On Awesome Avenue

The pressure to succeed, materialism, an emphasis on outer beauty, narcissism, romance trouble and other issues faced by high schoolers may not be what draw young children in, but the issues are there nonetheless, Twenge said.

“How do you even talk to a 3-year-old about this stuff? Think before you leap. If you’ve leapt, then cut her off. There are things you have to take a stand on,” she counsels parents.

A couple of months ago, a little girl in our preschool bible class (who’s very sweet and was SIL and I’s little blessing in the class), told us EVERYTHING about High School Musical. She already has a little crush on Troy. When Monkey mentioned liking Backyardigans, she said she used to like it, but it’s “a baby show”. She’s 5 – all of a year older than the Monkey.

Pop culture creeps fast into kids’ lives. While I first thought when I read the article “Wow, I’m sure glad that I don’t have girls”…let’s face it, it’s just as bad for the boys, just in a different way. While with the girls it’s all about fashion and relationships and who’s dating Troy, for the boys it’s superheroes and guns. While I liked Transformers as a child, as a parent I was VERY disappointed to see a PG-13 movie marketed to my preschooler.

So how long can or should we as parents keep pop culture at bay? I’d love to hear your thoughts.