Scary books, movies leave mark on children

SOUTH BEND -- When she was a little kid, Kimberly Wheaton, now 11, swore she'd never set foot in Texas.\nAfter seeing the horror film "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre," Kimberly wanted to hide. \n"I'm never going to Texas because they never caught (the killer)," she said.\nThough Daniel Contreras, 12, loves reading "Goosebumps" books now, he remembers being scared of them at age 6 when older kids told him about a man who cuts off people's heads in one book.\nWith Halloween just a scream away, experts remind us that what might be fun for older children and adults can be a long-term nightmare for young children.\nJoanne Cantor, a University of Wisconsin-Madison communications professor emerita who has studied the effects of mass media on children for 25 years, said for young children, seeing is believing.\n"For young kids up to the age of maybe 6 or 7, what something looks like is so much more important than anything else," Cantor said. "Their brain isn't developed fully, so what they take in through their eyes is important.\n"If they see a face that's distorted or something bloody or a facial expression that's angry or threatening, they will find that scary."\nEven things like E.T. that look scary but are "nice" on the inside can scare a kid.\nMary Wilham, a teacher at the IU-South Bend Child Development Center, is well-acquainted with the effects of scary images on children.\nOften, kids are frightened by a show or an event that seems geared to them, Wilham said, mentioning "Cinderella" and "Snow White" in particular.\n"There's always a scary part," she said. "Some will cry if they see something similar (to the frightening thing) or cling to a primary caregiver."\nCommon after-effects are nightmares, not wanting to sleep alone, becoming anxious in situations that shouldn't be scary and a racing heart and mind when recalling the memory.\nIf a young child does become scared by something like a movie or event, it's best to take the child out of the situation immediately, experts said. Don't wait for the happy ending.\nTheir fears are more likely to be quieted, Cantor said, "by giving them attention, warmth and reassurance, and by avoiding similar content in the future."\nBut, of course, it's harder to undo a fear than stop it in the first place, she said: "If you can, prevent it. ... An ounce of prevention is worth a ton of cure"