Sexualization of children

[beckers]

In the great houston area there has been a rash of older females sleeping with teens. The comment at the end of the artice caught my attention and i wanted to know what others and especially parents that about this “trend” and how do you protect your childern?

khou.com/topstories/stories/khou070312_tj_childsexkaty.89a1baa.html
(Backstory of the article…28yr old women slept with a 14year. She is pregnant and not sure who the father is and her husband has filed for divorce and custody of the childern)

“There is definitely a trend towards the sexualization of children,” said Dr. Richard Pesikoff, the director of psychiatry at Baylor College of Medicine.

A subtle trend he believes started perhaps 25 years ago about the time many of the women, including this latest case, were children.

“And this woman who is coming out of having been raised in this increasingly sexualized society is now looking at him not as a 14-year-old. The issue is we expose our children now to sexual issues much earlier,” said Pesikoff.

 

[HouseArrest]

I think that the sexualization of children happens little by little, right before peoples’ eyes, and they make excuses for it as it’s happening. Examples: The original Shrek movie, I thought, had too much “sex” in it for my kids to see. EVERYONE thinks I’m crazy, it’s just a movie, it’s cute, all the kids are going to see it anyway, etc. etc. Also, the Bratz dolls. Someone gave my daughter a Bratz doll (she was in Kindergarten, 6 years old) that was wearing thong underwear. “Oh, what’s the big deal, its just underwear…” I also saw an advertisement for a CD that contained adult music (Hips Don’t Lie, etc.) for sale on Nickelodeon. My older kids are the ones who Nickelodeon is targeted toward. I don’t think my 11 year old daughter needs to be listening to Hip’s Don’t Lie. (I also don’t let them watch Nickelodeon much).

I read a very good book by Mary Pipher (the author of “Reviving Ophelia”) called “The Shelter of Each Other, Rebuilding Our Families”. It talked about keeping out all the consumerism, media, etc. of your house, or at least getting control of it. It seems that with TV, the Internet, and now MySpace and cell phones if you’re not careful your kids could be bombarded with way more than what’s good for them.

I’m not in the camp where I want to create a little subculture for my kids, I want them to be able to make it in the world as it is. But when they are little, sometimes seeing, hearing, and experiencing all that sexual stuff can just change them and they can’t get back their innocence.

 

[OriginalJS]

It is a crime for a 28 year old to engage in sexual activity with a 14 year old. (Sounds like “Notes of an Affair.”) Sure children are “sexualized.” Yesterday I saw what must have been a five year old with multiple ear piercings with diamond-like studs in them.

 

[sanctamaria17]

The worst part is she wants to abort the baby

 

[kepha7]

The American Psychological Association just released a task force report on this very subject. Here’s the link.

Here are some exerpts:

“Journalists, child advocacy organizations, parents, and psychologists have argued that the sexualization of girls is a broad and increasing problem and is harmful to girls”

“Virtually every media form studied provides ample evidence of the sexualization of women, including television,music videos,music lyrics, movies, magazines, sports media, video games, the Internet, and advertising”

“Although extensive analyses documenting the sexualization of girls, in particular, have yet to be conducted, individual examples can easily be found.These include advertisements (e.g., the Skechers “naughty and nice” ad that featured Christina Aguilera dressed as a schoolgirl in pigtails, with her shirt unbuttoned, licking a lollipop), dolls (e.g., Bratz dolls dressed in sexualized clothing such as miniskirts, fishnet stockings, and feather boas), clothing (thongs sized for 7– to 10-year-olds, some printed with slogans such as “wink wink”), and television programs (e.g., a televised fashion show in which adult models in lingerie were presented as young girls)”

“If girls purchase (or ask their parents to purchase) products and clothes designed to make them look physically appealing and sexy, and if they style their identities after the sexy celebrities who populate their cultural landscape, they are, in effect, sexualizing themselves.”

“Ample evidence testing these theories indicates that sexualization has negative effects in a variety of domains, including cognitive functioning, physical and mental health, sexuality, and attitudes and beliefs.”

 

[Robaynne]

I do not know what is happening to society today.What can that 14 year old inexperienced person give a experienced person. That child has not even lived his life and already he has been made into an adult way before his time. And at the end of the day so many peoples lives have been destroyed because someone made the mistake of thinking that they are in love with a young boy.

We have no right to judge that person but when are people going to open their eyes and see the wrong that they are doing.

At the end of the day we are the ones who are responsible the PARENTS. What we teach our children will make a major impact on their lives later. And kids should be just that kids not grow up way before their times. Before the playstation, XBox, cable TV etc when we were kids we used to play outside and be children. Play games, read books etc. But today you get kids that have cell phones and they are so young. They are busy on MIXIT etc. There is the programme that I watch on TV sometimes called “My Sweet Sixteen” it really amazes me how American people spoil their kids. Give them parties that cose Thousands of Dollars and expensive cars. Is that all necessary to spoil a child so much that they do not know how it is to work for anything. Then we want to wonder why our kids are exposed to such things as having sex way before their time or even before they are ready.

Or allowing our kids to wear what they want to wear or what is the fashion. I am sorry my kids are 6 and 9 and they will be just kids and not grow up way before their time. Branded name clothes I am very sorry they will not wear that and anyway they grow out of it so quickly.

The parents are the ones who are responsible for what their kids do. When you spoil a child too much the only person you can blame is yourself and nobody else. And what morals and beliefs that you instill in them will impact on their lives. Teaching them don’t hide things from them tell them from a early age that there are consequences to everything. That having sex before marriage is wrong and there are consequences at the end of the day. And that having a boyfriend at a very young age when you are not even mature enough to handle it or deal with it. I will not allow my kids to have boyfriends at 16 years old I am sorry. There is plenty of time once you have completed school and educated yourself to think about dating etc.

But I have faith, hope and belief. And instead of judging that women pray for her that she will realise the wrong that she has done. And that she will not make that mistake again. The consequences of her actions have repercussions her getting divorced and the husband wanting the kids, her name, her life that boys life and his family and that unborn child that she does not want. And we should pray for all these people and exspecially for our kids and their future.