WHO DO WE ALLOW INTO OUR HOUSES EVERY DAY?

I bet if I asked any of my friends if they would allow a vulgar drug addict or a girl dressed like a hooker who wanted to twerk in their living room to spend a couple of hours in their house or maybe even babysit their impressionable children they would look at me in shock.  Maybe a mentally disturbed alcoholic who likes to defecate wherever they are, or a young person who wants to sing vulgar songs? Would they allow that person inside to spend time with their children? I bet whoever I asked would give me a look of astonishment mixed with terror. They would then go into a tirade on how someone like that would never be allowed in their house. Good grief, alarm systems are almost a given today when you buy a house. None of us want the riff raff to come into our homes. Those are not the kind of people we want to be exposed to and we surely don’t want those people anywhere near our children. And yet, they are in our homes every day. If you have a TV, I guarantee you those people are flapping their jaws inside of your house. Except for “Blue Bloods” I can’t think of a TV show that doesn’t portray the father or husband as a fool who constantly needs to be rescued by his wife or the women in his life. What happened to strong male figures? Why is that offensive today? TV shows are notorious for having the children talk to their parents rudely and disrespectfully as the parents laugh. Then parents wonder why their children try it at home.  If  you think I am exaggerating just turn on Nickelodeon, You Tube or even Disney and pick any show with children in it.  One example is the movie Red Panda which was put out by Disney.  It has a 13 year old girl yelling at her mother that she is 13 now and can do what she wants.  I raised five daughters and I assure you that would not have gone over well with me. It isn’t just the shows anymore. It is the commercials. I bet there are people reading this who have had their children ask why there is a crooked carrot being discussed on TV. Or why there is special medicine for something call HIV that two men kissing need to buy? Feminine products aimed at any and all issues a woman might ever need to address are discussed in the most specific details imaginable. The advertisers don’t seem to understand that women know the issues they need to address, and they don’t need a graphic commercial to guide them and they don’t need their young children asking them questions about these commercials. If you are like most people, you have a plethora of channels to choose from and trust me the teens know how to find the ones you least want them to watch. They are inundated with music and videos using all kinds of vile and filthy words. Lyrics that degrade females and use an assortment of crude words to identify the women as well as their intimate parts are played on numerous channels. The promotion of drugs is done in a subtle manner that should make anyone’s skin crawl. So much of what is out there is insidious and it is all aimed at our young people. This is going on under your roof as you are trying to teach your children manners, class and respect. If the TV isn’t enough to worry about there are the smart phones and computers that nearly every teen or pre-teen has access to and which can give them a window to all the issues I mentioned above. To make it even more frightening there is the issue of Human Trafficking and the predators who know how to use the numerous sites that are popular with teens and pre-teens today in an attempt to suck them into their sordid world. There are people like my daughter who are qualified to discuss these issues and what to look for so that parents can be alert. She gives these presentations to schools, civic organizations and churches. You can call your local police department to make arrangements. It is not easy today to be a parent and parents must always be diligent. Even though everyone is busy; parents must find a few minutes each day to see what their children are accessing on their devices. Too many parents don’t want to offend their children and have them think they don’t trust them. Trust me they will get over feeling you don’t trust them. Bottom line: don’t over trust your child. Stay on top of what they are viewing and accessing.  Take time to watch one of the shows they like with them and if it isn’t acceptable explain to them why not.  Get engaged with your children.  This reminds them that you care; even if they say they wish you would leave them alone. As so many parents have jobs, and need to depend on sitters, they must make sure they know the person who will have access to their child for many hours a day. You can never let your guard down, as there are people out there ready to pounce and drag your child down a path you would never choose for them nor would they ever choose for themselves.