Scary movies scare a third of kids at night: Survey

SCARY movies and TV programs are responsible for almost one third of childrens scary thoughts at night, an Australian survey has found.

Sydney, Sept.5 : SCARY movies and TV programs are responsible for almost one third of children's scary thoughts at night, an Australian survey has found.

The results of a survey of Victorian children was analysed to find what triggered common bedtime fears, news.com.au reports.

It was found that the mass media, mainly cinema and television, was largely responsible.

The study, presented at an international sleep conference in Cairns, showed 29 per cent of 511 children aged 8-16 took their fear trigger directly from the media.

About 15 per cent linked their fears to a traumatic event like a grandparent's death or bullying at school, and 18 per cent appeared to be mimicking fears felt by a parent or sibling.

The Monash University researchers also found that for about 35 per cent of kids, parents were inadvertently fuelling their fears by reinforcing them when their child got upset.

Lead researcher Jocelynne Gordon said night-time fears were normal, with two thirds of the sample reporting scary thoughts after bedtime, including about half of 16-year-olds.

A fear of intruders was most common, followed by a fear of noises and then bad dreams, according to previous findings.

Affected kids often resisted going to bed and had disturbed sleep.

One third of children said they had not told anyone about their troubled thoughts, a figure Dr Gordon said reiterated the role of parents in helping to stem the problem.

ANI