Quoted in the release of the study, the lead researcher, Dr. Hernan Delgado states that:

“Television and movies are among the leading sources of information about sex and relationships for adolescents.  Our research shows that their sexual attitudes and expectations are influenced much earlier in life.”

The researchers found that kids who viewed adult material when they were six to eight years old were more likely to start early sexual activity when they were teens than kids who did not view such shows. In fact for every hour of adult TV or movies watched in the two sample days, their chances of early sexual activity increased by 33%.

Young children learn by copying what they see. Because their brains are still in early stages of development, children are not able to view adult shows and see them as just entertainment.  The complexity of adult human relationships is beyond what their experience has taught them.  So they will just copy the sexual activity they see without any mature understanding of relationships or love.  When they hit adolescence and the hormones start flowing, the road map to early sex is in their brains.

We adults sometimes think that younger children do not understand mature content on television or movies, so we do not screen programs as we should.  Kids don’t understand, but they will copy.

Our media is full of sexual messages and images that are inappropriate for children. Early onset of sexual activity puts a teen at high risk for pregnancy, sexual diseases and for girls, cervical cancer, along with a host of other emotional and academic problems.

Here are my three best tips for appropriate media for children:

1. Keep TVs out of your child’s bedrooms, so you can monitor content.
2. Limit media to no more than two hours a day.
3. Keep content age appropriate.

If you’d like to see more tips on media use see our Media Family’s Twelve Tips to Tame the Tube. And yes, don’t forget to talk to your child about sexuality. Give them your values and give them early or the media culture will step in and gladly give your children theirs.

What  do you say to your child about mature content?

Being parents of four kids, they’ve been in the parenting business for quite some time.  She is the stricter parent, he the more lenient.  In fact, the stricter she got, the more lenient he became and vice versa.  Their wake up call came in the form of their fifteen year old son.  They began to realize that he was playing them off against one another and in the end getting whatever he wanted, while they argued.

The final incident occurred when their son came to his dad and asked to extend his curfew that night.  The dad said quickly said yes without consulting his wife.  When she found out, sparks flew and an argument began.  Their son of course was free and clear on his way for a long night out with his friends.

These parents realized they needed to do something different.  They realized that their inconsistency was not doing their son any good. As part of their plan they came together to my Say Yes to No talk, hoping to get a road map.  As luck would have it, I focus on the need for parents to be on the same page in dealing with discipline, limits and consequences with their children.

Say Yes to No gave these parents a reason and a road map to get on the same page and they left the talk with a commitment to each other to communicate before decisions are made and to be consistent.

What are your challenges to being a consistent parent?

Dr. Dave