Do you think she is right?

Question

She is the mother of 2 of my friends(they are 14 years old)!.

They are not allowed to watch the news, they can only watch Disney and even then they are only allowed to watch shows she has seen already.

They can only watch G rated movies.

We had to read "Streams of Bable" for book club(I picked it) and she went crazy and said that noone under 18 should even look at the book and her children will be scared for life.

Answer 1

Hey, Well I wasn't aloud to watch the simpsons, Home and away, neigbours etc until I was 15. I'm fine. Then when I was alowd to watch all those things I thought they were stupid and kind of pointless. My husband was brought up the same and our children will be brought up that way too.

We make some exceptions like the Harry Potter movies but most we'd only let them see on the TV. Plus we can read the books before hand so they know whats coming.

I think today that parents let their kids watch too much. I know 7 year olds that have see the Saw movies.

I do censor the movies my kids watch before I let them watch them but I don't just stick to G movies.

Answer 2

It's very hard to judge this without knowing the circumstances.  We are only hearing your side of the story.  There are two sides to every story.

I think not letting your 14 year old watch the news is silly, they are old enough to filter out right from wrong and they are going to hear it elsewhere anyway.  And when I was 14 I don't think I still watched Disney!  

Given the above information, it sounds like her kids might likely rebel and her efforts will be useless.

Answer 3

Yes! Sweetheart, People like that still exist in this world, they are know as 'Old Fashioned'! But, you can call them by their modern day name............................Juras-si...

Answer 4

I hate overprotective mothers who are stuck thinking that their child is going to be 5-years-old forever. They end up doing more harm than good for their children. I feel sorry for your friends; they must have some serious issues.

Answer 5

No, I don't. I believe that she is being ridiculously restrictive, and, considering that they are 14, it is not the books, but it is her dictatorial authority over them that is traumatizing. She really needs to loosen up, and allow her kids more slack, or else the kids will resent her (if they don't already).

Answer 6

Well.......Streams of Bable is a very frightening book. The mother knows her children better than anyone and if she thinks they are unable to handle the content then she has every right to not allow them to read it.

The news has become very repetitive and is quite alarming at times. The media today creates panic....who can forget "bird flu" and the other diseases that the media convinced us we were going to get! Again, if the mother believes that her children will stress out about the things they hear in the news then she should not allow then to watch it.

Todays TV is full of trash. With the exception of the Disney channel, Discover channel, History channel and a few select others, the TV is not very healthy for some children to watch. All children mature differently. Withholding TV is not always a bad thing.

Answer 7

Wow. I thought you were talking about 4 year olds. Then that would be right.  But at 14, you'd think she'd loosen up a little and let them realize that there is more to life than mouse ears and cotton candy.  There is death, abuse, hatred that they will face in the next few years.  They need to have their eyes opened so they aren't in shock when they realize that the world is not painted in pink.  

It is good to teach your child morals and strong beliefs, as well as not allow them to watch whatever they want or do whatever they want, but you also need to educate them that there will be times they will face temptation to fall into today's societies evil ways, so that they know what to watch out for and can react accordingly.

In my opinion, she needs to start desensityzing her kids to the world so they aren't shocked to discover the crazy things that go on beyond the disney channel.

Answer 8

Poor kids. That lady is crazy.

Answer 9

In my opinion - she is ridiculously over protective.  What she is doing could adversely affect those kids when they get into the real world and out of their mothers overbearing arms.

Answer 10

nah shes a nutter

Answer 11

These kids are seriously sheltered and it will do them no good for the future. Their mom is wrong and is not really protecting them.

Answer 12

I do not agree. Sheltering from the real world will cause many problems in the future or severely rebellious behavior as the children get older. (worse than most teenagers.)

Answer 13

No two parents will parent in exactly the same way. Although her censorship of her children's viewing and reading seems extreme to me, it is entirely up to the mother to decide what she thinks is best. It sounds as if she wants them to retain their sense of innocence for as long as possible, which in today's world is understandable. But, one has to be careful not to instill such innocence that the children are lambs awaiting victimization from the first wolf they encounter. So, although I may not agree with her totalitarian view of parental censorship, the ultimate choice on just how much to monitor and censor one's children's reading and viewing is up to the parent.

Answer 14

i think the parent should let them whatch 12 movies at least!

they are gonnafind out about that stuff anyway in school and stuff like that so i dont see why the parents are trying to stop them and make them think that them things are bad

Answer 15

no. if she shields her children now they wont be prepared or  know what to expect when they are 18 and live in the real world orgo to college. Its good to shield your children to some degree but not to others. it probably doesnt bother your friends because there used to it but it will bother them later on. tell them to talk to there mother. its the BEST thing for them. if they dont they will start to rebel and get into trouble.

Answer 16

I think she's insane.