Parenting a Child?
Michelle Boudreau
Parenting is one of the most controversial topics in the world. Everyone has their own methods and others tell us how we should parent. The government is now involved and has added several laws to protect children. However; is the government really the ones to tell parents how to take care of children? Should the government be so involved in the way parenting takes place? Sure there are some parents that need assistance with this, but should all parents be punished? Another important topic to talk about is music, video games and internet influences on children. The government has and is currently trying to make these items safer for children of today.
In today’s society there are many rules, regulations and laws on how to raise your child. You might find several books on telling you the right way to parent. But, who has all of the answers? Every parent needs to decide how to raise their child. Sure there are parents that take parenting to the extreme but what about the parents who are trying to raise their children to be productive members of society? Why are they being punished for the bad apples in the world? According to an article in The Real Truth, “California passed a bill to ban spanking children. The ban states “penalties would range from mandatory parenting classes to heavy fines and jail time” (Pack). Then goes on to state “Elsewhere, just days after this bill was announced, a toddler and her parents made national news: They were kicked off an airplane because the child had a tantrum and would not stop kicking and screaming long enough to sit down for takeoff.” The other passengers were saying to themselves why can’t they control their child? Well with the government passing new bills against spanking and how to discipline your child it makes it very difficult. Allow parenting to been done by the parents not the government. The government and some doctors state the problem with parenting today is children do not read enough. They raise themselves while their parents are at work. For some parenting was much easier when the husband went to work and the wife stayed home with the children. Now children are raised by TVs, computers, friends, music, etc. According to Handbook in Parenting: Practical issues in parenting, “complaints about what children are doing with media and technology is that parents should behave responsibly and control their children.” It also states “an alternative perspective includes the greater society, arguing that many people and agencies share in the responsibility for children’s well-being and healthy development”. (Bornstein)
The other concern of the society today is musical and game influences on the youth. Children our introduced to words that they shouldn’t know until they are much older. ‘Concerns such as am I being to protective of my children’? ‘Should I let them experience the world including music’? According to the Media Awareness Network “Listen to the music your children like. Read the lyrics and discuss them with your kids” (Media Awareness Network). This will allow you to not be a fussy parent but explain why this material is not appropriate for someone their age. Another thing you can review is the song allow with the video. A lot of times children don’t really understand the full scope of the song until they see the video that the artist has chosen to go with it. Of course if you choose to decide what your child listens to and not try and approach it this way most albums are label if there is inappropriate lyrics for children. In 1985 the RIAA developed the PAL program which allows the music companies to put labeling on the albums so the parents can make an informed decision on whether or not they should purchase it for their children. Unfortunately, this was not mandatory, music companies could determine if they would put a label on the album or not. In 2006, this was revised and now you will see “The Parental Advisory is a notice to consumers that recordings identified by this logo may contain strong language or depictions of violence, sex or substance abuse. Parental discretion is advised” (RIAA). Of course this is still voluntary but according to RIAA most record labels agrees that parents should have the choice of what their children listen to. Today we also have to work about violence in video games both online and bought from stores. Unlike the music community the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) has a mandatory rating system to notify parents of the content. Each rating spells out exactly what kind of content your child will be exposed to. Once website you can go to is parentstv.org research the game or music your child may be listening to. With the internet at a click of a button you have another realm of inappropriate information and graphics for your child.
Today children have access to everything from educational items to pornographic material at the click of a button. Your child may choose to visit inappropriate website or may accidentally click on the wrong thing and end up at a porn site. According to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and Boys & Girls Club of America “more than Forty-five percent of children in the United States more than 30 million of those younger than 18 use the internet.” (Project) But nowadays the need for internet security goes way beyond just necessary parenting. Children are being targeting online by sexual predators and used quiet easily. Studies show “Children of all ages have a lack of emotional maturity that can make them more susceptible to manipulation or intimidation. Also they have a strong desire for attention, validation, and affection along with a lack of caution or self-preservation”. (America) Therefore it is more important for parents to get involved and monitor their child’s behavior online. There are several ways to monitor and block unwanted sites from your child. Internet security is much more important in my eyes than blocking music and video games. Children are innocent and don’t know the repercussions of talking to strangers online until it is too late. So how does a parent make their child from something that is so important in society today? Talk to your child, explain the internet and take advantage of the parental controls available to you.
There are many tools out there to guide parents with keeping their children safe. The government doesn’t need to be involved in every aspect of parenting.