I took the girls to see the movie Ponyo this week. While I couldn’t begin to tell you what the movie was about, the girls seemed to enjoy it and we had a nice day out before the start of school. However, before the movie started, we were watching previews. There was a preview for a show called The Secret Life of the American Teenager. I have never seen the show but knew of it. From what I gather it is about a teen girl in high school who gets pregnant. So while the preview for this show is on, I am thinking to myself, “I sure am glad Tori (my 8-year-old) is in the bathroom.” I didn’t think the content of the preview was suitable for the audience, but I was relieved my older daughter wasn’t there to see it.
All of the sudden a little voice next to me pipes up and says, “Wait a minute! You can’t be a teenager and have a baby.” I was shocked that my 4-year-old had picked up on what was going on. I replied with, “You are right, Ally, it is all made up for the television show.” Now I know that I can’t shelter my girls forever, but come on, does that type of preview need to be shown during a “G” rated movie? If the movie has a “G” rating for General Audiences, then the previews shown should be appropriate for the same audience.
I was relating the story to a friend who has a 10-year-old son and she said that they have to go through the sports page of the newspaper before they allow him to read it to take out the ads for Viagra and “Gentleman’s” Clubs. To me that is just sad. What does it say about our society that we can’t look through a newspaper or go to a movie without seeing what I deem as inappropriate material for children? Does it sell? It must because I find it in more and more places. I know that as my girls get older I will be dealing with this type of thing more often. Ideas, suggestions or tips on how you all deal with this?