On Mom's mind
| Mom on censorship: Censorship is stupid. You can’t babyproof minds! |
Parental locks on TV and website filters are tools for parents to
avoid doing their job. They allow parents to avoid talking to their
children about things they really need to know. Rather than
teaching them to be critical thinkers and inoculate them from
external pressures and potential danger, they want to try to
babyproof their kids’ minds and it simply doesn't work - and
makes their kids less safe.
When you have a baby, you cover electrical outlets, put away
breakable or potentially dangerous items, you always use a car
seat because that is what responsible parents do. Babies are
helpless to protect themselves, but children and teenagers are
not. When we shelter them from the information they need to be
informed consumers of life, we don’t do them any favors.
Forget channel blocks and website filters, your kids know how to
get around these better than the designers and you’re not
helping them by making images and ideas forbidden fruit. I had
one rule about TV and movies when my kids were little – it can be
sex or it can be violence, but it can’t be both at the same time –
and then I explained why. What is important about monitoring –
not necessarily censoring – the information your children receive
is to help them think critically about what they are viewing.
Asking questions like, what is the difference between what you
are seeing and reality? What ideas are these images trying to
sell you? What is their purpose? These are opportunities to
create scenarios for your children to help them understand and
make sense of the world. Even more importantly, these are
opportunities to communicate and reinforce your values with your
children rather than letting your TV do it for you.
You can’t pretend that sex, violence and bad role models(on TV or
in life) don’t exist and hide it all behind a curtain. It’s like germs,
you have to let your kids develop immunities to it! Use what is
out there to teach your kids how to think critically about the
media and the social construction of what we see and hear.
Mediate, rather than censor, what your children see and your
kids will know when someone or something is trying to exploit
them and be prepared to resist it.
Raise smart kids, not ignorant, helpless, destined-to-be tragic
statistics.
avoid doing their job. They allow parents to avoid talking to their
children about things they really need to know. Rather than
teaching them to be critical thinkers and inoculate them from
external pressures and potential danger, they want to try to
babyproof their kids’ minds and it simply doesn't work - and
makes their kids less safe.
When you have a baby, you cover electrical outlets, put away
breakable or potentially dangerous items, you always use a car
seat because that is what responsible parents do. Babies are
helpless to protect themselves, but children and teenagers are
not. When we shelter them from the information they need to be
informed consumers of life, we don’t do them any favors.
Forget channel blocks and website filters, your kids know how to
get around these better than the designers and you’re not
helping them by making images and ideas forbidden fruit. I had
one rule about TV and movies when my kids were little – it can be
sex or it can be violence, but it can’t be both at the same time –
and then I explained why. What is important about monitoring –
not necessarily censoring – the information your children receive
is to help them think critically about what they are viewing.
Asking questions like, what is the difference between what you
are seeing and reality? What ideas are these images trying to
sell you? What is their purpose? These are opportunities to
create scenarios for your children to help them understand and
make sense of the world. Even more importantly, these are
opportunities to communicate and reinforce your values with your
children rather than letting your TV do it for you.
You can’t pretend that sex, violence and bad role models(on TV or
in life) don’t exist and hide it all behind a curtain. It’s like germs,
you have to let your kids develop immunities to it! Use what is
out there to teach your kids how to think critically about the
media and the social construction of what we see and hear.
Mediate, rather than censor, what your children see and your
kids will know when someone or something is trying to exploit
them and be prepared to resist it.
Raise smart kids, not ignorant, helpless, destined-to-be tragic
statistics.
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
