Letter: What young people choose to watch

Sir: Your article entitled 'Howard retreats over video nasties' (12 April) annoyed me when I reached the paragraph quoting Michael Howard as saying that it is up to parents to censor what their children see. My wife and I have always thoughtfully censored what videos and computer games our children have access to in our own home. (How can we censor what they see elsewhere?)

The result of this censorship? The alienation of our children] They hate us because we do not allow them to see what all their friends are seeing. They accuse us of being old-fashioned and narrow because we care about what material they are exposed to.

We therefore have two options: to let them watch what the other kids at school watch and be liked, or to censor what they watch and be rejected. We are in this position because we have thrust upon us by the entertainment industry videos, films, TV programmes, computer games, pop music and pop groups which expose and encourage the lowest standards of human behaviour. They are doing it to make money. They profit by making available to youngsters material which they are not emotionally ready to handle.

Imposition of high rates of tax on violent videos might be a start to get this noxious evil off our backs. This problem can only be tackled by hitting the producers where it hurts - on the bottom line.

Yours faithfully,

P. L. CUMMINGS

Ilkley, West Yorkshire