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

[sillysally]

Some stuff, yes.

Never books--if I was interested in reading it I was allowed to read it. I LOVED Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark! Movies were different. I was not allow to see R rated until I was in high school. I remember babysitting for my cousin when I was in middle school and my uncle told me I could watch whatever movie I wanted. So I selected a rated R movie--Cape Fear-and scared the living crap out of myself-lol.

As far as TV-eh, we didn't have cable where we lived and we didn't get satellite until I was in high school anyway. I can see not allowing a young kid to watch some of the shows I watch-there is no reason for a small child to see Criminal Minds, for example. I love the show but there are some scenes that I find upsetting, and honestly, I don't know how I would turn torture into a teachable moment.

My mom did try to sensor my music, as I was very into Marilyn Manson in high school. We settled on her telling me that of I wanted to listen to it, she was not going to buy it for me. I thought that was fair.

[Fran101]

I can't imagine BANNING things like south park from a 13 year old. From a child that doesn't KNOW what the words or humor is truly about...sure. but a 13 year old can know and understand the truth behind this stuff if they are explained.

By 13.. I'd already heard the talks.. sex talk, drug talk, culture talk, politeness talk, religion talk etc..etc.. and I certainly had friends that talked about all these things.
so while south park was frowned upon and my parents spoke to us about WHY they didn't like it.. they certainly didn't ban it. I mean, at the end of the day, at 13 the real world (school, friends, etc..) exposed me to worse anyway.

and banning it probably would've made me want to watch it even if I didn't in the first place lol

I mean, what harm is hearing a joke about something if you know better than to repeat or believe it?
what's the harm about hearing all that crude cursing if you know better than to repeat?
If anything, the exposure is good for having a chance to explain the themes to a teen that age. 13 is reasonably old enough to understand the humor and why it's so ridiculous and wrong. I UNDERSTOOD WHY south park was funny and thought it was VERY funny but certainly knew better than to think it was anything more than entertainment, and bad entertainment at that.

Same thing goes for movies. I mean, I remember watching a few movies with partying,drinking, cursing and sex at 13.
.. I knew more about blood alcohol, drunk driving, alcohol limits, effects (both long and short) of alcohol..stds, condoms, safe sex, what sex meant etc.. than MOST ADULT lol not to mention a few years of finishing school under my belt so who cares? Since I knew better it became just what it was supposed to be..ENTERTAINMENT. Not a learning experience.

I mean of course it depends on the 13 year old. I would probably block the show from a 13 year old that mimicked, made those kind of inappropriate jokes, cursed already etc.. no need to give them new material.
But a kid that listened, seemed to really be old/mature enough to understand what you are telling them about curing, culture, religion, drugs and other themes on that show.. then I certainly wouldn't not allow it.

Just my 2 cents.

[Romy]

I never wanted to watch MTV as a kid. Tried watching it as an adult and remembered why. lol

My daughter likes classical music (she calls it princess music) and hymns. If I try to put on any more recent music on the radio she covers her ears and complains. We'll see what Sam likes as he gets older. So far he's a really big fan of Johnny Cash and old music from the British isles. And ballet.

ETA:

Originally Posted by Fran101

I mean of course it depends on the 13 year old. I would probably block the show from a 13 year old that mimicked, made those kind of inappropriate jokes, cursed already etc.. no need to give them new material.
But a kid that listened, seemed to really be old/mature enough to understand what you are telling them about curing, culture, religion, drugs and other themes on that show.. then I certainly wouldn't not allow it.

Just my 2 cents.

and that applies to children of any age. My daughter is disturbed by some cartoon violence that her same age cousin handles just fine. The cousin doesn't mimic it or anything and understands it's just pretend, so there's no need to restrict her from it. Usually if I know something is going to scare my daughter I just tell her, "that movie is pretty intense" and she wants to do something else instead because it's not something she enjoys anyway.

[JustaLilBitaLuck]

I think my mom had a good idea of what my maturity level was, and what I could handle at various ages. I never remember being overwhelmed or frightened by anything I read or watched, but I also don't ever remember not being allowed to watch/read something that I wanted to. I think by the time I had a desire to watch more adult things, I was mature enough to handle it.

[Fran101]

And we all loved classical music, watched the discovery channel and NOVA science now more than anything else at that age. ALL ON OUR OWN FREE WILL!

Soo..it's not like the liberty to watch south park or MTV or bad movies poisoned our taste on entertainment either lol

[Romy]

Oh, but I SO banned Barney. I mean... just look at him!

Eaauuurrgh.

[Fran101]

Originally Posted by Romy

Oh, but I SO banned Barney. I mean... just look at him!

Eaauuurrgh.

For my parents it was Zaboomafoo (sp?) It was this talking lemur that would teach kids about animals. I LOVED IT!! but boy was his voice high pitched and annoying and I would sing those songs ALL. THE. TIME.

One day they told me the show was canceled and I was so upset lol looked it up the other day.. it didn't get cancelled at all! LOL

[NicoleLJ]

My "mother" was a religious fanatic so she was extreme in her control exspecially after she got out onto the farm. Growing up it had to all be G rate stuff, then it became only musicals and disney movies, then the music was only allowed to be religious music and so on. No radio, no news, no cable, nothing but religious movies or music when she was at her most fanatical. Even books were only allowed to be church books.

With my kids I did control, and will, to a certian extent what they watch and listen too and read but only to a certian degree. Too much control can be just as bad or worse then none at all.

[Saeleofu]

And we all loved classical music, watched the discovery channel and NOVA science now more than anything else at that age. ALL ON OUR OWN FREE WILL!

SAME HERE! I think banning or prohibiting things, censoring thing, etc makes people want it more - YOU CAN'T TELL ME NO, I'M GOING TO SEE IT ONE WAY OR ANOTHER!

I loved science and learning shows. Still do. We're watching some BBC animal series in my vertebrate class, and nobody likes it - but I love it! Reading Rainbow, NOVA, Wild Discovery, Bill Nye, Jack Hannah, etc - loved them then and still do now. And I've always moved Baroque music.

[Fran101]

My biggest pet peeve is parents trying to get the media to bend over backwards and censor itself for their kids.

Option A (In my opinion, the better option) Teach your kids about these issues/content so when your kid sees/hears this stuff from the media..you have a kid who knows about these issues and isn't easily influenced.

or Option B. Don't allow your kids to see it.

But dammit.. do NOT expect the media to change itself for your kid. Sorry, it's not going to happen. Marketing, media, etc.. it's ALWAYS going to be around your child from cereal boxes to tv shows to commercials to billboards, wether you like it or not. You can either spend your time attacking one thing at a time "Oh gosh my child saw BREASTS and the word SEX on the cover of Maxim at the supermarket! BAN MAGAZINES FROM BEING IN THE AISLES!" "BILLBOARD WITH A GUN ON IT!" "PEOPLE CURSING IN A MOVIE!! HOW DARE THEY?!" "TOYS IN FAST FOOD!" which is of course, a losing battle.

..OR you can either teach your kid how to deal with the marketing/media storm that is going to try to influence them their ENTIRE LIVES or do a better job at keeping it away from them.

AKA: It isn't McDonalds job to make their restaurant less enticing and not have toys or whatever. It's the parents job to teach their kids about nutrition and feed them properly.