Shogun wrote:Nothing says you can't raise your kids with only retro consoles. HDTV whats that? Home school them and reward them with watching some Thundercats when they finish their homework. Take them to the few remaining playgrounds on the weekend. Go to the last video rental store in town. Of course first friend they make then the game is up.
AppleQueso wrote:I don't disagree that a lot of the things we loved as kids are gone now, I'm just trying to say that the intense pessimism about your children's lives is a bit unwarranted. I wonder how they feel about their own childhood...
I agree, the world changes and sometimes that is sad, but to force your children to enjoy the things that we did and deny them the pleasures of the current culture is just cruel.
I remember the local video library, I'd have to reserve any decent film a week in advance and then when I got it the tape would be creased, wound too tight to play and filthy dirty so I'd have to clean the heads after every tape I watched. I wouldnt force that on anybody, not when the alternative is that I can dload ANY film I want and watch it in pixel perfect quality.
Nostalgia clouds the way we think and sometimes its cool to think about how things used to be, but kids today have got it pretty good as things are.
I think the biggest thing for those of us who did grow up in the 80s is that our own kids lives are going to be radically different from our own childhoods in ways we can't even imagine due to everything that is rapidly changing and we can't ever foresee what could possibly be in place of everything we knew and experienced (especially in contrast to our own parents childhoods versus our own).
It seems since the late 90's, the media has given children a sexual identity. This has caused everyone to think we're all kid rape happy. I also think parents like to be over cautious with their kids so the parents can hold on to the dying dream that all kids are special. Remember, those of us that grew up in the late 80's and 90's were told we're all special, so we pass the lie down to our kids. That, concurrent with the new entitlement generation we have now (where everyone feels they're owed something) is making for a soft ass generation of kids.
If parents would just let their kids know that they aren't special and that when they fail it might be their own fault, we might get back to the way things were. The sting of failure is a wonderful developmental tool in becoming a successful adult.
I'm still growing up at 35. I enjoyed all 10 years of the 80's. Anyone who thinks that it's ok to let your kids do something just because you did is either childless or mindless. I don't care what anyone thinks about how the times are the same. Times are not the same, period. Sorry, but it WAS safer to ride around the neighborhood in the 80's. There was no internet that brought the world closer. There wasn't porn available at your fingertips (pun intended). I'm no prude, but at 12, I was chasing Playboy magazines in gas stations. My kid at 12 has access to hardcore porn from thousands and thousands of websites. Sorry, it's not the same. It's worse.
I miss the 80's. Hair metal, BMX, Colecovision, hairy vag and 4 channels on TV.
Maybe it's different up north, but due to urban sprawl in the south (because land is so cheap) there are plenty of safe places for kids to go out and be kids. The suburbs aren't too dangerous.
Is the porn thing that big of a deal? I'd rather my kids (I'm never having any, but for the sake of conversation) not find porn, but what harm is it? It's not any worse than the violence they'll see on TV everyday.
Replica wrote:Maybe it's different up north, but due to urban sprawl in the south (because land is so cheap) there are plenty of safe places for kids to go out and be kids. The suburbs aren't too dangerous.
Is the porn thing that big of a deal? I'd rather my kids (I'm never having any, but for the sake of conversation) not find porn, but what harm is it? It's not any worse than the violence they'll see on TV everyday.
There is a delicate balance between shielding them and letting them go out on their own. Porn for a child? No, it's not acceptable. Now what porn is defined as varies from family to family. Do you think a 12 year old should be watching Tera Patrick taking it up the ass?
Porn is one of the things that is different. The internet is the real change. Porn is just a part of the internet.
Whoever said kids need to realize they are not special is soooooo right. It's hard not to spoil your kids, but it's crucial to make them realize that the world doesnt revolve around them, will not stop for them and will roll them over without even knowing it.
Replica wrote:It seems since the late 90's, the media has given children a sexual identity. This has caused everyone to think we're all kid rape happy.
Honestly, this is a whole other subject altogether that could probably warrant their own thread.
Shabba wrote:
There is a delicate balance between shielding them and letting them go out on their own. Porn for a child? No, it's not acceptable. Now what porn is defined as varies from family to family. Do you think a 12 year old should be watching Tera Patrick taking it up the ass?
Porn is one of the things that is different. The internet is the real change. Porn is just a part of the internet.
I don't think children should have access to porn. But if they were to get curious and find some on the internet, what's the worst that could happen? If they saw someone taking it in the ass, they'd probably just go "BUT BUT, THAT'S WHERE THE POOP COMES OUT!"
I think there are greater evils to worry about than pornography when raising a kid. Perhaps my opinion is limited because I don't have any plans to have kids.
Shabba wrote:
There is a delicate balance between shielding them and letting them go out on their own. Porn for a child? No, it's not acceptable. Now what porn is defined as varies from family to family. Do you think a 12 year old should be watching Tera Patrick taking it up the ass?
Porn is one of the things that is different. The internet is the real change. Porn is just a part of the internet.
I don't think children should have access to porn. But if they were to get curious and find some on the internet, what's the worst that could happen? If they saw someone taking it in the ass, they'd probably just go "BUT BUT, THAT'S WHERE THE POOP COMES OUT!"
I think there are greater evils to worry about than pornography when raising a kid. Perhaps my opinion is limited because I don't have any plans to have kids.
No, your opinion is your opinion. I swore I'd never be a parent that said shit like "You won't know until you have kids" and I'm not. However, there is a place where, as a parent, you don't want your kids going (besides the basement of old man river next door). There are far greater evils than porn no doubt. I'm dealing with my kid, at 12, having gone to a kids house last weekend and took turns drinking Robutussin. Harmless for a one time thing yeah, but it leads to other shit. Weed isn't a gateway to heavier drugs like alcohol is. Alcohol is awful and, yes, I'd much rather deal with porn than Jim Bean. I'm simply picking on it because it's so prolific.
I think the worst that can happen to a kid finding porn is that they try something they see. Sure, we guys want to stick our dicks in anything and everything, but a kid is kid. They are not adults, they are children and I unabashedly want to shield them from sex for as long as I can. If he gets laid at 16, I'd be fine with it because it gave me more time to teach him the ins and outs (pun intended, again) of sex far better than if he starts now at 12. Pussy is a responsibility. Porn places pussy even higher on that pedestal and makes them want it more. It did for me. Alcohol is a responsibility. I'm not so stupid as to not realize that my kids will experience it, but not now. They are children.
EDIT: I would laugh, to myself, if my kid had that kind of a reaction to an anal scene. I would hope he would be attuned to the beauty of Tera Patrick, but hey, no one's perfect.
