TV Ads should have ratings

holy hell ppl, quit trying to shelter your children from everything under the sun. Your turning them into whiny little pussies and they will only be worse when they grow up and step out into the real world. If they ask you a question about something they seen, then answer them, in whatever fashion suitable for their age.

You people would probably have a heart attack and shit yourself uncontrollably if u lived over in Europe, more progressive than us. Their children are just fine, matter of fact they are much more mature and better off than the ones here. Ya'll need to chill out and CONTROL YOURSELVES.

Sorry True American, but don't confuse me with Tipper Gore. I'm not for censorship or for "mollycoddling" kids, like not keeping score at sports, or giving them all trophies just for showing up. I've seen the results of the latter play out terribly in the workplace. But, that's completely different than exposing them to graphic life-like violence when they are too young to know the difference between the nightly news and a CSI-type show.

And in fact, my parents do live in Europe and my child and I watch TV over there all the time and while there's lots of risqué entertainment and nudity, they don't have anything like the gratuitous violence that appears on American television.

Can I also reiterate that my child pointed it out to me, and not vice versa, and asked me why would people want to watch something like that. As a non-CSI watcher, I gave him a true answer – "I don't know why they would, but that a lot of people do." I then explained that while we should never dictate what people watch, or what the networks show, it's fair to request that they run ads for these types of shows later on in the evenings.

Michael W, thanks for the V-Chip idea, but we are actually TiVo'ing things and fast-forwarding through commercials. However, one can't do that with an important AFC game. And I have let my connections as CBS know that this was a bit inappropriate, and that they should consider pushing the time slots for these commercials back a bit.

TV shows spend so much time advertising THEMSELVES, that I find it unnecessary to watch at all!
I've already seen the 'high point' of whatever show it might be....!

The news is even worse!
They spend half the newscast telling you how THEY are your 'friends', etc etc

I'm on your side, Diane.
A little common sense is all we ask, nothing more...

Hi Eric - Thanks for the vote for common sense. That's all I'm asking. And why can't the very same people who came down hard on the networks and Janet Jackson a few years ago for that superbowl performance aren't focused on something much more disturbing and harmful like gratuitous violence. But, then again, they are probably CSI fans! (We seem to be the only two people who don't watch it.)

Eh, u do have a point Diane, its vice versa over in Europe, more nudity, sexual inuendos, but less violence.

Hey, maybe the Europeans have the right mix? After all, I don't mind most of the sexy ads on TV, especially the amusing ones. Often, they are not nearly as racy (or funny) as the European (or even Asian) ones, and most of them go over my kid's head anyhow.

And as a bleeding heart liberal, I thought long and hard over whether or not I wanted to broach a censorship issue. But, as Eric said - it's common sense. If a kid is still young enough to believe Santa Claus really exists, then he's probably not ready to handle CSI (or any ads for it), and it's reasonable to ask the networks to not show them during their own self-proclaimed "family hour".

My kids will watch those commercials and would gladly watch the shows if I let them. Yet the idea of watching a man and woman kiss is disturbing to them. At least that's what they say. I think that we as a species are hardwired to pay more attention to a violent act. Marketers use that to sell advertising.

I agree that it should be limited to later hours.

I did notice that during the Superbowl, there were no CSI ads. And, while we had to suffer through lame godaddy ads, my son found the rocks paper scissors one quite amusing. Even I had to laugh at that one. It's the whole "unexpected" thing that Dan and Chip Heath talk about in my new favorite biz book: Made to Stick.