So I am still trying to figure out this BETA blogger thing. I transferred my stuff, now I am trying to figure out how to add pics and the like. I clicked add image but the stupid thing just sits there and does nothing. Kind of like my family on occasion. LOL.
Anyway, I was reading the Sunday paper today and there is an article about kids growing up faster today and is it a good thing? Let me just say---NO IT'S NOT!!!! Just look around the schools. My 16 yr old stepdaughter said there are at least 7-8 girls in her grade alone that are pregnant. She says she just can't imagine being a mom this young. I told her to keep that viewpoint and remember it any time her boyfriend of the moment tries to get fresh with her. She knows by heart--and so do the other kids--that getting or getting someone pregnant is the quickest way to end your childhood. They have also all been told about the STD's, etc. They have been hearing about this stuff from me and their dad/stepdad since they were old enough to ask the questions.
Some people told me early on that I shouldn't give them such info at 10,11,12. Well, heck, kids are having kids that young. You have to give them the answers they are asking for---and I don't sugarcoat it. I didn't tell my son at age 6 how his soon-to-be baby sister was made--just that Mommy and Ronnie love each other very much and sometimes people have babies when they love each other. He was happy with that answer. Now of course he knows the basics of sex, at age 12.
But the growing up too fast part isn't just about having babies. It's about the stuff our kids get thrown at them each day--like the song lyrics from so many different songs. The only genre I have found to be completely safe is Christian and instrumental. Kind of limits your choices, but at least with the Christian music we listen to, we can get the beat from soft pop to hard rock to country to everything in between, although I still eschew rap in about any form (my ears are old and can't take it anymore). My 14 yr old son came home and told me that one of his friends apparently didn't get why he won't listen to Slayer and the like. My son told him that he will not listen to music that glorifies evil--as in this group's latest album where they claim to choose the Anti-Christ. No we're not Bible-thumpers, but we do have standards we uphold ourselves and our kids to.
How about the tv shows? And movies? So many are full of sex and violence and blood and gore, and it is gratuitous. It is not needed for the storyline. Same with the language. One of my favorite shows is CSI:Miami. My older kids--14 and 16--watch it with me and my husband--and we discuss it. They are not just left to watch whatever whenever. I block channels like MTV and E!. Our cable system is horrible in what they offer---not to mention the service----but the good side is that I have to block 2 channels--and only I know the code--and that leaves the others to monitor---and we don't have to do a lot of that, just certain shows. I don't let my 5 yr old watch CSI. A lot of the day when the tv is on, it's on Nick Jr. or Disney. And even some of that is innappropriate. We try to teach our kids that what they see on tv is not real life. And we do talk about a lot of what we watch, so that we get their viewpoint and they get ours. When we ban a show or channel, the kids get our reasons. They may not agree with them, but they are expected to abide by them.
We don't let our kids date at 10,12,14. This has been an issue with the stepdaughters, as they are in the custody of their mom, who sees nothing wrong with it. But we enforce the rules at our home--and the girls know that. The oldest gets 10 or 15 minutes on the phone with her boyfriend, in the living room, no privacy. I don't sit next to her, but with the possibility that anyone can hear what she says, it curtails the talk. I tell her she is still lucky--I had to stand in the kitchen and talk on our corded phone--the only one in the house.
We don't allow our kids cell phones or phones in their rooms. Cell phones--heck, our bill for the two of us is bad enough. All I need is to add more lines. I have a house payment and kids to put through college. Why on earth would an 8 or 10 yr old need a cell phone? They should be in school, daycare, or with their parents. At all times.
I'm sure I'll have more on this later.
1 comment:
you add the images the same as with the older one sis. just click the little picture above where you entered your post. It's the last one on that row where you bold, italicize, add a link etc...
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