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Children Growing Up Too Fast

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Children Growing Up Too Fast
In today’s society, parents are challenged with the ability of children to grow faster than ever before. Tweens are moving closer and closer to teens, and fulfill these adult-like roles. The media plays a major part in this dilemma, along with the need to fulfill major responsibilities, and the lack of family presence. The media is one of the biggest proprietors when discussing the state that our children are in, and why they’re unable to play children roles. It’s not hard for a child to get access to the television set and see the influential things that the media may disclose. Ideas that are shown on TV now, are very misleading and inappropriate, even on children’s channels. Nickelodeon shows are very mature sit-coms that promote sex and promiscuity. Tweens are provoked to grow up faster and act as though they’ve reached the teen status, and teens feel like they’re adults. It’s easier to catch on to these particular trends, because they’re instilled into children’s everyday routines. Stations like MTV and BET are now accepted for viewing at a younger age, and children involuntarily pick up these bad habits and thought mechanisms. Teen magazines are also more explicit and promote sexual relationships. For an example, I remember growing up and not having to attend sex education classes to be educated about boys or sex. As long as I could get my hands on one of the trendiest magazines, my curiosity was fulfilled. I remember reading things like young girls catching diseases, losing their virginity, and being raped. They promoted these things in magazines for 12 and 13 year olds as if it was essential for them to know. If my mom could have seen the things that I was reading, she would have completely lost her mind. In today’s teen magazines, they have sections with information on how to “turn guys on” and what they like in bed. Teens have the sense of feeling that if these things are put into magazines for them, it’s okay to feel and react


Cited: 1. "Article | Kids Today Are Growing Up Way Too Fast." Manhattan Institute. Web. 30 Nov. 2009. . 2. "Whatever Happened to Childhood?" Web. 30 Nov. 2009. . 3. "Article | Kids Today Are Growing Up Way Too Fast." Manhattan Institute. Web. 30 Nov. 2009. . 4. "Children Have to Grow Up Too Fast | Edutopia." Edutopia: What Works in Public Education. Web. 01 Dec. 2009. . 5. "Growing Up Too Fast? - Motherlode Blog - NYTimes.com." Parenting, Children and Parents - Motherlode Blog - NYTimes.com. Web. 01 Dec. 2009. . 6. "Children growing up too fast - experts | Stuff.co.nz." Stuff.co.nz - Latest New Zealand News & World News, Sports News & NZ Weather Forecasts. Web. 01 Dec. 2009. .

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