sex-ed and the media

Growing up my parents limited the amount of tv us Lambert kids watched. 3 hours a week. That is it. You go to a movie, it counts as 2 hours towards the 3 hour limit. While all my friends watched Yo Mtv Raps and saved by the bell, i was stiffled by my tv limitations for what i watched.
I thought it was "unfair" and that my parents were "lame" and were trying to make us "bored."

And as i have been raising my own daughter, i swore i didn't want to limit or restrict her the way my parents did. Because of this, she has grown up watching tv shows with me on a nightly basis- some good and some not so good. Examples:

The good:
-Gilmore Girls- our lives- not a lot of sex- and it is wholesome. i love it
-Friends (?)- TBS plays reruns for a hour a day. it is a cute show, a few sexual references but nothing to get upset about
Secret Life of an American Teenager- can we say my life again? good show, good underlying themes and always talks about safe sex.

The not so good:
-90210- my latest obsession- watch it monday nights religiously. addresses things like sexting and rape (good) but also promotes the glam life, drugs, and sleeping around (bad)
-Grey's Anatomy- will forever love it. the characters are evolving and growing up this season which is good but it does promote sleeping around in a hospital setting (which NEVER happens)

The bad:
-Jersey Shore- it really is my only bad habit. it is like a train wreck that i can't look away from. GTL. Sleeping til 2 pm and partying til 5 am. "the situation" scamming on women. i love it. and unfortunately so does tay...


Unfortunately, our tv is providing our children with ample sex-ed. And the vast majority of it is not age-appropriate, and it’s not even responsible. 70% of the programs that our teens are watching contain some sort of sexual content. That’s a lot of casual sex and sex without
consequences. Sadly, only 14% of television shows portray responsible sexual
behaviors, meaning the sexual content includes references to the risks of STDs or the risk of pregnancy. Since some kids aren’t getting sex ed in school, most teens are using the media as their textbooks on sex, love and relationships. As parents we need to help our kids have a healthier view of sexuality than what they are seeing on a daily basis.