Ooh, was it you or another Dutch doper who posted a thread about wondering if s/he should get a double (full) sized bed instead of a twin for the kid, because sooner or later, it will have more than one occupant while under your roof? That was a fascinating thread. I admit, for all my laissez faire about sex and teens, the idea of not only “allowing” and preparing theoretically, but actively facilitating and abetting my teen in having sex as if it was all okay and normal* really pushed those boundaries!
*Which, of course, it is. But it’s not in my brain. Thank you, cultural programming!
I shield my daughter, to the extent I can, from Disney. We avoid licensed characters of all sorts in the clothing and toys we buy her, and most clothing with writing on it. Also, I do not let her watch any commercial children’s programming, and all commercials targeted at children and most other advertisements. I also eschew most violent programs, only allowing in the past year Monk and Psych with us. I do allow her to watch Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood and some home improvement shows.
I am pleased by the results so far. I am not bombarded by requests for stuff and she has not developed the princess obsession that many of her friends have. Nor is she a tom boy. She likes wearing pretty dresses sometimes, especially ones with skirts which will fly out when she spins. She also likes arts and crafts, building things, cooking, and playing pretend. For Christmas she asked for three knitted lemons and is still delighted with them. They were not her only gifts, but they were the only ones she asked for specifically.
As far as sexual content, well most we would not be comfortable viewing when she was with us. On the other hand, she doesn’t seem bothered when she accidentally sees something more sexually explicit than I really feel is appropriate, and I do try not to react strongly and just answer any questions, which are remarkably few. Both she and I am very bothered when she sees something violent. Most of these unintended exposures occur when commercials are accidentally not skipped. I don’t like violent programs myself, and even Monk and Psych push my own limits.
I shield them, to some extent, from sensationalist television news. This is because I don’t want them to be nervous about being out in the world around adults. Of course I tend to shield myself from this sort of stuff.
We also avoid stuff that has been shown to freak them out. For example, I let my son watch the opening segment of one of the Blade movies, which I thought he’d find interesting, and he had vampire nightmares for weeks. Frankly, I’d forgotten how intense the scene was. My daughter was disturbed by the Bug’s Life 4-D exhibit at Animal Kingdom: she has a severe phobia of certain creepy crawlies (but actually enjoys catching some types of insects, just doesn’t deal with slime).
We also somewhat avoid the overtly sexually themed stuff, but don’t avoid stuff if it’s got sex in some decent context. For example, my daughter has started watching Ugly Betty, but my son isn’t really interested. But the O.C. would be off limits.
Family Guy and the Simpsons is mostly taboo, although if the Simpsons were still any good it would probably be okay now that they are older.
To be fair, most of what they watch when left to their own devices are shows that are targeted to their demographic: Hannah Montana, Drake & Josh, iCarly, Suite Life of Zack and Cody, with some more kiddie sort of stuff mixed in like SpongeBob, Kids Next Door (which I love), etc.
I was just at my local video store yesterday and found myself sharing an aisle with a pair of 10- or 11-year-old girls who were dressed way too “old”, IMO (nothing provocative or revealing, just more like they were trying to look 16). They were browsing the shelves behind me and I overheard one say to the other, “Does you mom let you watch American Pie?” And I’m all, “WTF?” I was tempted to turn and ask this girl if her mom lets her watch it, and if so would she take me to her so that I can go upside her head a couple times.