the story
This is a "duh-- really?" sort of story. Kind of like when the breaking news cries "eating a bowlful of lard a day will make you fat!"
How do you restrict media content at your house?
Admittedly, I rarely have to say no because we don't have cable and my boys aren't all that interested in TV. But between The Office and DVDs (usually romantic comedies that I rent) my kids certainly see more sexually explicit content than I'd like.
What are your thoughts?
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9 comments:
No Sh!t Shirley....is what I thought when I saw this.
Um, b, I think the correct use is No sh!t SHERLOCK. I know that you don't ever curse, so you wouldn't know. I am married to a cursing soldier, you know, so I am an expert :)
I am reasonably disturbed, though, at the way that teen sex and teen "relationships" are so commonplace on television now. They are a major afterthought. (I say reasonably disturbed because you know I am totally watching all of those shows. But there is no way my kid is watching them.)
Interestingly enough, my two pregnant teenage friends watch--more than anything--Nick and Disney. Neither of them have any interest in soaps or S&TC.
I'm wondering if this is more of a correlative relationship than a direct causal one. Because, honestly, if a person is letting their young teenage daughter watch sex in the city, don't you imagine there are some other significant issues with parenting and discipline?
So, for watching such fare, the kids are getting the double whammy of the message of promiscuity plus the laxness in parental attitude about such behavior.
That's probably not new to anyone reading this, though.
I don't know what we will do when our son is old enough to want to watch tv and watch questionable shows. I mean, obviously not let him watch stuff like that, but not sure about the communicating with him about it all and handling it in a way that is helpful more than hurtful, if that makes sense.
As far as causal vs. correlative, I think it is probably both. As a fairly responsible adult I saw my values/humor change with what I watched quite a few years ago, as things against my values became more normal, acceptable, etc.
Yes, I do think it's correlative and it's watching SATC is probably more common among teens than we think. Like you said Wendy-- I've seen my own standards drop. And while I have no desire to be a self-righteous prude, I know I need to be careful about what comes in my house. My oldest didn't see a PG-23 movie until he was 13. My six year old (5th child) has already seen several.
One of the interesting things I've noticed as a parent is how the exposure can be so much different for the oldest versus the youngest.
It was much easier to regulate TV exposure when I was the only one with the clicker.
*sigh*
I stand corrected.
I still think Shirley sounds funnier.=)
My seester, my cousin, and I went on a girls night out when she was here for a visit last. We went to see SATC-the movie.
I was really embarrassed.
I am not a prude by any means...but that was pron! pron!pron!pron!
And now I'll restate the obvious question (justine said it better)...
Who let's their kid watch that?
I took my daughter and one of her girl-friends to Barnes and Noble Saturday to read, look at books, drink hot chocolate, etc. There was a big display at the end of an aisle with a big pink heart sign that said, "Porn for Women". And there were a bunch of books, presumably salacious romance novels or something.
I was totally aghast that it would be an actual marketing ploy!
Oh, the office, I love it, but I find myself muting a lot when my kids are in hearing distance. I haven't let them discover it yet because we don't do TV on the weekdays, too much with school.
Here's how we're handling it. Do they feel comfortable watching it with us? Then they can watch it. I should use my same measuring stick.
The other thing is that we talk openly, but appropriately, about sex when it comes up in the media, wherever that is. Curiosity about something that everyone else is experiencing and talking about seems to be a big motivator to teens.
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