Exposure to violence is perhaps one of the biggest threats to your children's emotional health. A child who is a victim of violence or a witness to it may requires a significant amount of therapy over the coming months and even years in order to improve his or her emotional health. As a parent, you have few jobs more important than keeping your children safe, and one way to accomplish this goal is to keep violence out of your home. This doesn't just mean not hitting your child; there are many other ways to prevent your child to being exposed to violence. Here are some suggestions:

Use Parental Controls On The TV

Children learn how to operate a TV remote at a very young age, meaning that even small children can grab the remote and scroll through the channels. Unless you wish to hide the remote and fully control your child's use of the TV — which is a good idea — you should always engage the parental controls on your TV. Doing so, which is typically attainable by loading the TV's menu option, gives you the ability to block out any channels that may show violence. Unfortunately, this leaves a very small selection of suitable channels, namely those that show children's programming.

Curb Your Discussion Of Violence

It's easy to fall into the habit of talking about violence with your spouse, older children, or guests to your home without necessarily realizing that you're doing it. Remember, your young children may be listening to this discussion and it may be highly upsetting. Whether you're talking about terrorism incidents you've seen on TV, the latest action movie that you're looking forward to seeing, or a knockout from a recent mixed martial arts bout that you watched, the talk of violence can be emotionally troubling to your child.

Limit Access To Violent Toys

Many children's toys have a violent nature. While playing with such toys may not upset your child to the point that counseling is necessary, the reality is that anytime you have violent-themed toys in the house, it's increasing the overall feeling of violence around your child. For some children, this may be emotionally upsetting. Toy guns, for example, will only encourage violent games. By keeping such items out of your children's hands for as long as possible, you'll be doing a key service in reducing their exposure to violence. Should you suspect that your child has seen violence in any manner and it's affected him or her, seek help from a mental health counselor.

Contact a counselor about childhood emotional trauma for more information and assistance.