If I had a dollar for every time I've had to divert the gaze of my children away from the TV because of some horrible commercial, I'd be rich. I watch a lot of television on Spike TV that gets recorded at 2:00am; specifically, various Star Trek re-runs. While Star Trek is a show that I would let my kids watch, I have to be careful when I watch it in front of them because of the G!rls G*ne W!ld commercials that air in the middle of the night. Since my DVR won't let me skip commercials, I have to fast forward them. However, even fast forwarded, they are pretty bad. I really don't what my 6-year-old daughter to be exposed to that.
In another common scenario, we might be watching some random live TV-PG program when some awful commercial for the latest horror film comes on. I quickly have to hit mute, and yell at the kids, "DON'T LOOK AT THE TV!"
If you are letting your kids watch Rock of Love Bus with Bret Michaels and your kids see a G!rls G*ne W!ld ad, then that's your own fault. However, if you are watching Data's evil brother Lore steal the emotion chip that Dr Soong wanted him to have, and during the commercial break your kids are exposed to topless sluts kissing each other, well that's another matter entirely.
There is an increasing a gap between what is shown during a television program and what is presented during its commercial break. This makes it difficult for parents who take an active role policing the television, to effectively block the unwholesome images and concepts that are presented to their children. Commercials should be rated, and then only allowed to air with shows that have compatible ratings.
***Note*** In an attempt to avoid the delicious irony of unwholesome Google ads placed in this post because of the contextual reference to G!rls G*ne W!ld I've obviously changed the spelling...we'll see how that works out for me.
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television commercials
6 comments:
That is a good idea.
TV is almost all garbage. Just turn it off and play with your children instead.
You might just have to make the sacrifice and turn it off. We live in a sad world sometimes. Freedom of speech comes with a duty that many in the entertainment/talk show business don't quite grasp.
It's not always a problem just at home.
A commercial for a horror film with very disturbing imagery came on during march madness last Sunday while we were eating at a local pizza place...We had to divert the kids attention until it was over...
Well, you're a good dad, so you'll figure out how to handle it correctly.
Between those horror movie commercials and the Enzyte commercials DVR is worth it's weight in gold.
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