Parents Cautioned to Monitor TV’s 9/11 Replays

Most children 4 and younger don’t realize that it’s a taped replay from Sept. 11 when television screens show the World Trade Center collapsing in a cloud of dust. They think it’s happening all over again.

Some NBC News executives were taken aback when told that by Harold Koplewicz, a psychiatrist and founder of the New York University Child Study Center.

The network has taken the unusual step of hiring Koplewicz as an advisor, realizing the hours of coverage planned for the one-year anniversary of the terrorist attacks could reverberate in unexpected ways.

“If we’re going to show images of the buildings falling down again, parents should be very concerned about the effect it will have on children,” Koplewicz said. “Children under age 5 should not be watching this.”

Koplewicz understands why the networks will cover the anniversary extensively. He’s hoping for a little sensitivity; maybe broadcasters can warn parents in advance when some of the more disturbing images will be shown again.

Film of people screaming and running away from the World Trade Center debris cloud is particularly upsetting to young people, he said.

“I frankly don’t see any value in kids seeing this,” he said. “What upsets kids is seeing adults out of control.”