Comments on: Speculating on “Generation Z” and Early Exposure to Sexual Themes http://www.elementalcm.com/2009/03/12/speculating-on-generation-z-and-early-exposure-to-sexual-themes/ Moving Children's Ministry Forward Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:16:12 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Desiree http://www.elementalcm.com/2009/03/12/speculating-on-generation-z-and-early-exposure-to-sexual-themes/comment-page-1/#comment-524 Desiree Fri, 13 Mar 2009 22:44:20 +0000 http://www.elementalcm.com/?p=1087#comment-524 Thanks for recommending some books that could be helpful. Thanks for recommending some books that could be helpful.

]]> By: Desiree http://www.elementalcm.com/2009/03/12/speculating-on-generation-z-and-early-exposure-to-sexual-themes/comment-page-1/#comment-523 Desiree Fri, 13 Mar 2009 22:37:39 +0000 http://www.elementalcm.com/?p=1087#comment-523 Yes, the-N is a terrible sex charged network. It's ridiculous. I don't think Disney is so much forgiving as it wants to make money. I think the reason no one cared was that it was clearly a mistake they owned up to that. I think in the future though they will remember that it was frowned on. You said that teenage-dom will drop to the age of 8-9. I am already starting to see that in our childrens outreach program. Some of their conversations are shocking. I would've never thought to talk that way at that age, especially in front of an adult. Yes, the-N is a terrible sex charged network. It's ridiculous.
I don't think Disney is so much forgiving as it wants to make money. I think the reason no one cared was that it was clearly a mistake they owned up to that. I think in the future though they will remember that it was frowned on.
You said that teenage-dom will drop to the age of 8-9. I am already starting to see that in our childrens outreach program. Some of their conversations are shocking. I would've never thought to talk that way at that age, especially in front of an adult.

]]> By: Jared Kennedy http://www.elementalcm.com/2009/03/12/speculating-on-generation-z-and-early-exposure-to-sexual-themes/comment-page-1/#comment-521 Jared Kennedy Fri, 13 Mar 2009 02:50:49 +0000 http://www.elementalcm.com/?p=1087#comment-521 Henry, this is a great article. God's gift, sex, is not an evil thing, and we shouldn't teach our children to view it as an evil--but as something very good within marriage. Our "knee-jerk" reactions and the shame they cause can sometimes bring more hurt than the culture's permissiveness. May the Lord protect the next generation from the evil without and within. Henry, this is a great article. God's gift, sex, is not an evil thing, and we shouldn't teach our children to view it as an evil–but as something very good within marriage. Our "knee-jerk" reactions and the shame they cause can sometimes bring more hurt than the culture's permissiveness. May the Lord protect the next generation from the evil without and within.

]]> By: aaron jack bauer http://www.elementalcm.com/2009/03/12/speculating-on-generation-z-and-early-exposure-to-sexual-themes/comment-page-1/#comment-519 aaron jack bauer Thu, 12 Mar 2009 14:41:59 +0000 http://www.elementalcm.com/?p=1087#comment-519 I was surprised as well at the Kids Choice nominees in several categories. We do need to remember another thing. MTV and Nickelodeon are branded together. Nick is training kids for MTV (which quite frankly, I think, is not the heavy hitter it once was...so my prediction: look for a revamp of that network soon...in my humble opinion). Also, with the recent addition of The-N network (to bridge the gap between Nick and MTV - I think we are seeing the trend. The-N is filled with several sexually oriented shows and is being built on that. I'm not attacking a single studio here, but what is true is that it shows a drift to go younger with sexually explicit themes. These trends carry through all ways - clothes, tv, music, films, etc. Even last year's "scandal" involving a certain cast of a certain musical of a certain high school (ahem...) barely raised an eyebrow. The media tried to pump it as scandal,but honestly, I felt they were hard-pressed to find enough parents who gave a hoot. Disney's response to actually keep those cast members in the loop showed that they didn't care that much, and in my opinion, their decision to keep them was seen as caring, compassionate, and "Oh my. How forgiving of Disney! If only the rest of the world could not be so judgmental. See? Disney knows how to accept an apology and move on." They also know who to keep around to keep the $$ flowing. So, that is an example of sex entering kid culture. My oldest kids were well aware of what went on. And the growing trend of kids who send pictures of themselves...younger and younger. When I was studying youth trends in college in 2001 ( a delightful class) the average age for kids to reach teenage-dom and puberty was 10 years old. This was a decrease from the average age of 12-13 just 10 years prior. This means that in the next few years, we should see teenage-dom drop to the age of 8-9 years old very soon. In turn this means that youth ministry will also have to change as those issues will become different as well. So, how do you combat sex culture with kids? We have to educate parents on how to educate kids and walk beside them both to help any way we are needed. I was surprised as well at the Kids Choice nominees in several categories. We do need to remember another thing. MTV and Nickelodeon are branded together. Nick is training kids for MTV (which quite frankly, I think, is not the heavy hitter it once was…so my prediction: look for a revamp of that network soon…in my humble opinion).

Also, with the recent addition of The-N network (to bridge the gap between Nick and MTV – I think we are seeing the trend. The-N is filled with several sexually oriented shows and is being built on that.

I'm not attacking a single studio here, but what is true is that it shows a drift to go younger with sexually explicit themes. These trends carry through all ways – clothes, tv, music, films, etc.

Even last year's "scandal" involving a certain cast of a certain musical of a certain high school (ahem…) barely raised an eyebrow. The media tried to pump it as scandal,but honestly, I felt they were hard-pressed to find enough parents who gave a hoot. Disney's response to actually keep those cast members in the loop showed that they didn't care that much, and in my opinion, their decision to keep them was seen as caring, compassionate, and "Oh my. How forgiving of Disney! If only the rest of the world could not be so judgmental. See? Disney knows how to accept an apology and move on."

They also know who to keep around to keep the $$ flowing.

So, that is an example of sex entering kid culture. My oldest kids were well aware of what went on. And the growing trend of kids who send pictures of themselves…younger and younger.

When I was studying youth trends in college in 2001 ( a delightful class) the average age for kids to reach teenage-dom and puberty was 10 years old. This was a decrease from the average age of 12-13 just 10 years prior. This means that in the next few years, we should see teenage-dom drop to the age of 8-9 years old very soon. In turn this means that youth ministry will also have to change as those issues will become different as well.

So, how do you combat sex culture with kids? We have to educate parents on how to educate kids and walk beside them both to help any way we are needed.

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