Parental Guidance Controls Aren’t An End-All Solution

Sep 12, 2010 by VegasKev

Parents And Kids Need To Communicate For Better Guidance

A lot of marketing has been done on parental guidance controls as a solution to ensure that your kids aren’t watching things on television that they shouldn’t be.  What needs to be stressed to parents these days, however, is that parents and kids need to communicate for better guidance on what they should and shouldn’t watch on the television.  Think of it this way; though you can control what your children watch within your own home, they aren’t only watching TV at your home.  How will you guide them on proper programming when they are in the homes of others?  The answer is simple; communication.

Parents Guide Children Better Than A Program Control Option

Parents guide their children far better than any program control option on a television.  Though you can block certain programs with your TV remote (not all televisions and cable companies offer this), the bottom line is that you need to discuss, with your children, exactly what they should be watching and what they shouldn’t be watching.  And not only should you discuss the “what’s”, but you should also discuss the “why’s” that coincide with the “what’s”.  By discussing the “why’s” that go along with the “what’s”, you’ll help them understand that the answer isn’t simply “those are adult shows”.  It’ll help them understand that when watching certain things on television, they’ll be exposing themselves to certain situations that they might not be ready to accept and understand.  This should help them respect your reasoning somewhat better.

Parents And Children May Need To Watch Certain Shows Together At Certain Ages

All children reach a certain age where they will start getting exposed to topics that they shouldn’t just yet.  This being said, parents and children may need to watch certain shows together at certain ages in order for the parents to have a significant opportunity to prepare and educate their children on risqué topics before someone without the proper intentions exposes them to the children.  Though this isn’t a wanted scenario by parents, in today’s society, it might be a necessary evil.  This isn’t to say that a parent needs to do this, this is simply a suggestion to be taken into consideration under certain circumstances.

Divorced Parents May Have More Difficulty With Parental Controls

Because of the fact that a lot of divorced parents disagree on how to raise their children with the other parent, divorced parents may have more difficulty with parental controls.  Don’t take this out on your kids.  Share your opinions with your children and your ex spouse.  Maybe your ex spouse and yourself can come to some basic agreement as to what your child should be exposed to and when.  Often times, a middle ground can be met on this topic, even when most topics seem to cause nothing but friction.

Parental Control Can Be A False Sense Of Security For Parents

The reason we state that parental control can be a false sense of security for parents is simply this; parental control on your television doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ve blocked those types of materials from your child completely.  Remember that there are other televisions out there.  Other TV’s that your children will undoubtedly get their eyes on.  This is why we feel that tactful discussions are best.