Watch What You Watch and Hear

I know it is unfashionable to talk about, but there is so much trash on TV and in the movies, and we fill our minds with it when we watch. I’m not going to pretend that I don’t watch some popular TV shows (and if you watch TV, you will get more than you need of people having sex, hopping from one person to the other, being crude and/or mean, etc.). I am simply saying two things – know that it may have an effect on you, and be careful how much you consume. There is the thought that if you swim in a cesspool, you will smell like a cesspool (and maybe eventually become a cesspool).

As a society we have become desensitized to crudity and behavior that would have been shocking 20 years ago. And as a parent, I watch my kids grow up thinking that this is the norm – and in some ways, that becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy as people watch, imitate, and think it’s cool. Just pay attention to what you put into your mind the way you pay attention to what you put into your body.

This is even more important when we are talking about children. If you are a parent of a young child, you need to be aware of what they are watching and hearing. Even commercials can give children the wrong message. Watch TV with them, and realize that many of the shows that you enjoy may not be appropriate for children. Tape or TiVo them and watch them after the kids are in bed.