I know when I was a kid it was all Sesame Street, Mighty Mouse and Tom and Jerry. Then when we got bigger maybe we would watch Little House on the Prairie or Full House. Star Trek TOS was about as cutting edge as it got.
Today, however, cartoons and youth oriented shows aren’t confined to Saturday mornings and one hour in the afternoon. We have Sponge Bob, Ben Ten and Avatar the Last Airbender at all hours, and the Disney channel runs non stop.
Hannah Montana and the stars of High School Musical have replaced Mary Kate and Ashley as today’s role models for girls. Drake and Josh rule the boys tube, with the Naked Brothers Band running a close second. (The WHAT Brothers Band??? Yeah, that was MY reaction, too.)
I got in a disagreement because my husband was watching ‘Alien’ the other day, and my almost ten year old was home. My friend said in a shocked voice “But - they say the ‘F’ word!!! And it’s scary!!!!”
I looked at her and shrugged. “My daughter knows better than to copy that,” I said. “I am more worried about her watching that stupid Raven, iCarly and Zoey 101. Do you hear the way those kids talk on those shows? They are mean and disrespectful, and they are ten years old going on nineteen. All they care about is their hair and their clothes, and who is dating who. And anyway, my daughter knows the aliens aren’t real. My real problem is Miranda Cosgrove! At least Sponge Bob doesn’t say anything worse than ‘Oh, barnacles!’ SHE calls her brothers ‘the boobs’.”
Needless to say, that didn’t go over so well. My friend thinks I am a horrible mom for letting my daughter watch ‘Alien’. I hold that it is no worse than watching the teenybopper shows, and at least it doesn’t pretend it’s real.
I don’t forbid my kids from watching their fave shows, but I DO try to give them a balanced idea of how far they are from reality. Ten year old girls don’t usually live in loft apartments with artsy older brothers. Twin boys don’t get to grow up in a hotel suite. And don’t you EVER tell me to ‘talk to the hand’. My hand will be talking to your bottom!!
Oh, yes, so true!
How can you keep your kids from seeing shows that might warp impressionable minds? You’d need one heckuva filter, plus blinders and earplugs. Then there’s the other kids at school…
It all comes down to great communication, doesn’t it? You can’t keep ‘em locked in a closet, can you? (Nope, that’s illegal!)
~Jim
I know! There is so much stupid attitudes today in kids shows and even if you ban them they hear about it at school. What to do?