Stacy in NJ Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 I was recently pretty shocked by something I saw at Hershey Park in PA. I'm not usually a The World is Going To Hell in a Handbasket kinda person, but I'm getting there. I like some pop culture and allow in my home, so, again, I'm not coming from an ultra-conservative perspective. Here's the story: Hershey has the attraction that allows folks to sing, record, edit, and play on a large screen TV for the general public a popular song. Most of the "singers" were teen and pre-teen girls, and most of the songs were highly suggestive and sexually explicit. Katy Perry's Teen Age Dream was the most popular selection while Rhianna and Lady Gaga were also available selections. There was something so disturbing about watching a 10 yo girls sing IN A PUBLIC FORMAT "Let's go all the way tonight.....Let you put your hands on me in my skin tight jeans..." I actually have no problem with Katy Perry, Rhianna or Lady Gaga doing their thing and selling records. But, WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE PARENTS of these young girls? The mind boggles. :confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janie Grace Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 Yuck. I would have been really disturbed by that too. I think parents are numbed or something... IDK, it boggles the mind and makes me sad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristusG Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 Yeah....yuck. Kids shouldn't be singing about things they are not even old enough to experience yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momofkhm Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 I had the same reaction to a Shania Twain song years ago "You make me feel like a woman". Obviously years ago. But the dad was really taken aback when he heard those lyrics coming out of his dds mouth. My thought was Why did you allow the song in the first place? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 I just think some people are not paying attention. There are a variety of reason for this. From being overwhelmed to just not caring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Princess Peach Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 I just think some people are not paying attention. There are a variety of reason for this. From being overwhelmed to just not caring. Yes, I think this is it. When I was a teen, I listened to whatever I wanted. As long as it wasn't too loud, my parents didn't comment on it. They didn't check up on what I was listening to. They also had different tastes, so they weren't aware of all that was on MTV or the radio. BTW, they were wonderful parents and I had a great home life. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albeto Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 I just think some people are not paying attention. There are a variety of reason for this. From being overwhelmed to just not caring. Likely, the parents who don't make a big deal out of it don't think it's a big deal; not because they have no energy to devote to such important issues or they don't care, but they don't think this is an "important issue." A teenager's maturing sexuality is inspired by far more than lyrics to popular songs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldberry Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 Have you heard Katy Perry's Friday Night song? "there's a stranger in my bed" "had a menage-a-trois" "warrant out for my arrest" plus more. And they play it all the time on our favorite radio station. Ugh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Negin Posted August 28, 2011 Share Posted August 28, 2011 A teenager's maturing sexuality is inspired by far more than lyrics to popular songs. :iagree: I guess lyrics seldom affected me. I never paid much attention to lyrics. When I was a teen in the U.K., there were songs like "Relax" (Frankie Goes to Hollywood). I just liked the beat and so on of songs. Don't want to sound like lyrics are nothing, but I do believe that it's not just lyrics that affect one's sexuality. Not at all. There's far more things that do. We allow our dc to listen to pretty much anything now. Not so when they were younger. We discuss it all openly. We'd rather them be exposed to this stuff while under our roof rather than not know how to deal with it all when they're on their own, or, worst yet, if they hide it from us. They will hear it from their friends and their outside environment. I also believe that one extreme leads to another. Not to say that anyone here is extreme, but if I get too legalistic about what they can and can't listen to, I think that there's a greater likelihood that they will go the exact opposite way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shannon in TN Posted August 28, 2011 Share Posted August 28, 2011 DD just turned 9 and loves all those pop songs. I like some of them, too, so I've been able to listen and monitor a bit what she's listening to. We've talked about some of the lyrics (she loves Fireworks) and how to interpret the meanings of some, but others she just doesn't need to know about yet. Some of those are even on the Just Dance games for the Wii (I think it's Tick Tock that talks about getting crunk - completely flipped out one of my friend's DH when he heard their 8 yr old singing it. To hear my friend tell the story, it was too funny :lol:) and I'm a little bit wary of those Kids Bop cd's. I'm not all that conservative either, but at 9 I don't want her singing about the party scene that these songs seem to glorify. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaxMom Posted August 28, 2011 Share Posted August 28, 2011 I just think some people are not paying attention. There are a variety of reason for this. From being overwhelmed to just not caring. Yes, I think this is it. When I was a teen, I listened to whatever I wanted. As long as it wasn't too loud, my parents didn't comment on it. They didn't check up on what I was listening to. They also had different tastes, so they weren't aware of all that was on MTV or the radio. BTW, they were wonderful parents and I had a great home life. :) I agree. When I was a teen, I listened to a wide variety of music. Some overlapped with my parents, some did not. As an adult, i have to vet my own music for appropriateness for kid listening. But... When I was a ten year old, it never would have occurred to me to grind suggestively to explicit lyrics. It disturbs me that children so young are so comfortable with <often raunchy> depictions of very adult behaviors. It's not what they're listening to, it's that even the most risqué pieces don't seem to cause an embarrassed giggle anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhonda in TX Posted August 28, 2011 Share Posted August 28, 2011 Have you heard Katy Perry's Friday Night song? "there's a stranger in my bed" "had a menage-a-trois" "warrant out for my arrest" plus more. And they play it all the time on our favorite radio station. Ugh. This song is terrible. It really glamorizes the partying lifestyle. Blech. We do change the station when that song comes on. My kids will even remind me if I don't notice right away. :) We are not music prudes. We listen to a really wide variety of music in our home. We recently introduced the kids to Rush. (DD couldn't stand the long hair. :lol: She did like the music, though, thank goodness.) I think one of the problems is that while music in the past was mostly suggestive and kids could possibly be oblivious to what it really meant, that's not the case anymore. It's so blatant! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.... Posted August 28, 2011 Share Posted August 28, 2011 Have you heard Katy Perry's Friday Night song? "there's a stranger in my bed" "had a menage-a-trois" "warrant out for my arrest" plus more. And they play it all the time on our favorite radio station. Ugh. Have you heard the lyrics for the ET song??? :glare: I listened closely one day and oh. my. goodness. I'm a huge music fan and I've been known to listen to stuff that is not family-friendly ;), but that song just creeps me out. It seems to have some creepy message to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TN Mama Posted August 28, 2011 Share Posted August 28, 2011 Yuck. I can't imagine that either. About 25? years ago (oh, that makes me sound REALLY OLD), my family went to Hershey Park and recorded a few songs in their recording studio. My sister and I sang "Tomorrow" from Annie and our family sang "We Are the World" - I need to find that cassette. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommaduck Posted August 28, 2011 Share Posted August 28, 2011 I just think some people are not paying attention. There are a variety of reason for this. From being overwhelmed to just not caring. This. I know a girl in this position and she does a lot of things to see if her parents notice or if they will do anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted August 28, 2011 Share Posted August 28, 2011 It bugs me like crazy too. I understand that probably most parents aren't really listening to the lyrics, and that if they DID they probably wouldn't like them either. But the thing is, they SHOULD be listening to the lyrics. Isn't that part of parenting? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldberry Posted August 28, 2011 Share Posted August 28, 2011 Have you heard the lyrics for the ET song??? :glare: I listened closely one day and oh. my. goodness. I'm a huge music fan and I've been known to listen to stuff that is not family-friendly ;), but that song just creeps me out. It seems to have some creepy message to it. Confession...I listen to the ET song when DD is not around. It reminds me of Dr Who, who I have a major crush on!:blushing: Maybe that's why I don't find it creepy! But would never have DD listen to it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted August 28, 2011 Share Posted August 28, 2011 Yes, I think this is it. When I was a teen, I listened to whatever I wanted. As long as it wasn't too loud, my parents didn't comment on it. They didn't check up on what I was listening to. They also had different tastes, so they weren't aware of all that was on MTV or the radio. BTW, they were wonderful parents and I had a great home life. :) :iagree: In 1978-1979 (I was 10-11 yrs), I had the Grease album and my friends and I used to dance to the songs as we sang our hearts out! I look at the lyrics now and just laugh at what they mean. I really had NO idea! My mom didn't pay attention to my music choices. I watched lots of MTV, back when it was a real music television station. I don't remember if my mom was in the room or not when I watched it. We only had 1 public space, the living room, so everything I watched was right there in that room. I'm guessing she just didn't think about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dana Posted August 28, 2011 Share Posted August 28, 2011 I'd sing along to my folk's album of Jesus Christ Superstar. "I don't know how to love him" has some lyrics that aren't so great coming from a preteen :) My father did take exception to my singing along to my mother's copy of Hair while driving as a teenager. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FO4UR Posted August 28, 2011 Share Posted August 28, 2011 I'm just thankful that there was no Youtube when I was a tween/teen.:blush: I was in competitive show choir in high school...'nuff said...:tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LidiyaDawn Posted August 28, 2011 Share Posted August 28, 2011 Every generation hates the music of the next - my folks weren't too impressed with my Iron Maiden tapes. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ma23peas Posted August 28, 2011 Share Posted August 28, 2011 The pendulum for a moral code has swung too far...we need balance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdrumm4448 Posted August 28, 2011 Share Posted August 28, 2011 Likely, the parents who don't make a big deal out of it don't think it's a big deal; not because they have no energy to devote to such important issues or they don't care, but they don't think this is an "important issue." A teenager's maturing sexuality is inspired by far more than lyrics to popular songs. A 10-year-old girl is not a teenager, and just because society currently seems to accept the oversexualization of children that doesn't make it the right thing to do. Not properly counseled, a teenager with maturing sexuality may end up experiencing the "important issues" of unintended pregnancy, STDs or a broken heart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdrumm4448 Posted August 28, 2011 Share Posted August 28, 2011 The pendulum for a moral code has swung too far...we need balance. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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