by Nancy Shute
Limiting screen time and talking about what they see are two places to start.
Kids get more sex education from TV, music videos, and the Internet—let’s make that Jersey Shore, 50 Cent, and XXX-rated websites—than they do from their parents and teachers, and that’s not a good thing, according to the nation’s pediatricians. They’re calling on parents to step up and help children learn how to become responsible sexual human beings.
Teens and Sex: How to Help Your Kids Dodge Pregnancy and STDs
Clearly we parents aren’t doing a very good job of that now. The United States boasts the highest rate of teen pregnancies in the developed world, and 25 percent of American teenagers have a sexually transmitted disease (STD). But we parents could really use some help. Many moms and dads shy away from talking about sex with their children. So instead, teenagers learn about sex from TV, where 70 percent of teen shows contain sexual content, and less than 10 percent of those shows give examples of responsible sexual behavior, such as delaying sexual activity or reducing the risk of sexually transmitted diseases, according to a new report on teens, sex, and the media from the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Why Teen Pregnancies Are on the Rise
The AAP is encouraging pediatricians to ask two questions at every well-child visit in order to judge how a child’s media use may be affecting his or her health: whether a child has a TV or computer in the bedroom and the amount of screen time a child takes in daily.
Although those questions may help identify when a child has a problem with media use, dealing with it will be up to the parents. Parents have the most control over their child’s media use, and the biggest potential for positive impact. Here are three recommendations for parents on how to handle sex and the media from Victor Strasburger, lead author of the new report and chief of adolescent medicine at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine:
Limit all screen media time to a maximum of two hours a day. This not only reduces the dose of sexually inappropriate content a child gets daily, but leaves time for other things, like homework, sports, friends, and family.
Get the TV and computer out of children’s bedrooms. Parents can’t know what media children are consuming if their kids are holed up in their rooms. Having a TV in the bedroom is linked to lower grades and higher rates of obesity, too.
Use sex in the media to do on-the-spot sexual education on a regular basis, rather than having one big talk. A parent can watch TV with a teenager and note that sexual relationships don’t work that way in real life, or that the reason the girl with the tight T-shirt is in the commercial is to sell more beer.
That last point may sound terrifying, but Diane Levin, coauthor of the book So Sexy So Soon, says that asking teenagers why they like certain shows or songs can provide a great opportunity to talk about sexual issues in a way that’s fairly comfortable. Parents can watch with a child and point out specific images or acts, and explain why they find those sexual or violent images disturbing or inappropriate. As a result, teenagers gain a better understanding of sex in the real world, as well as of their parent’s ethical and moral standards.
The pediatricians also put in a plea for less sexual imagery on TV, and a ban on ads for erectile dysfunction drugs until after 10 p.m. Good luck on that one, doctors. But it would be nice to not have to try and explain to children why the gray-haired people get all cuddly after popping blue pills.
Tags: sexual health, sex education, media, sex, parenting, children’s health, internet, television
Children, Sex, and the Media: 3 Ways for Parents to Gain Control
扫黄不如搞好性教育。讳莫如深，适得其反。
孩子、性与媒体：父母们如何进行有效控制的三种方法
孩子们从电视、音乐视频和互联网上得到了更多的性教育，他们从真人秀节目Jersey Shore、说唱歌手50分的rap歌曲、色情网站那里学到的性知识要远远多于从父母和老师那里学到的，这可不是什么好事，联邦儿科医生呼吁家长们加强并帮助孩子们成为对性行为负责的人。
青少年与性：如何帮助你的孩子避免未婚先孕并规避性病
显然，我们这些做父母的在这方面失职了。发达国家中少女怀孕比例以美国最高，更糟的是将近四分之一的美国青少年感染性病。但是我们做父母的很少给予孩子们什么帮助。很多妈妈和爸爸羞于跟自己的孩子谈论性的话题。取而代之的是，青少年通过电视来了解性，根据美国儿科学会一份关于青少年、性与媒体的新报告：七成的青少年节目含有性的内容，其中只有低于一成的节目示范负责的性行为，比如推迟性活动或降低感染性病的风险。
为什么少女未婚先孕的比例仍在上升
该学会正鼓励儿科医生对表现良好的青少年进行家访并用两个问题进行问卷调查，以判定青少年使用媒体的方式如何影响他（她）们的健康：他（她）的卧室是否有电视或电脑？每天他（她）使用电视或电脑的时间？
尽管这些问卷有助于识别青少年使用媒体导致的问题，但问题的解决却有赖于父母。父母最有资格对自己的孩子如何使用媒体进行控制，同时也是最能对孩子给予积极影响的不二人选。维克多•施特拉斯布格——报告的主要作者和新墨西哥大学医学院青少年医学部的负责人，专门就如何处理性与媒体的问题给父母们提了三个建议：
每天使用电脑或电视的时间限制在两小时之内。这不但降低了孩子每天被动接受的含有性内容的不适当的媒体信息，而且给家庭作业、运动、交友和家务劳动留出了时间。
把电脑和电视从孩子的卧室搬走。如果他们的孩子躲在卧室里玩电脑或看电视，父母们根本不知道他们的孩子在看什么信息。在孩子卧室里装电视通常伴随着学业不佳和少儿肥胖。
经常就媒体有关性的内容进行即兴的性教育，而不要煞有其事地板着面孔说教，旁敲侧击而非单刀直入。双亲可以与青少年一起看电视，并可以指出电视上那种不靠谱的性伴侣关系在现实生活中行不通，或者解释电视画面上穿紧身T恤的女孩不过是在变相地为啤酒厂商做广告。
最后一点听起来有点匪夷所思，但黛安•李文——《越来越早熟的性》一书的合著者，建议问青少年为什么他们喜欢某个真人秀节目或某首歌曲，说借此可以很愉快地谈论性方面的话题。父母可以与孩子一起观看节目，并指出其中一些令人不安的暴力镜头，并解释为什么这些行为不可取。渐渐地，青少年会对现实生活中的性和父母的伦理道德标准获得更好的理解。
儿科学会也呼吁减少电视节目中的黄色内容，甚至提出严禁在晚上10点以前播放伟哥广告。医生们，祝你们好运。但最好不用向孩子们解释为什么头发花白的老头在服用了伟哥后变得温馨缠绵。
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