We need to stop blaming TV and society in general for the disgraceful behavior our kids are thinking is acceptable. Our children are accessing this smut thru technology that we as parents pay for. And worse than that, when we mindlessly give it to them, do we ever follow up on what they are viewing? Parents are so worried about offending their children’s sense of privacy that we send the message; if we can’t see the trash you are viewing, we won’t object to you having it.
The material on television has been on a steady decline in the ethical department. But until recently you had to pay cable services to receive rubbish. Now, thanks to a new law passed just a few months ago, the regulations have been relaxed, allowing foul language on general access, non-paid for programming, before 10 PM. And the shows wasted no time obliging the courts!
Common language also now reflects our newly acceptable vulgar side. In the last five years or so, young people and celebrities began to describe un-pleasantries as “this sucks!” Rather than us adults displaying better judgment by saying “that sounds terrible” and offering alternatives, we joined them!
It is time to take control, oversee and offer alternatives to the trash we allow our children to access. Don’t grumble and don’t say this idea is off base because I have the perfect example of us as parents enabling the bad behavior of our children.
This past weekend, at a local bookstore, a young “lady” who recently co-authored a book (sort of), made a PR appearance to autograph them. Thanks to news reports we are painfully aware that on a “reality” cable TV show, of which she is a regular cast member, this young “lady” has a foul mouth, uses inappropriate gestures, and has a tendency to flash her unclothed body parts at co-stars and the cameras. For some unfortunate reason members of the same “reality cast” seem to suffer from amnesia, because it is also often reported how they fall into the beds of others!
To my point, around 1,200 people showed up to view this spectacle and the majority were 13 to 17 years of age. This meant that their parents had to know they watched this show; the kids had to be driven to the store and have been given the money to plunk down to buy the book. It comes down to parents reinforcing the acceptance of poor behavior by way of making available technology, expendable currency, the paid cable bill and allotting special bonding time with their children for such a festivity.
We can’t complain about the behavior of our youth if we aren’t willing to be good examples. Just a thought!
RW – 2/8/11
