Sex is no different. They are going to hear about it, regardless of what kind of crap they're playing on TV. I knew what sex was before I reached the 3rd grade...why? Because kids talk. Someone finds out, and the next day, everyone knows. It IS going to happen.
I knew all about it in first grade since Merk tainted me and subjected me to Skin-emax in his basement. =P
Well then, you have 15 kids and are a TERRIBLE person, right?
aspen wrote:Let's make "fuck" an acceptable word on all channels but kids stations...and abortion legal everywhere with no age limit and free...
Abortion doesn't have a god damn thing to do with language, so don't even bring that up.
This thread isn't really about just language... it's about what's appropriate for the public (including children)
The public is made up of so many different groups of people, and I don't see why the prudes are the ony ones allowed to make judgement calls for the rest of us.
Perhaps it's because parents these days are incapable of raising their own children, and expect the media to do it for them. If you teach your kids common sense and some decency, it doesn't matter what's on TV, or what words are on the radio. But, it seems people are afraid to actually put forth the effort to instill values in their own children.
[soapbox time]
As one of the only people on this board who actually HAS kids, I think I can speak with some degree of experience about the subject. My daughter is 11 years old (she'll be 12 in a few weeks), and I don't ever worry that TV/Video Games/Internet/Movies/Music/Radio/Whatever are going to somehow 'corrupt' her. She pretty much knows every cuss word that I do, and we laugh about how silly it is when you hear the 'bleeps' on the radio. I'm open with her, and since I'm very involved in her life, I don't worry that she's somehow going to hear something 'bad' somewhere and suddenly become a deranged killer or get pregnant or something.
There are certain things I don't allow her to see/do, such as playing violent video games or watching R-rated movies. But, she knows why I make those decisions, and I'm not dictatorial about it. And (here's the important part) it's ME as a parent who makes those judgment calls, not the government or some outside entity.
malictus wrote:
There are certain things I don't allow her to see/do, such as playing violent video games or watching R-rated movies. But, she knows why I make those decisions, and I'm not dictatorial about it. And (here's the important part) it's ME as a parent who makes those judgment calls, not the government or some outside entity.
And that's perfectly understandable. I wasn't allowed to so/do whatever I wanted as a kid, but I understood why it was that way. I knew certain things were bad, or I was too young for them. Just because I heard cussing on the radio didn't mean I went around repeating it or mouthing off to my parents and teachers.
and it's very important that it's the parents making the calls for their children, as they're supposed to be the ones who know them best. A parent should know if their child is mature enough for whatever happens to be in question, or how they think they would react.
The opinions and statements below are directed to no one person. They are my opinions stated as if I had a child of my own. I will always put the value of my child's life, my wife's life before my own. If you don't like these opinons, you can go to hell. Better yet, come tell me to my face. Please.
I will even tell you where I live.
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As I stated before, it always starts small.
The way kids will act is a direct result of the environment that we create for them. The society today has become twisted and perverted. Given, teen crime rates are down, short of assault towards girls, yet that doesn't make it right to allow for a degraded society.
As far as abortion goes...well, anything you tell a child that's okay to do, they're going to do it.
NO MATTER WHAT, YOU LOWER THE STANDARDS, YOU HAVE NO ONE TO BLAME BUT YOURSELF.
To those of you that think it's okay to say "fuck," "Bitch," "Ass," "Damn," on the radio or tv...or who think that it's acceptable to tell a child/teen that it's okay to have an abortion ("have sex, it's okay, you can just get an abortion!")...who think it's okay to take away from this counrty everything that it was founded by....that's it's okay to degrade the value of a child solely on the basis of your opinion..................I SPIT ON YOU! You have no opinion when it comes to yourself. Your opinion has to be directly related to the value of your child. "Well, I don't see what the big deal is, saying bitch on the radio." OF COURSE YOU DON'T! Your a selfish, self-centered bastard! When you think of someone other than yourself, you realize that while it may not mean anything to you, it's going to mean a world of difference to the child.
My brother, a noble and honorable man, was driving with his two kids one day. A car full of teen girls were driving by, acting a fool, and cut him off. My brother, being annoyed by this act, said "What a biatch!" Quickly realizing what he said, stopped himself from saying anything more. Similarly, days later, one of his boys used that statement in a sentence (oddly in the right context). Now, my brother could have laughed at it, because it really was funny (TO US AS ADULTS!), however he did not. He disciplined his son, and told him he should not say that and why.
One thing can be taken two different ways. An adult can find that funny, but a child is only going to know that, "hey, he laughed, it must be okay to say that," when in fact it is not.
This world has become lax and the values have all but disappeared. My girlfriend and I talk and joke that we're not sure if we want to have kids, just because of the society they'd grow up in. There's a part of that in which we're serious.
It starts somewhere. What is unappropriate you ask? Anything not in the child's best interest.
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You're still going on the basis that curse words are bad. I, and most people I associate with, don't see it that way. The entire world is not made up of similar minded people, nor do we all raise our children in the same way.
However, I was taught RESPECT as a child. I know whom I can say what I will around, and I know there are others that will be offended by it.
You can't raise a child and honesty expect them not to hear curse words, or not hear about sex, or any of that. It WILL happen, regardless of how much we censor ourselves. What's important is that you teach them respect. If you don't agree with the words, then by all means, discipline them if they say it. They're your children, raise them as you see fit.... but don't expect me to raise my children in a censored world, just because you want to raise yours that way.
If you don't like them seeing what's on TV, then don't let them watch it. With technology these days, you can block channels you don't like. Hell, even better, get them involved in something...sports, music, art, something other than the damned TV. It'll be better for them anyway.
I won't deny I'm selfish, but I'm not selfish to the extent that I don't see what happens in the world around me. I've also watched the kids I grew up with get older...and you know what? More often than not, the sheltered kids wind up being the most wild when they finally cut loose.
I'd much rather my children ease into the world gradually, then get to highschool and ....whoa! They realize there's SO MUCH out there they didn't know about! Guess what they'll do then? Right back to curiosity.
Furthermore, I don't see the world as being that perverted. No more than it ever has been, anyway.
But the most important thing here is, don't believe for a second that your way of life is the ONLY way of life. Your values don't apply to everyone, and you can't expect us all to live by them. You raise your family how you see fit, say, worship, eat, fuck whatever you want....but don't EVER push your values off on me.
I don't care if you think I'm right or not, you can't expect everyone in a nation like America to agree. Just respect me enough to live my life as I will, and I'll grant you the same. Take responsibility for your family, don't blame the media. Your influence in your childs life will always be stronger than anything on TV. Make sure it's a positive one, and they won't have any reason to disrespect you.
Here's a fact for you to chew on: in the business world, if you cuss like a sailor because Daddy let you hear it all the time AND never told you it wasn't any good, you're...fucked.
There are plenty of little white trash bastards running around with fowl mouths directed at anyone and everyone. Cursing and being crewd can fit perfectly in a group dynamic (read: all of my friends in private); to not know where its appropriate and when to use it is the problem. Radio programs like these help blur that line and make parents have to work that much harder to reinforce why it's a shitty thing to do to act / talk like that in a world in which you wish to succeed.
The problem is class. Learn it, teach it, and reap the benefits. Don't, and suffer in more ways than one.
I don't really think radio or TV programs have much to do with it. I think kids will behave differently based upon their peers, not so much the media. There's always one kid in any given group that seems to know every curse word and sexual inuendo in the book, and once they start talking, words and habits spread, regardless of what kinda crap they air on TV these days.
Of course I heard it, and I slipped a few times around my parents. I was promptly told what's what, and I quickly learned where I could get away with it, and when it wasn't appropriate.
so long as kids learn respect for their elders/superiors, it doesn't matter what kinda garbage they pick up on from TV. They ARE going to hear it, one way or the other...instead of trying to hide them from it, we'd be better off spending our valuable parenting time teaching them and raising them. After all...why would you trust the media to raise your child? Do you really trust the whims of capitalistic society with the mind of your offspring?
Hell, these days I don't even trust schools to educate a kid properly. My neighbor made a pretty good point that stuck with me.
"They know all about saving the environment and how bad it is to cut down the rainforests.... Of course, they can't read."
If the problem is not the media, where do kids learn to behave bad and curse? It's not their friends, because they learned it from the media. They may hear it from their parents but it's not processed as a bad thing unless reinforced by TV or the movies.
Riot wrote:If the problem is not the media, where do kids learn to behave bad and curse? It's not their friends, because they learned it from the media. They may hear it from their parents but it's not processed as a bad thing unless reinforced by TV or the movies.
Not all parents are good parents. There are plenty who will not only curse around their kids, but AT their kids directly.
There isn't anything terribly bad on the radio or TV, certainly nothing that will cause any kind of moral epidemic. Movies could be problematic, but it's up to the parents to monitor what movies their kids watch. Common sense...if it's rated R, then duh, an 8 year old shouldn't be watching it.
I agree that protecting kids is the responsibility of the parents not the media. But I still do think the media is where most kids learn bad words and violence, etc. etc. I think the media does a good job of regulating itself, with ratings and everything, but I'm just not ignoring that it's still what is making kids into foulmouths.
Perhaps it is a factor, but ultimately, I believe they should be taught right and wrong, instead of being sheltered from potentially inappropriate words. They should know what they can say, and what they can't. They should also know from a young age that violence is bad, regardless of what they see in TV and movies. I watched all kinds of action movies as a kid, but I knew better than to beat up the neighbor kid and make out with the girl next door. I had decidedly average parents, not too strict, but not lax either...if I could be taught values, I don't see why America's youth is in such trouble. I really don't.
