Then and Now ...

Wednesday, September 26, 2007 Is it just me or has life changed majorly since we were kids? It seems as if MY kids are growing up in a world that SO much more is "allowed". Maybe it is just me being a protective mom, or maybe it is just me growing up enough these past years that I am actually taking it all in and noticing it, or maybe it is just the "worry wart" coming out in me. Who knows . . . Saturday morning cartoons . .. where are they? When I was a kid, you could bet on the house that my sister and I would be camped out in front of the tv from 7 am till noon on Saturdays watching CARTOONS! Not "tween" shows . . . CARTOONS!!! Where did Shirt Tails, Smurfs, Rug Rats, Strawberry Shortcake, G I Joe, Master of the Universe, Reading Rainbow, Seasme Street and all the other cartoons go? Where are the cute cartoons on the major channels? Not on cable . . . there are cartoons on them 24/7. Saturday mornings use to be something that my sister and I looked forward to as a kid . . . my kids look forward to the donuts that we get on Saturday mornings. Speaking of tv . . . what about tv in the evenings. People in their bra and undies, having sex, naked in the shower (well, the tv implying they are naked). I know for sure that this was not on the tv when I was a kid. My Mom would have ripped me out of the room faster than I could have blinked if it was. Now . . . it is no biggie. The word "ass" . . . this use to be a bad word in our house. Now every show says it. What about cartoon movies making adult jokes in it. No, the kids are not going to get it, but sooner or later my 6 year old is going to ask what it means!!! The commercials that talk about E.D. (the little blue pill cure) and STDS (the warts commercial). Are these commercials seriously "proper"? I understand that the world is changing and that means the things seen on tv are as well, but where is the line being drawn? Cosmo had to cover up their magazine this past issue . . . (the cover that is on the front of Play Boy - well, Cosmo has the samething covering it this issue). Now, Cosmo is at the front of the check out line, where my kids stand with me when we are in the store. 5 years from now, will that same issue have to be covered up? Will the subtitles that are so "out there" and the person on the cover (who is hardly dressed) be ok in societies eyes and allow it to be seen by ANYone standing there? Things are changing in this world and it is nothing how it use to be! Janet and I use to play in the backyard and run up and down the road without a second thought. Now, my kids can not go outside unless the privacy fence is locked and I am standing out there. I did not have the "sex talk" until I was in the 6 grade . . . now kids are HAVING sex in the 6th grade. When is the line beening crossed . .. has it already? Kids innoncence should remain as long as it can, and Clint and I are doing our best to keep our 3 kids innoncence for as long as we can!!! But the people that are allowing society to "corss the line" are really making it hard!!!