Advertisement
Train Up A Child In The Way He Should Go And When He Is Old He Will Not Depart From It Print E-mail
Thursday, 16 August 2007
Image
Richard O. Jones
Popular culture has an influence on children even when they live in well-structured homes. Some children follow popular culture while others embrace a more disciplined lifestyle. However, when popular culture has influence over parents, the child is highly likely to become a puppet, the parents become the strings, and popular culture becomes the puppeteer. For example, babies are often adorned in jewelry, pierced earrings, and designer clothing, including sports apparel, before they can even walk or talk. Baby boys' hair is allowed to grow long and either braided or put in ponytails. Some young girls are rushed into colorful hair extensions and light make-up. And I am not referring to the elementary school children (though that would be bad enough). I am talking about preschoolers. It is popular culture that influenced the mindset of a lot of female celebrities whose lives have made a crash landing. The trend began with short tight skirts exposing panties, then moved to short skirts and thongs, now, according to popular magazines, it is short skirts and no panties or thongs. That's popular culture.

Four of today's most popular young female celebrities are negatively influenced by pop culture. They are Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, and Nicole Richie. These girls are a mess, and young African American girls are marching in their footsteps by aspiring to grow up too fast as their hip-hop parents beat the marching drums.

Popular culture robs children of their childhood. Little boys learn, the way of their immature parents, it's all right to develop their feminine side before they develop their masculine side.  I've mistaken so many longhaired, earring-wearing little boys for cute little girls that I've lost count. I can't imagine a boy at three or four years old being given a choice to look like a boy or a girl would choose to look like a girl.

What are parents training their children to become? That's the real question! What can a little girl who was wearing earrings and green hair extensions at 10-years-old look forward to as a young woman?  I have witnessed preschoolers with nose rings. It's my guess that if it were legal, some parents would have their babies professionally tattooed.

To train a child is like putting the child on track as a train is on track. Once on track it takes a lot of doing to derail the train and set it upon another track. Parents are training their children on a daily basis. The eyes and minds of children are absorbing his or her total environment. The products and styles children are born into often lays the track for the train of their childhood and adulthood.

The secular world is a superficial place and children trained in material values often lack in character. Popular culture has at least a dozen TV shows that recklessly train children by example in the art of lack of character, and backstabbing in the hope of success or fame. I don't suggest that parents prohibit their children from watching popular shows because the advertisements are impossible to miss. However, parents should be mindful of and use such junk shows and music to open a discussion of what is really going on. The question is: Who is really training your child? Are you merely the strings of popular culture?

 

Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

 
< Prev   Next >

BVN Vid Cast

Senate Democrats suggest former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris may be seated in Barack Obama's previous post despite Blagojevich scandal.

Advertisement
Advertisement

BVN Calendar Events

January 2009 February 2009
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
Week 1 1 2 3
Week 2 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Week 3 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Week 4 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Week 5 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
Advertisement