Did your parents/do you censor the media for your kids?

milos_mommy

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#21
I'm more curious about music, really. Were you allowed to watch MTV in middle school? High school? Do you let your young kids listen to what's on the radio? What about music you like with adult themes or swear words?

I never had music censored for me, as a kid...but I feel like it was WAY different. I hear some stuff on the radio now and it shocks me. I like a lot of really graphic music with themes like drugs, sex, gang violence, but I don't think I'd let a kid listen to a whole lot of it.

A friend of mine's sister posted a video of her toddler dancing to (an edited version of) "shots" by LMFAO and Lil Jon. And they play stuff along those lines here at high school football games, pep rallies, family festivals...why would a kid need to hear that???

I don't care how catchy it is, my kids don't need to be listening to songs about taking shot after shot in a club with big bootied *CENSORED* until they're old enough to realize how dangerous and inappropriate some of the stuff idolized in the songs are.
 

JessLough

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#22
I started watching South Park when it first came out, so I was like, 6 years old. The Simpsons raised me. I don't even think I was in elementary school yet when my dad thought it would be cool for me to watch Tales From the Crypt with him.
That, too. The Simpsons first aired exactly a year before I was born (like, to the day :p), and I have an older sister, so.... :p
 

Fran27

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#23
I don't remember. But I think we mostly didn't have much tv on except for morning cartoons until we were older... like 8 or something? I honestly don't remember.

For my kids, when they were smaller, I didn't filter anything (until 2.5 or so), because they didn't 'get' it anyway. Now, yeah. I typically don't watch anything when they're up (or I do it on my computer sometimes but they can't really see and I make sure they're not around if there's going to be a gory scene or something). Basically all they see is Disney Junior or Nick Jr, lol.

I guess I'll wing it as they get older. They find everything scary nowadays anyway.
 

BostonBanker

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#24
No, but either it wasn't necessary, or I just wasn't interested in it. I mean, we had 3 TV channels - no cable until I was in middle school. I remember the very, very early days of MTV (when it was actually music videos - nothing really needed to be censored). I can't think of anything I ever wanted to watch that I wasn't allowed to, but I also can't think of anything age-inappropriate I wanted to watch. My mother did tell she didn't think I should be watching Se7en. Given that I was in my 20's at the time, I chuckled and watched it anyway.

Holy cow, I think I'm old.
 

JacksonsMom

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#25
LOL, 8 Mile was my first sex scene too. Saw it with my mom ... a bit awkward, but yeah I pretty much was never censored from anything. I went to the movies to see Titantic with my parents and I remember The Mask being my favorite movie when I was, like, 6. I mean, it was like you, I don't ever remember seeing anything that traumatized me, I'm sure they avoided some things but for the most part, not much was 'censored' from me.

My brother is raised the same way. He's 8 and his favorite show is The Walking Dead and Breaking Bad, LOL ... some people would probably cringe, but it's whatever. I always knew what was fake and in movies, and it was nothing that ever made me do bad things. If anything, most of my friends who were sheltered from a lot of stuff went on to rebel and get involved in the wrong things. To me, nothing was a big shock or surprise. I had kind of been there done that kinda thing. I will raise my future kids the same way.
 

milos_mommy

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#26
I remember the very, very early days of MTV (when it was actually music videos - nothing really needed to be censored).
Even if it was still music videos and I didn't have to worry about my kid watching other crap they put on there...have you SEEN what the put in music videos nowadays? They either look like a horror movie or a porno.
 

JacksonsMom

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#27
Nope. Especially not sex and nudity or language lol we were allowed to watch/see whatever and ask questions.
When it came to violence/horror yea a bit..but they were never forbidden.

We knew what language was polite and all about safe responsible sex and drinking because our parents talked to us about it and we were exposed to it. PARENTS need to raise their kids and inform/expose them instead of just putting blinders on them IMO so when they do encounter something in the media or world meant to "lead them down a dark trail" so to speak, they KNOW the right and wrong way because they are informed in more ways than just "Oh it's wrong. why? because."

Teaching kids that sex or nudity is some forbidden bad thing.. well, I won't even go into specifics but let me just say I attended a catholic school where abstinence only sex-ed was paramount and let's just say it didn't go well for kids whose parents ALSO censored everything else. Sex was forbidden and mysterious..and of course, all the more tempting. and since they knew NOTHING about it (like condoms or STDs etc..) there were of course problems.

So yea.. my parents didn't sensor much. Nudity, sex, alcohol..we were informed, exposed, had 100 talks about it, traveled all over the world and seen many cultures and it all became just..part of what we knew.

Scary movies/horror films they did.. just because monsters and stuff was something I NEVER handled well.. but I would want to go to the movies and see some horror flick and then sleep in their bed for a week lol so it was easiest to just encourage me to pursue other films.
BUT these movies were never forbidden. It was not like "YOU CAN'T SEE THIS SCARY MOVIE SO THERE!" ... it was explained WHY they didn't want me to see it and I was given a choice.
All it took was ONE "Well, I want to see it anyway" and being scared for a month and I learned my lesson on my own lol

But yea.. we are not the kind of family that doesn't curse or watch R movies in front of the kids. They see everything.. and we talk about it so they know right/wrong and what they are seeing.

And somehow..none of us kids have turned out to be serial killers yet! LOL
Pretty much sums up my family.
 

~Jessie~

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#28
I don't even think I was in elementary school yet when my dad thought it would be cool for me to watch Tales From the Crypt with him.
Totally forgot about that show! I used to watch it occasionally in elementary school!

I remember watching it for the first time when I was with my parents in a hotel. My dad put it on TV, and I loved it.
 

JacksonsMom

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#29
I'm more curious about music, really. Were you allowed to watch MTV in middle school? High school? Do you let your young kids listen to what's on the radio? What about music you like with adult themes or swear words?

I never had music censored for me, as a kid...but I feel like it was WAY different. I hear some stuff on the radio now and it shocks me. I like a lot of really graphic music with themes like drugs, sex, gang violence, but I don't think I'd let a kid listen to a whole lot of it.

A friend of mine's sister posted a video of her toddler dancing to (an edited version of) "shots" by LMFAO and Lil Jon. And they play stuff along those lines here at high school football games, pep rallies, family festivals...why would a kid need to hear that???

I don't care how catchy it is, my kids don't need to be listening to songs about taking shot after shot in a club with big bootied *CENSORED* until they're old enough to realize how dangerous and inappropriate some of the stuff idolized in the songs are.

Honestly though? Most kids under, like, 10 probably have no idea what the people are really even singing about anyway.

I remember I was probably around 7 when that song by the artist Next came out 'you're making it hard for me... feel a little poke comin' thruuuu on youuuu" ... YEAH. I used to sing that song. Had NO idea what they were talking about, LOL.

I probably started listening to Eminem around 12. I think initially my parents did buy me the censored only CD. Because, some of his songs are REALLY bad. But eventually, it was just kind of... I was going to hear them anyway, from somewhere else probably, and I pretty much could guess what he was saying during the pauses and bleeps so yeah.
 

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#30
I didn't listen to any music that would've needed to be censored until I was about 11. I listened to a lot of the stuff my parents did- Elton John, Whitney Houston, Bryan Adams, The Eagles, etc. I'm pretty sure that's when that song Britney mentioned by Next came out. I had no idea what the lyrics meant. I thought "you're making it hard for me" meant that he really liked her and it was difficult to dance so close because maybe she didn't feel the same way. Haha.

I wasn't allowed to listen to rap in the house or have rap CDs because my mom despised it. Luckily for her I never liked rap, so we avoided most of the "censored music" fights just by default.

I would watch MTV in late elementary/middle school and high school, but it wasn't as bad as it is now. I loved TRL and most of the popular bands and groups at that time were Hanson, Spice Girls, 'N Sync, etc.

If MTV was like it is now, I doubt my parents would've let me watch it before high school.
 

sparks19

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#31
No I can't say my mom ever really censored me from music either although I was pretty clueless on pop culture stuff until about the 7th grade. kids in class would always talk about green day and stuff and I had no idea who or what Green Day was lol. I liked country music. So one day I wrote Green Day Rules on my binder just so I wouldn't look totally losery and clueless... didn't work hahaha everyone knew I had no idea who they were.

as a teen... OMG I listened to some horrendous music lol. Nevermind being amazed my mom let me listen to them but now looking back I am appalled that I would actually PLAY that music in front of my mother :O
 

Fran101

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#32
I'm more curious about music, really. Were you allowed to watch MTV in middle school? High school? Do you let your young kids listen to what's on the radio? What about music you like with adult themes or swear words?

I never had music censored for me, as a kid...but I feel like it was WAY different. I hear some stuff on the radio now and it shocks me. I like a lot of really graphic music with themes like drugs, sex, gang violence, but I don't think I'd let a kid listen to a whole lot of it.

A friend of mine's sister posted a video of her toddler dancing to (an edited version of) "shots" by LMFAO and Lil Jon. And they play stuff along those lines here at high school football games, pep rallies, family festivals...why would a kid need to hear that???

I don't care how catchy it is, my kids don't need to be listening to songs about taking shot after shot in a club with big bootied *CENSORED* until they're old enough to realize how dangerous and inappropriate some of the stuff idolized in the songs are.
We listened to whatever for the most part once we were old enough. I mean if our parents didn't like it (went for most rap music etc..) they wouldn't pay for it.
and frankly, we weren't allowed to watch tv enough during the week to really be brainwashed by constantly seeing it kind of thing. They didn't censor TV channels but there was a lot of muttering of "I can't believe you kids watch this garbage.." and LONNGGG talks lol

Again..it's all about communication IMO. They didn't approve of certain artists/songs/shows and wouldn't let us listen to them in the car etc.. but we knew WHY. By the time we were old enough to independently go looking for music and be watching that stuff, we were old enough that they already told us why they didn't like those themes and we knew better. Why it doesn't portray women well, why drinking that much is harmful, why drugs are wrong, why that lifestyle is portrayed the way it is VS what it really is.

that said.. they certainly never introduced us to that kind of music before we were old enough to understand the context and did shield is from watching that. Are those songs harmful to a child who doesn't know what they mean? Probably not... but certainly not helpful or necessary. So in that way I guess they did censor us.. AKA: We knew about responsible sex, drinking, drugs, self respect BEFORE we knew about MTV and music videos containing these themes.

The occasional "bad pop song" snuck in before we were old enough to even know what it meant but for the most part.. until we were old enough to have "the talks" about sex, drugs etc.. they kept us from music that involved it.
but after we understood and had the talks...we were allowed to listen to and watch whatever we wanted. We knew right from wrong and what those things were really about so there was no harm in singing "SHOT SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS" lol we knew more about alcohol tolerance, long term effects, drunk driving and wine selection then most ADULTS.

and they certainly never learned to tolerate it. We could listen/watch if we wanted to but they certainly weren't going to lol
 

CaliTerp07

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#33
To this day the simpsons, family guy, and south park are STILL not allowed in my house. (Which is fine, I have no interest in watching them, but if I am channel surfing when I'm home and land on it, my mom will frown and tell me to change the channel).

And no, MTV was not allowed in my house in middle school. I had no interest in MTV by high school. I remember hiding TRL from her because all the other kids at school watched it and I didn't know what they were talking about.
 

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#34
I filter my kid's stuff. My daughter is five, my son is a baby. She'd have horrific nightmares if she saw something like The Walking Dead. One time she was watching Animal Planet and flea preventative commercial where the fleas were giant and CG.

She had nightmares about it for MONTHS and developed a severe flea phobia. So yeah. I also don't have the news on around them. There's too much of newscasters randomly blurting stuff like "AND THEN THE CHILD DIED OF PELVIC INJURIES AFTER BEING REPEATEDLY RAPED BY THIS GUY" and. Just. No. They don't need to hear about that stuff either. Not at their age.
Looks like someone's not gone a be a horror fan later in life lol.

What I don't like is parents censoring the TV that everyone else watches like for example saying that American horror story or TWD can't be on because hey don't want their kids seeing it ... I mean that's why we have censorship in the first place because of that!

My folks were in the "watch it & discuss it" group even if it was scary. I was watching things like Friday the 13th & nightmare on elm st by the time I was 12
 

Dogdragoness

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#35
To this day the simpsons, family guy, and south park are STILL not allowed in my house. (Which is fine, I have no interest in watching them, but if I am channel surfing when I'm home and land on it, my mom will frown and tell me to change the channel).

And no, MTV was not allowed in my house in middle school. I had no interest in MTV by high school. I remember hiding TRL from her because all the other kids at school watched it and I didn't know what they were talking about.


My parents tried thy but it didn't work I just watched it anyway nothing I hated more then being told what I can watch ... I mean its TV my folks just always made sure I understood that they were FAKE as in NOT real.

I think too many parents take stuff on the TV way too seriously.
 

CaliTerp07

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#36
My parents tried thy but it didn't work I just watched it anyway nothing I hated more then being told what I can watch ... I mean its TV my folks just always made sure I understood that they were FAKE as in NOT real.

I think too many parents take stuff on the TV way too seriously.
It had nothing to do with thinking that it was real...it just had no positive value to it. They tried to make everything we watched on tv either educational, or at least harmless fluff. There is a LOT of inappropriate stuff in south park--and while it is sometimes amusing, more often than not I find myself disgusted by it. I can't imagine letting a 13 year old watch that stuff.
 

Dogdragoness

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#37
& still so watch it :) BTW I love fam guy ;). Love Am Dad too :)

Hedi I knew parents that didn't or their kids watch Star Wars & things like that! Hedi we we t to go see Jurassic park as a family (I was 12 I think)

I ESP love the dog whisperer South Park episode.
 

CaliTerp07

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#38
Sorry, I'm having trouble deciphering that.

I'm sure if I had desperately wanted to see something, my parents would have previewed it or researched it and we could have watched it together if it wasn't horrible. Luckily, I never had any real desire to watch trashy tv or inappropriate stuff. I did desperately want to see Titanic in 6th grade though, so I asked my mom, she got an oscar version of the movie on VHS from a friend (who's cousin is on the academy, or something), and she watched it at home before agreeing to take me to the theater.
 

Dogdragoness

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#40
I meant "American dad" & "family guy" (those are their abbreviations ppl sometimes use)

I don't agree with they level of censership because di think it makes kids just want to watchd it more ... I remember when my folks took the "watch & discuss" ApproXh it was a lot less "glamorous"
 

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