Facts of life
I think it's time to stop shielding parents from some important facts of life:
1} Children sometimes have crushes at the age of five or six, others don't get these feelings until a few years later. (On Valentines Day Newsround's website asked at what age should kids start dating, with age 7 as a possibility)
2} Belief in Santa and the tooth fairy will not prevent young people experiencing crushes.
3} Some children will have crushes on members of the same sex.
4} Hearing lgbt news will not alter the sexual orientation of a single child.
5} Overprotective parents risk alienating children when they get older, and children could be psychologically harmed by homophobic parents
If Newsround can talk about things getting "pretty steamy" between Harry Potter and his girlfriend (see blog - 31 December 2005), then it can report lgbt news as well.
1 comment:
Parents shield their children from stuff. Good stuff, bad stuff, important stuff, inconsequential stuff. Shielding children from stuff is in the job description of being a parent.
Parents drip feed new stuff as and when they think it appropriate - usually when the child asks the relevant question. What I as a parent *don't* want is the editor of Newsround making those decisions for me. It's a rules of engagement thing: child is allowed to watch Newsround because parent trusts the Newsround editor not to start on stuff that the average 7,8,9 year old isn't *in the parent's opinion* ready to know. Yes I'm sure I make the wrong decisions (sometimes? often?), but ultimately it is my decision to make, not the BBC's.
As I said in my last comment, if Newsround starts putting an lgbt angle on its stories then children will not be allowed to watch. As such it would mean that they are denied access to the one and only current events programme on TV aimed at them. Not a good editorial move is it?
For the record - I *know* lgbt news won't change a child's sexual orientation. "Pretty steamy" means one thing to you and me, something else to a 9 year old. Taking an active interest in what your child watches on TV is not "overprotective" - it's responsible parenting.
(Respect to you for putting my earlier comment up on your blog. I realise I'm being fairly negative about your views. Many blog owners are not so tolerant).
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