While I talk ABOUT adult situations, I don't go into graphic details. I am NOT going to flag this video, because I consider it a public service announcement for any parent who wants to protect the "innocence" of their children, both female, and male. I includ a link to a video that goes into graphic details, which I consider to be a part of this public service announcement, but the video is not embedded in this post. You are responsible for whether or not you choose to click and watch, or not to.
I'm watching a documentary on CBC TV now, called "DOC ZONE - Sext Up Kids" about the sexualization of children. Society is out of control. Lingerie for children? Bratz dolls? I was shocked by the $h!t that was talked about when I was on the playground (I found the word "puberty" shocking until I went home, asked my MOTHER about it, and she told me the facts), but it's pretty damn tame, compared to what they're talking about on this documentary. OMG!!!!
Watch the episode here.
CBC - Doc Zone - Episode - Sex't Up KidsI posted the following message on Facebook, just now.
I am four years younger than she is, and by the time I got to upper-elementary, then middle school, and highschool, I wanted to stay as FAR AWAY from my peer group as possible. I knew I would never be interested in peer pressure, but I wanted to avoid the annoyance of having to put up with it.
At 15, I met my BEST platonic friend in the whole world, a 65 year old German man, who was like a much louder version of my Morfar (Maternam Grandfather). This worried my mother to no end, because her 15 year old daughter was spending so much time with a 65 year old man, and why was this 65 year old man so friggen "interested" in her 15 year old daughter? What did that "inteest" mean? She may have been over-protective, but he, being a father of two, and a grandfather of three, totally got that. We're still best friends, and he was my "best friend of honour" at Walker's and my wedding.
Why were we so close? Because I was thoroughly pissed off with my generation, and felt I'd run ahead of them. Sexualization of childhood had not hit as hard as it has now, but I saw it coming. I got out. I got away from my peers, and stayed away.
And then I met Walker!! I kept him secret from my family for a while, and didn't tell them about him until we were already in an extremely successful relationship.
It's still hard to believe my parents, and teachers wanted me to associate with my peers more. They also got on my case for being such a feminist. They thought I hated men. Excuse me? You see the way our sex culture is objectifying women, telling them that it's all about pleasing the guys? That it's all about what the GUY wants? A teenaged feminist daughter who has a number of older platonic friends, who gets along with men, allbeit older men, and who seems to have a knack for figuring out someone's character? Parents out there. If you have a daughter like me, go down on your knees, thank God, and kiss the ground on which they walk. You are truly BLESSED!!! Fortunately my parents came to realize this in time, and I'm glad I stuck to my guns, and as the old song goes "I did it MY WAY."
As a child being "adult" meant not being childish. While kids were wearing clothes with cartoon characters on them. I was dressing rather plainly (nice pair of black pants, and a red sweater, for example). While they were reading teen books, I read the newspaper. While they were listening to the newest hits, I prefered cultural festivals, and classical music. They went to night clubs, I went to the coffee shop. For me THAT was being an adult, not discovering sex in all the wrong ways, and all the wrong places.
On November 5th I wrote a post called Text Messages Are 99% Useless!!!!. That's not to say that texting is a dumb idea, that is to say that the majority of texting is done by teens and tweens, completely out of touch with reality, and on a slippery slope towards trouble. One girl on tonight's documentary mentioned sending and receiving a total of 70,000 texts in ONE MONTH!!!!!!!! 99% of the time I will not text. I have my phone with me, and can check e-mail from ANYWHERE. For a couple of 2-6 month periods I did not have a computer, so my phone was my sole method of staying on line. Needless to say, I became very proficient with my iPhone. I texted Walker downtown once, when we were to meet at a certain place, but couldn't because of construction unknown to us when we made the arrangements. It was too noisy to make a call. I texted him another time when I was getting in a taxi, coming home to pick him up to go somewhere, and I wanted him to be at the door when I got there. When we had neighbour problems, I'd text him warnings, if the guy was on the porch when I went out. A phone call would have been overheard. For me texting is not a back-and-forth means of communication, but a way to get a quick message out instantly. Seventy thousand texts a month? Can you imagine?
A pre-teen relative of mine is on FB, but I happen to know that her account is highly private, she only connects with RELATIVES, she's friends with both her parents, and everyone in the family monitors what goes on on her account. I would love to friend her myself, so we can stay in touch, but those on here who are also connected to me on FB, know that I use it as an outlet for a lot of my political rants, and other things that I would feel uncomfortable posting around her; not because of what I think of tween's in general, but because I know my family.
Anyway, that's my rambling rant for the day. I urge all parents of young children, teens, tweens, and even grown children to watch the CBC video. Pass it on to EVERYONE YOU KNOW!!!
recommend
Facebook
Twitter
bookmark 
print
Comments: 36
Walker liked this idea, but mentioned that the govt. would probably find a way to get their hands on the DNA, and use them in unethical ways.
My Grade 7 Health teacher used to say that we were all built backwards, and just because we had the tools didn't mean we automatically knew how to use 'em.
That would never happen~you'd have every civil rights att'y. on top of this in a heartbeat!
As for knocking blended families. I know that's not what you're doing. Heck, some traditional families don't work as well as yours did, and some blended ones do. I think it's all a matter of the people involved.
Glad your kids had a safe place to grow up.
My sister and I were supervised pretty well too, but there are some things that even the most vigilent parents can't prevent.
you did great!
When my kids were young I was abhored to find that many churches, and tweens/teens hangout places supposedly to keep the kids "off the streets" resembled, and rock concerts, singles clubs and bars. I thought, "what're they doing? Training them to hit the real bars as soon as they are of age"? They raise the kids to think they are supposed to just be partying, looking to party, or recovering from having partyied. It's consumerism.
"Greater supervision from family adults would go along way in helping to slow a lot of this type of activity, but for some reason, society, itself seems to use social pressure to practicaly ween your kids from a culture of family to a culture of friends and aquaintences."
YES!!!!!! You said a mouthfull. That's exactly what happened with my sister.
Mom and Dad did a great job in the mornings, at lunch time when she came home, in the evenings, and on weekends, but there were those hours when she was at school, where peer pressure took hold. Even a few hours a day of such CRAP can lead someone near a slippery slope, and without even harder work at home, one could slide right down it. Like I said my sister pulled herself out of it on her own, and my parents did their BEST, but there were times when even the best parental firmness and love could not undo what one's PEERS did!!
By the time I got to school, ho-ly-crap, did I ever isolate myself from my peers. No friggen wonder, too. I didn't want anything to do with them!!!!!!!!
As for the perverts in the world, I just finished reading Jaycee Lee Dugard's memoirs. What an eyeopening, heart-breaking story!
As for us getting together for coffee, ONLY WHEN MOM WAS HOME, ONLY AT OUR HOUSE. It was like that 100% of the time until I moved out on my own.
I am not going to swing to judging in the other direction, but there are plenty of cases out there where children are the grandchildren of pedophiles. Are we going to prevent kids from spending time with their grandfathers, now?
The thing about people is some are good, some are bad, and relation, or lack of relation, has nothing to do with it.
He did not go around "befriending children" we just happened to meet, and become friends.
Now, there was a time when a child innocently, and unexpectedly ran up to him, because she heard his voice, and thought he sounded like her own grandfather, who I guess was living overseas, and her mother totally FREAKED. Instead of gently telling the child not to talk to strangers, she acted as if the kid was going to pull the pin on a hand grenade. This prompted my friend to write a very NICE letter to the editor of our local newspaper, along the same lines as the post I posted above, ranting about how society has rolled down the hill to hell, and how sick some people have become. Those sick people make things hard for the innocent. I read the letter, and wrote one myself, completely backing up the point that he made. Both letters were published. The point we were both trying to make is that pedophiles need to be stopped, children need to be protected, but hyper-fear is not the way to do it.
And, that's how I probably would've reacted, and nothing has stopped pedophiles to date, AND they're as rampart as EVER. Until we as a nation, ( 2 nations, I know you live in Canada) stop coddling pedophiles, because that's what is happening, then hyper-fear is justified. Right now, pedophiles operate with no fear, that's why they do what they do. I didn't care, I let it be known, touch my kid, & you're dead!
In September of last year, I wound up in the ER in Toronto, and not only did the nurse ask if I might be pregnant, she asked ("and this is a required question for all women" she said,) if I was being abused at home.
On the one hand it's nice that someone who might be, can have an outlet, but on the other hand, has the world really come to that?
How did Angela react to that question? Did you two discuss it?
Now when someone asks me that question I respon with two kinds of humour.
Either a) If I am it's a mystery, since my husband's had a vasectomy, or b) Well, my middle name is Mary. I suppose after 2012 years, the world's well overdo for another immaculate conception. Does it matter that I'm not a virgin?
I have gotten some pretty good laughs out of those two answers.
What we need to do is teach boys that what's done has been done, and the woman deserves the same amount of respect as if she were a virgin. Virginity should not be a basis for whether or not a woman is respected.
I'm not saying that she should go out and get involved in the stuff this article speaks out against, I'm saying that if she has, it's history. She's a mother, she has a child, and she, like EVERYONE ELSE, deserves a clean start.
When I was in fourth class, we had to decide which school form to choose (basic, medium hard and the hardest that preprares you for university). I chose the hardest one just because of the fact that it was only for girls. I did not even mind that it was a school run by Catholic nuns *lol* And this was the best decision.
My hubby is "only" one year older than me, but he was the only one not asking stuff like "wanna CS?" when chatting online (we met online). He was the only one (back when we were 18) which who I could chat about "normal" topics.
I think all this sexualisation of childhood began when the first pregnant Barbie came out. I remember her... I am not sure how old I was, I think it was just shortly after I grew out of playing with Barbies (maybe 14?). That was already shocking. And now, over 10 years later we have dolls for small girls that need to be "breast fed" and all that crap.
Gosh, would never buy that for my kids.
Breastfed dolls? Not a bad idea. People are raised to think of breasts as objects of sexual desire. If someone wants to put out a doll that tells a child what a breast is REALLY for, then I'm all for that!!!!!!!!!
I have no ida what "CS" stands for. Is that a German acronym, or an English one?
Did I ever tell you the story about how Hubby and I met on line? :)
Breastfeed dolls might be approriate for a certain age, but I doubt 3 or 4 year old girls really need it... I don't know...