What the Kids See
Posted by Danielle Bean in Family on Monday, January 05, 2009 1:30 PM
If you went to the mall this holiday season, you were likely “treated” to a large window display like the one Mathew Archbold discusses in a recent post at Creative Minority Report.
Exactly when did it become appropriate to display sexual images to the public? Archbold uses a bit of humor in his description of the mall scene and conversations with his children, but he makes a good point about what is considered “normal” and how readily our culture exposes children to sexual images:
Here’s the truth. If a man was caught showing pictures of topless women in pink underwear holding their breasts or men in wet briefs, they’d be arrested. But when a store does it, it’s capitalism.
I avoid malls for many reasons, but you had better believe that “lewd” (I love how Matt astonishes even himself by using the word “lewd.”) store displays is one of them.
We parents can only make so many phone calls, write so many letters, and turn around so many magazines at the check out (doesn’t it make you crazy when there’s an inappropriate ad on the back cover too?). In the end, we need to teach our children to protect themselves and their souls in a world that accosts their eyes and provides visual temptation in so many ways.
Of course there is no one “right way” to prepare our kids and I think the solutions will be as varied as families themselves are.
What are your thoughts? How do you balance protecting your kids’ innocence and preparing them to live in the “real world”?
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