO SAVE TELEVISION NIGHTMARES
2 JULY 2002
A new freecall Helpline designed to help parents cope with the
harmful impact of the media on their children's lives was launched
today by Senator Jeannie Ferris at the Museum of Sydney.
Set up by Young Media Australia, the new Young Media Australia
Helpline (1800 700 357) is a direct response to pleas from many
parents who have had first hand experience of the potential harm
that television programs, films and computers can have on the young.
In 1999, 10-year-old Genevieve Ooms of Melbourne was hospitalised
after becoming traumatised and psychologically 'trapped' inside
the video Scream which she had seen at a sleepover. Her father Michael
began lobbying the government to provide parents with a service
that would help them in such a situation.
Young Media Australia (formerly the Australian Council for Children's
Films and Television) took up Michael's issue and received funding
under Stronger Families initiative from Department of Family and
Community Services to set up the Helpline.
Senator Ferris said the Helpline aimed to raise community awareness
about potential harms of inappropriate media exposure. She said
that the government believed services such as this would help to
strengthen families and quoted US researcher Joanne Cantor as saying
that the Australian Government was leading the way internationally
in funding such a service to parents.
"Parents can guide their children to safe media use if they
themselves understand the issues and have some skills in dealing
with them. The Helpline operators can help them with this."
Michael Ooms said Genevieve had made a complete recovery, but
it was something he didn't want any other Australian family to go
through, so he was pleased if he had made a difference.
Steve Biddulph, top selling author and family psychologist, said
that almost all Australian children have been harmed by seeing inappropriate
television and movies. "If you have a child who is anxious,
aggressive or has attention problems, their television habits are
the first place to look" he said. "Parents haven't been
told enough about why violent movies harm children, or how TVs in
children's bedrooms, for example, can harm their mental health."
The Helpline is expected to receive hundreds of calls per week
nationwide.
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