Poll: sexual situations/swearing on TV

IrishCoffee7

My parents made a huge deal about shielding us from everything...which of course just made me more curious.  DH's parents were pretty conservative too but it was more tongue-in-cheek...they kind of knew what was going on but his mom would make them look away or cover the TV with an afghan (which makes me lol!).

So what will your approach be?  I'm pretty laid back normally but I have really started noticing how much of this stuff is on even fairly prime-time "family hour" TV.  I think I stopped noticing after I moved out of my parents' house but now that I'm a mom I suddenly think, "Whoa!  That was unnecessary!"

And the kids on kid TV shos like Nickelodeon and Disney are BRATS!  They are so disrespecftul and selfish. 

I think my plan is to really limit TV watching without making it "off limits" to the point where they just sneak around and watch at friends' houses etc. (LOL which is what I did).

I actually think I'm less worried about the swears and sex...I'll limit how much it's on in my house, and if it comes on I'll use it as a teaching moment about what's appropriate and respectful.

It's the kid shows that kind of worry me more...having them pick up on brattiness, selfishness, and being disrespectful.  Although I suppose if I'm there to know that they're seeing it (which I damn well better be) then I can use that as a teaching moment too.

I think I am just going to start hating TV.

Dreamsicle23

The thing that I'm most worried about is the commercials!  "I want that!  I want that!"

sodelish

Hmmm...that's tough. I think we'll probably limit the amount of TV available. I remember my parents telling me absolutely NO MTV which made me want to watch MTV when they weren't home.

emilydholmes1

heckysue:

My parents made a huge deal about shielding us from everything...which of course just made me more curious.  DH's parents were pretty conservative too but it was more tongue-in-cheek...they kind of knew what was going on but his mom would make them look away or cover the TV with an afghan (which makes me lol!).

So what will your approach be?  I'm pretty laid back normally but I have really started noticing how much of this stuff is on even fairly prime-time "family hour" TV.  I think I stopped noticing after I moved out of my parents' house but now that I'm a mom I suddenly think, "Whoa!  That was unnecessary!"

And the kids on kid TV shos like Nickelodeon and Disney are BRATS!  They are so disrespecftul and selfish. 

I think my plan is to really limit TV watching without making it "off limits" to the point where they just sneak around and watch at friends' houses etc. (LOL which is what I did).

I actually think I'm less worried about the swears and sex...I'll limit how much it's on in my house, and if it comes on I'll use it as a teaching moment about what's appropriate and respectful.

It's the kid shows that kind of worry me more...having them pick up on brattiness, selfishness, and being disrespectful.  Although I suppose if I'm there to know that they're seeing it (which I damn well better be) then I can use that as a teaching moment too.

I think I am just going to start hating TV.

I think that is key. There will come a point where the outside influence your children get at school and with their friends is beyond your control. But when they are around me and in my house and on my TV, I can control that. So I will do my best to limit TV and use other non-appropriate moments as teaching moments and just pray that they get it.

heatherglen814

Dreamsicle23:

The thing that I'm most worried about is the commercials!  "I want that!  I want that!"

That's why I LOVE the DVR. Pre-screen and fast-forward! You could have parental controls on the TV... at least until they're old enough and figure out your password for it.  

driveshorses

The only thing I wasn't allowed to watch when I was growing up was when MTV came out. I don't know why I wasn't allowed to, it was music video's back then. I can understand not watching it now.

On that note, we don't restrict what SS watches now, so we won't restrict what DD watches when she gets older. We save the more grown up stuff for later at night. If a kid is bratty in them, we just tell SS that he better not ever act like that or he'll never see the light of day! 

write2nicole

I understand what you mean about the disrespect in kids' shows.

FWIW, my mom HATED the Simpsons with a passion, because it glorified Bart for smarting off to adults, among other things. She was also a jr. high assistant principal at the time, so she dealt with kids every day in her office for being disrespectful in the classroom while wearing their "Don't Have a Cow, Man" Bart Simpson t-shirts.

Anyway, my sister loved the Simpsons. My mom refused to have it on when she was in the room, just so she didn't have to listen to it. But it wasn't prohibited. She even let my sister wear a Bart Simpson "Cowabunga!" shirt. But she repeatedly told us exactly why she couldn't stand the show.

My sister has always been respectful toward adults, and anything less would not have been tolerated in our house. And she's raising two very respectful children. Despite having loved Bart Simpson.

So, yeah, I think it's about taking advantage of the "teachable moment." 

KJmashup

Regarding the bratty kids, yeah, I agree. I can use those instances as teaching moments (I don't remember kids being that way on shows I watched when I was a kid!).

Regarding the other issues, I'll probably be pretty lax. My parents were lax and DH's parents were lax, which I think made us less curious and less liable to seek out "contraband." 

detokiet

We're probably going to limit the types of shows we watch when he's around. Though, we honestly haven't really talked about it much. 

DH grew up watching scary movies as a kid. I grew up watching action flicks like Die Hard, Lethal Weapon, etc. My parents didn't shield me from stuff, except for scary movies, because they knew (rightfully so) that I would get scared and have nightmares. As a kid, I never really had the desire to watch the scary stuff anyway.

And, yes, the kids shows seem so over the top ridiculous these days.  

E-Cain1

New to posting on these boards but not to reading. I just had to reply because not only do I have a 8 month old but dh and I have a 14 yr old. With our older dd we informed her that Tv was mostly just make believe and not real. That we expected her to act and respond a certain way even if she saw something different elsewhere. Whether that be on Tv or a friend/classmate. Respect is HUGE!! in our household and we try to tie just about everything into that 1 word.