Bratz dolls have pre-adolescent figures and are sexy in a pedophilia kind of way. Is this what you want for your 7-year-old?
Mall stores are carrying the most offensive video games money can buy. The biggest seller is “Grand Theft Auto.”
Posted on 12/04/2005 11:20:04 AM PST by wagglebee
Shopping for kids seems to be getting harder every year. I hear from parents across the country who are shocked every time they shop — not just by the prices, but by the toys and other desirables on children’s wish lists.
Do we really want our 4-year old princesses dressing dolls that look like street-walkers? Do we want our teenage daughters to dress that way? Do we want our adolescent sons spending hours playing video games that make a sport of killing policemen and prostitutes? What does it say about our country that some of the most popular products are so offensive? And, what can we do about it?
At one mall, mothers have been protesting a Victoria’s Secret for a store window displaying mannequins in sexually explicit S&M poses. The mannequins model the kinds of microscopic underwear that used to be reserved for strippers, but are now on the wish lists of young teenagers.
But it was not just the merchandise but also the poses that were too offensive, even by today’s standards. Parents don’t like having to walk past sexually explicit store windows with their children — call them crazy, but they don’t think its appropriate for a family shopping mall.
And they don’t want G-strings marketed to adolescent girls. The mall management responded by accusing the politely protesting moms of violating the mall code of conduct!
Mall stores across the country are carrying many of the most offensive video games that money can buy. The all-time biggest seller, “Grand Theft Auto” — now in its third version — finally graduated to an “adults only” rating, which means the game “should only be played by persons 18 years and older” and “may include prolonged scenes of intense violence and/or graphic sexual content and nudity.” Several major chain stores will not carry “adults only” games, fortunately. Unfortunately, they all carry video games labeled Mature, often geared to pre-teens and young teens, even though they are “suitable for persons ages 17 and older” and contain “intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content, and/or strong language.” Believe me, they look more like X.
Parents hope that these ratings don’t matter, since it is “only a game” and since kids see so much sex and violence on TV, movies and the Internet. They do matter. Research shows that playing a game that rewards violent and offensive behaviors is even more likely to influence what kids think and do than passively watching it.
Perhaps you’re now thanking your lucky stars that you can shop for dolls instead. But millions of Bratz dolls, dressed like what used to be called “tarts” (now it’s called “attitude”), are sold to preschool and elementary school girls. These dolls have preadolescent figures and are sexy in a pedophilia kind of way. Is this the ideal you want for your darling 7-year-old?
A Bratz TV show helps sell the dolls and electronic Bratz gifts — including telephones and TVs for your child’s room. For parents and grandparents who care about their children, a TV or computer in the room may seem a very reasonable choice. Unfortunately, kids with TV’s in their room watch more TV, watch more TV that their parents would consider objectionable, read less and sleep less. And kids who watch more TV tend to be more violent, are more likely to be overweight and tend to do less well in school.
The advantage of having TV in a child’s room? There aren’t any, unless you want to see less of your child and not hear what they are watching.
Computers in a child’s bedroom are a mixed blessing. Computers are great for schoolwork, but when they are in the bedroom, children are more likely to view pornography or be “educated” in chat rooms in ways you never dreamed of. Research shows that one in five kids receive unwanted online sexual requests.
So, if there is another room in your house for your child to use a computer, instead of their bedroom, that’s a safer choice.
What can we do? If we keep buying sexualized dolls and violent video games, companies will keep promoting more of the same. One solution is to talk to family members who buy gifts for our children, letting them know, for example, what a Mature or Adults Only rating means on a video game. We can also talk to the parents of our children’s friends, to cooperatively establish standards that parents can agree on and avoid the “all my friends have it” line that is otherwise so effective.
And, we can all check Web sites such as www.toysafety.org and www.mediafamily.org to avoid the worst offenders.
Happy holidays? We will be happier if we make sure the things we buy our kids won’t harm them. And we can ask mall managers for help, starting with a real code of conduct for what is sold in their stores.
There is no doom or gloom. Just people who want to complain. The complaints come every year. When I was a kid there were complaints over Mad magazine and monster models. There was particular hostility saved up for a cartoon artist named Big Daddy Roth and his creation, Rat Fink.
Don't forget Garbage Pail Kids
...and horror comics, which eventually prompted a congressional hearing (sic!)
...and horror comics, which eventually prompted a congressional hearing
Sears and Roebuck catalogs were like Playboy way back when.
I like the Human Torch and Johnny Combat with an M1, hehe.
Whoa, I never said I was for banning anything or dictating anything to anybody. My point was that adult themed stuff should not be easily accessible to children. The problem is that this garbage IS marketed to children or it's easily accessible to them. There's got to be some social responsibility. There is some but not enough. Too many people don't care.
I never said I had the answer either. But condoning and socially allowing EVERYTHING isn't it.
The corollary to that is "So they will shut up and go away"
Maybe I am wrong but it seems to me that a lot of these kinds of parents don't actually like having children around. So they give them things that the kid can go off and do rather then give them things that would require the parents to spend time with them.
Sears and Roebuck catalogs were like Playboy way back when.
So was National Geographic.
In regards to Victoria's Secret --- there was a small news item several weeks ago. The company apparently commissioned a machine that can create a bra out of a single piece of cloth. Am I the only one who thinks this is huge news? Any any lady can tell you (and not a few men) bras are highly complex pieces of clothing that are very labor intensive to make. A machine that can make one in an economical fashion would seem to be huge news.
I agree 100% and that's why it makes me so upset when I see some parents abusing the privilege of raising kids with which they have been blessed.
It's a privilege that some of us dearly wish we could have.
"Any video or book I get for my nieces and nephews I vet."
First vet Barbies, and now vet videos and books. Vets are pretty popular I guess. :)
I believe you've hit the nail on the head.
It is the responsibility of parents and parents alone to control what games their children possess. As far as chat room access, it is very simple to restrict or prohibit access to chatrooms on your computer. Create log in identities with password protection, and prohibit your children from accessing websites with questionable material. This is blaming other people for bad parenting.
It would make making bras a "snap" and allow for a bra-der category of them to be manufactured. However, there would still be some whiny "boobs" to contend with. (okay, I know, I know). I wonder if they'll ever "figure" out how to mass market it or whether it will be a bust.
I believe you've hit the nail on the head.
Ouch! That hurt. Thank you. I respect good parents a GREAT deal and always compliment them when I can.
Not to hijack the thread -- but I am kinda hoping that it will bring some clothing manufacturing back to the U.S. A machine is cheaper than cheap labor.
In regards to toys -- parents just have to exercise judgement. Something that most parents shy away from these days.
I agree. In most games with violence it is you against an evil force that HAS to be killed, in other words it is justified. Operation Flashpoint was a game where you had to stop communists for example. Games like Call of Duty and Day of Defeat are you the player pitted against the forces of the Third Rich. Deus Ex (my personal favorite) a sci-fi game where you join the resistance to fight against the UN's One-World-Government plot.
Good post. That's my central theme always--that parents are responsible for their children and that we shouldn't "pass the buck" elsewhere.
Another nice post. I too would like to see some clothing manufactured in the US. We're losing our self-sufficiency.
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