Political correctness is getting stupid these days, but I find that a lot of children's shows have content that I wouldn't want my child to watch. Fortunately I don't have one. My buddy is constantly viewing the programs that his children watch. If he sees something he doesn't like, they no longer watch the program. Parents have to get involved with the lives of their children more. I don't see anything wrong with the use of those words, but you're the parent. If you don't like it click the remote.
It's finally occured to me to tell the story about teaching my cousin how to swear. We all know we can't prevent children from hearing these words. We would have to never let them out in public to keep them from hearing them. But my cousin is deaf. Even as a kid, she was pretty good at reading lips. But she thought the words were futs and shik when she was five. My uncle taught her how to say them properly so she wouldn't embarrass herself in front of her friends in case she blurted them out one day, then taught her not to say them. My cousin is one of the kindest, sweetest, most positive women I know, and she hardly ever swears. To me, that proves that hearing them and understanding them has no weight on whether or not people will use them, including children. What matters is teaching them.
I agree, and I think that's why some parents want to know what kinds of words are going to be in television shows their kids watch. If a parent is watching a show with their kid, hears the word, and is able to teach them what the word means and explain that it's not a nice word to use, then that's all well and good, but what if your kid is watching a show without you, picks up some not-so-nice words, and you have no idea? You can't teach them about words if you don't know what they're hearing.
We all know the best way to raise children is with a $5 wiffle bat and some hard lovin'. jk jk Imo, the best way to introduce bad language to children is demonstrate when it is proper to use it and when it is not. Seriously. If you tell a kid not to say a word, chances are he's gonna say it when you're not around. Equip your children with your thoughts and examples and trust them to make the right decision.
even a wiffle bat will teach your kids it's ok to hit, which it's not! and i'm afraid to ask what's meant by 'hard' loving
0_0......not..........okay to hit? lol jokes I'm sure you knew we were both joking and had a witty remark but on that note i believe I have a good rebuttal: If you incessantly beat your children like some alcoholic, retired construction worker then sure your kids may (I say may because even that doesn't mean they think it is right. some kids are smart, "hey I'm getting hit, I don't like this so it might be wrong.") begin to think its okay to hit. BUT (and I cant stress this but too much) if you contactually discipline your kids ONLY when they are doing something severely wrong and do this properly, your kids may become classically conditioned to believe its only write to take aggressive actions when its need and then you end up with a crime fighter on your hands.....YEEEEEEEAAAAAAAH think about that why dontcha......sorry I'm bored with nothing better to do so I thought I would just type this out. lol. (I know contactually is not a word, but technically if you understood what i meant then it becomes a word.)
Hypothetically, what are your thoughts on letting your child watch a family movie from the 50s or so with the word "gay" in it? That word is generally offensive when used by non-gays today but in the movie it would have meant happy. The OP was about the word spastic, which technically was used in context and without any offense intended, but due to changing society (esp. in Australia), has offensive connotations. In my example, so does the word gay. I think that Torana is right in that it is bad taste and negligent of the producers to not put a warning at the start of the show. However, I doubt that you're going to be there for every show to monitor the warnings. So teaching your kids words to use and/or not use is probably your best course of action. They will pick up offensive words, be it from TV, other people, etc, the best course of dealing with it is education. My mother always told us kids that any word we weren't sure about, we were to ask her about it without fear of punishment. She would tell us if we could say it or not, and from then on, it would be a smackable offense. We learnt. Sure, we may have sworn around other children but never around adults. It's not about elimination of the problem, it's about minimisation of the occurance of the problem.
sorry, but that's nonsense... hitting/hurting [yes, any spanking does hurt!] a kid for any reason only teaches them it's ok to hit/hurt others... with an attitude like that, i can only hope you don't have any children... and let's not hijack this thread any further, ok?
wow okay for one: when I said before "I'm sure you realize I am kidding" I guess i miss judged you, and two: if you take a psychology, or a behavioral course, they will tell you that what you say is false. but again I WAS KIDDING. and I do have a son, And he knows, and understands these concepts as well so I'm sure its not too late for you either.
You're kidding, but you're also disagreeing? Hardly logical... Btw, most practicing child psychologists will tell you that punishing children by physical means (hurting/spanking/slapping) is not only ineffective...it's downright damaging. Back on topic; The word 'spastic' being aired on a children's show still doesn't sit well with me. What was the name of that TV show? They might air it here...our television is always on the kiddie channels. It's in high demand here.
Sometimes saying, "Just kidding!" just isn't enough. Battering children is simply not fodder for jest with many people. We have a case in my area in which a father was "disciplining" his seven year old son on Father's Day. He beat him so severely that the child was admitted to the hospital unconscious, heavily bruised over his face and body. The father has been charged with aggravated assault, and the father's girlfriend was also charged because she stood by and did not intervene. The boy was pronounced brain dead later that day, and is currently maintained on life suppirt while his other surviving relatives have to decide whether to keep him on life support and whether to harvest his organd to save other lives. So no, "just kidding" may not be an adequate disclaimer for a comment which some will feel isn't the least bit humorous.
I am so offended by this thread. A lot of BS in my opinion. I don't have time to quibble over every word somebody says. I disapprove of "word police". If words are used to be mean or degrading, then they are wrong. Otherwise, they're just descriptive. I work in health care, and I've dealt with spastic patients. Still I find no more insult to this term than I do the term 'fit', which is what seizures used to be called. Hyperactivity is a medical condition, but who doesn't say someone is 'hyper' when they are really only excited or upset. Maybe calling it the 'spasmodic dance' would have been more PC, but as a rule these little fad dances that children learn are usually obsolete in a few months anyway.
Well, no one forced you to read it.... Regardless of how you personally feel about "quibbling" over words, parents should know what words will be used in childrens' programming so they will have the option of deciding what shows they want their kids to watch and what shows they don't. Some parents don't want their kids exposed to that kind of stuff...it's their choice, not anyone else's.
I'm going to ask something, but please don't take offense one way or another. I'm curious, not accusing, and feel free to not respond. Are you a parent?
Yes, I'm a parent and a grandparent. I raised my kids without all this PC crap that's going around now, just as I was. You can't shield your kids from everything that you don't like. Are you going to follow them around school and everywhere they go? I didn't censor everything my kids watched and heard, but they grew up to be polite people who do not say and do things that will intentionally hurt others. If there was something I didn't like for them to hear or see, we discussed why I thought it was wrong. If you find Wow Wow Wuzzby too offensive for your children, don't let them watch it. Simple. Let other people decide for themselves what they want to let their kids watch, or not. That's all I'm saying...let people decide for themselves.
A note for my little diary: I stood up in school today when asked about our careers. I said I wanted to be an anti-sobriety activist working for the benefit of those who are less selectively perceptive than myself or other persons who I feel have a self-paced cognitive ability. I was asked why, so I said it would give me a unique perspective on their sexually dysfunctional agendas. Whilst I would probably be economically marginalised whilst I continued with my career, I would encounter other uniquely fortuned individuals with alternative career choices that would enrich my social life. I think that paying attention to the needs of under-represented demographics of the national population such as these would be of great benefit to other generations, who would, through my hard work, learn not to police their thoughts like this and write what they want without reprisal. Let's hope they don't read this, though, or they'll think their parents were mad...
I agree with letting people decide for themselves what is/isn't appropriate for their children. I don't think that anything needs to be censored or taken out of tv shows, books, etc...I just think that if a tv show geared toward children is going to contain something that may be offensive, there should be a warning of some kind beforehand, rather than parents finding out about it while watching the show.
For the most part, children's shows don't use offensive language. There was no way the show in question was going to warn about the use of the word spastic, as it's not offensive. It might be offensive to a very few people, but by and large, it's not. How about parents start educating their children instead of sheltering them. It seems to me that parents are too scared of letting their children hear these words because the parents are too weak to stop their children from using them. My, oh my, what are these parents going to do when the kid goes to school and learns these words from less...... disciplined children? Should the school issue a content advisory warning?
It seems there is a difference of opinion as to how widely that word is considered offensive in the audience area. Let us assume that it IS generally considered derogatory and insensitive. Yes, parents should educate their children. But it gives a mixed message when programming created and endorsed for children promote language and attitudes at odds with what te parents are teaching to the children. This has nothing to do with exposure to other kids' attitudes. Other kids are not viewed as approved content, in contrast with programming actually designated as children's programming, In the latter case, you are talking about a medium trusted to provide wholesome content, but which is undermining the teachings of responsible parents. Comparing that to exposure to peer language and attitudes is a strawman fallacy (arguing from a different case that is easier to argue, and representing it as equivalent).
The point that I'm trying to make is that, due to differing sensitivities to words, you can't really say that children's programming is trusted. Much like the child's peer language exposure. Obviously, children's programming is going to cater for an average child's vocabulary. This will alienate the children of parents who may be more strict on what their child watches. Therefore, the childrens programming cannot be trusted. It goes without saying, anyway, that you shouldn't trust someone else's idea of what's good for your child or not. I know you've alread brought down my peer language exposure, but I can't help referring to it. You can't trust the child's peers (much the same as you shouldn't trust the programming) and must accept that the child will learn unwholesome words. The only course of action is to expect this, and educate against it.
